Last week, Paragon One was able to present insights from scaling enterprise "mini internship" programs through software, data, and ML at the MIT Innovations in Management Conference hosted by the MIT Industrial Liaison Program. There were many exciting i…lnkd.in/gwm_8q_K

This article from Natasha Singer at The New York Times highlights the exact problem Paragon One solves for students who didn't have all the advantages: How to provide more internship-like opportunities at scale (we call them extern…lnkd.in/gZC482H2 lnkd.in/gXE8KVXu

I'm excited to announce that in Q1, Paragon One was able to serve 1,766 students with 6-8 week remote externships across nearly 30 programs with companies such as HUGO BOSS, Greenpeace, Beats by Dre, The Home Depot, PwC, National Geographic, The Nature Co…lnkd.in/gyvug4y6

Please join Paragon One tomorrow at our next Social Impact Lab: What’s HERstory? How Making Space for Women Can Influence Diversity. A great panel is in store from Google, Microsoft and Pride Global.  We're welcoming Jennifer Paulino who will host Kam…lnkd.in/gtrKHEYc

Paragon One is building the future of employee-supported professional experiences for students. We're searching for a mission driven Partnerships Manager with a majority focus on universities to help us build better relationships on campuses, support uni…lnkd.in/gqZiq2S4

Proud of our team in 2023. Paragon One : 💥 Delivered 8,737 multi-week Externships to students, managed on behalf of global brands (+140% YoY increase) 💥 Increased extern Net Promoter Score (NPS) to 71 💥 97,537 students submitted extern applications (+237% YoY increase)

In addition to serving nearly 9,000 multi-week externships in 2023, Paragon One: ↗ Welcomed AT&T, Macquarie Group, HUGO BOSS, and igniteXL Ventures to our remote Externship partner community ↗ Increased company partner NPS to 81 with 100% partner renewal into 2024

I remember my externship was cancelled one week before it was set to begin during college because they didn't have manager bandwidth to support. Think of the opportunities that never materialize due to this reality. Everyone is busy with their jobs! 👩‍💼

Higher ed is supposed to prepare youth for the workforce. But translating academic success into real-world job readiness is daunting, so the gap between higher ed and the workforce remains wide. Students face a highly competitive market, often without professional exposure. 🧑‍🎓

While alternative credentials provide fantastic opportunities for learners to practice skills and grow, they haven't led to better career pathways. Unfortunately, people don't get hired just because they did an edX, Coursera, or Linkedin Learning certificate. 🏆

The reimagined Externship is an educational work experience, led by experts, where a cohort of students completes a project and earns a credential. Professional experiences for students shouldn't be complex. Students should have flexibility in their career exploration. 👩‍🎓

Company employees should be able focus on their jobs while supporting the next generation of student talent on projects. The Externship model pioneered by Paragon One will become critical to the future job market and economy. 🪙🚀🧑‍💼🧑‍🏭👩‍⚕️

Experience is what matters -- even for entry level jobs. There is a reason why professional experience takes up the most real estate on a resume. Look through full-time jobs seeking “entry-level” employees and you'll find at least three years of experience required for most JDs👨‍💼

. Extern is redefining career development with remote Externships that merge real work experience and education Matt Wilkerson joined @jason to dive into the mechanics and future of Extern

. Matt Wilkerson discusses Extern's mission to redefine career development by merging real work experience and education

Enjoyed convo with @jason on This Week in Startups about how Extern.com (Extern) created the remote #Externship to solve the despair grads have when trying to land their first job and learning that they don't have enough work experience (after dropping $100K+ on a degree).

The student portal at Extern enables students to explore and apply for remote externships Matt Wilkerson says these include diverse fields like marketing, product management, and soon, cybersecurity

. Matt Wilkerson on resolving the "experience paradox" - the need for experience to get experience

Excited to share how Extern's new workforce model of Externships is solving the growing internship supply problem in a recent Forbes interview by Jack Kelly. You can read the full article here: forbes.com/.../externship… Extern Jack Kelly

Check out my latest article: Finding Product-Moment Fit linkedin.com/pulse/finding-… via LinkedIn The early career system is breaking, and this time it’s not a metaphor. Internships are disappearing, degrees are losing value, and AI is rewriting what “entry-level” even means.