Last updated: August 2026
CDW is a Fortune 500 IT solutions provider, ranked #206 in 2026, that pairs about 15,100 employees with more than 1,000 tech-vendor partnerships to build, sell, and support IT for business, government, and education customers nationwide. Its flagship 10-week Summer Internship Program runs a documented calendar: last cycle's postings went live August 13, 2025 for the Summer 2026 cohort, and CDW has said on its own channels that Summer 2027 applications open September 1, 2026, just days from now. For the 2027–2028 cycle (you apply during 2026, you intern in summer 2027), that's roughly 10 months before the June start, and review runs on a rolling basis, so early applicants get first pick of CDW's eight metro locations.
Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | cdwjobs.com internship search. Set a talent-network alert for the September post date |
| Application window (2027–28) | Expected to open September 1, 2026 for summer 2027 (company-stated target; not yet posted as of late August 2026) |
| Rolling? | Yes. CDW reviews applications on a rolling basis; the comparable summer 2026 role stayed listed about 5.5 months before it was pulled |
| Eligibility | Rising seniors graduating December 2026 or May 2027 for the flagship program; a separate Campus Intern Program targets sophomores and juniors. No visa sponsorship |
| Duration | 10 weeks (June 2 to August 7 in the 2026 cycle) |
| Compensation | $15.85 to $21.63/hr across published 2026 postings, varying by track and location |
| Return offers | No published rate; CDW runs a named intern-to-full-time conversion hiring track |
| Locations | Chicago-area orientation week, then Cherry Hill NJ, Chicago IL, Dallas TX, Holmdel NJ, New York NY, Shelton CT, Tampa FL, or Tempe AZ |
| # Programs | Tracks across sales, technology/delivery engineering, marketing, finance, and HR, plus the separate year-round Campus Intern Program |
The two numbers that matter: CDW has said summer 2027 applications open September 1, 2026, just days from now, and review is rolling from day one across eight metro locations.
Externships are short, remote professional experience programs where you finish a real project with a real company. The Wayfair AI Agent Engineering for Business Intelligence Externship and the Beats by Dre Data Analytics Externship build exactly the AI-comfortable, data-literate proof CDW's own job descriptions ask for. Explore all Externships.
What Is a CDW Internship?
A CDW internship places college students into paid, hands-on roles across CDW's IT solutions business, the Fortune 500 company that pairs about 15,100 employees with more than 1,000 tech-vendor partnerships to build, sell, and support IT for business, government, and education customers nationwide. The flagship Summer Internship Program runs 10 weeks with a Chicago-area orientation week before interns head to one of eight metro placement sites, spanning sales, technology/delivery engineering, marketing, finance, and HR tracks. CDW has also been named a Glassdoor Best Places to Work honoree four times (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022), and current employees rate the company 3.5 out of 5 across roughly 4,640 reviews.
When Do CDW Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
CDW's calendar is short by tech-employer standards and mostly documented: the Summer 2026 cohort posted August 13, 2025, and the comparable New York sales role stayed listed until it was pulled January 30, 2026, roughly a 10-month runway to the June start. CDW's own channels have said Summer 2027 applications open September 1, 2026, so for the 2027–2028 cycle you apply during 2026 and intern in summer 2027, a similar 10-month lead. Review runs on a rolling basis the whole way through, so track and location availability narrows the longer you wait even though the posting itself can stay live for months.
Summer 2027 applications haven't posted yet, but CDW has said on its own channels that the flagship Summer Internship Program opens September 1, 2026, about a week and a half from today. This short runway is your last real window to build proof before review starts.
Final prep: tighten your resume for whichever track fits (sales, technology, marketing, finance, or HR), set a talent-network alert, and get comfortable talking about AI tools, since every CDW posting reviewed this cycle explicitly welcomes AI-assisted work.
The flagship Summer Internship Program is expected to go live here, reviewed on a rolling basis from day one. Last cycle's comparable role stayed posted for about five and a half months, but rolling review still rewards the earliest applicants with first pick of track and city.
Rolling interviews and offers: a recruiter screen or prerecorded video round, then one or two live interviews, sometimes with a skills test or presentation. The separate Campus Intern Program for sophomores and juniors runs on its own year-round calendar.
10 weeks, June to August, opening with an orientation week in Chicago before placement in one of eight metro locations. Do the job well: CDW runs a named intern-to-full-time conversion hiring track, even though it doesn't publish a rate.
How to read this page: our dates come from tracking previous recruiting cycles and daily posting data. Treat them as informed estimates based on historical patterns, not confirmed dates. The company's official careers page is always the most current source. If a role is posted there, go by that, even if this page suggests the window hasn't opened yet.
Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open
CDW itself says applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and last cycle's comparable role stayed listed for about five and a half months before it was pulled. That's not a hard one-week window, but rolling review still means CDW works through applicants roughly in the order they apply, and with eight metro placement locations and multiple tracks, the assignment you actually want can fill weeks before the posting disappears. Apply the week the portal opens if you want a real shot at your preferred track and city, not just any open seat.
Which CDW Internship Programs Should You Target?
CDW runs one flagship 10-week Summer Internship Program across sales, technology, marketing, finance, and HR tracks, plus a separate year-round Campus Intern Program for sophomores and juniors who want a head start.
| Program | Focus | Duration | Key skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | B2B outbound sales, account management, prospecting | 10 weeks | Interpersonal skills, time management, self-starter prospecting |
| Technology / Delivery Engineering | Client-facing IT delivery, infrastructure, presales support | 10 weeks | Technical aptitude, problem-solving, IT fundamentals |
| Marketing | Content, campaigns, AI-assisted video and copy | 10 weeks | Writing, prompt engineering, Adobe Experience Platform, Power BI, SQL, Python |
| Finance & Accounting | Financial analysis and reporting | 10 weeks | Excel, analytical thinking, attention to detail |
| Coworker Services (HR) | Talent programs and employee experience | 10 weeks | Communication, organization, project coordination |
| Campus Intern Program | Year-round, part-time on-campus liaison role for underclassmen | 15–25 hrs/week during the school year | Problem-solving, analytical aptitude, professional communication |
See every open track on CDW's internship page, and note the Campus Intern Program runs on its own school-year calendar, separate from the flagship summer cohort.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
CDW publishes similar core requirements across its 2026-cycle postings:
• Enrollment: rising seniors graduating December 2026 or May 2027 for the flagship Summer Internship Program; the separate Campus Intern Program targets sophomores and juniors.
• GPA: no minimum published on any CDW-authored posting reviewed. One third-party job-board mirror lists a 3.0 figure for the Campus Intern Program, but it couldn't be confirmed against CDW's own job description text.
• Work authorization: every posting reviewed carried the same line: CDW does not sponsor visas for interns, and that condition carries through into full-time conversion too.
• Housing: not provided for the Summer Internship Program. Interns arrange their own housing; CDW runs engagement events during the 10 weeks instead.
Does CDW Have a GPA Cutoff?
None of CDW's own internship postings state a GPA minimum, and that holds across every track reviewed, from sales to marketing to the Campus Intern Program listing at Louisiana State. Only a third-party job-board mirror lists a 3.0 figure for the Campus Intern Program, and it doesn't match CDW's own job description text, so treat it as unverified rather than official. What actually gates you is the class-year window (rising seniors for the flagship program, underclassmen for the Campus track) and, for anyone needing a visa, the no-sponsorship line every posting carries.
What Skills Does CDW Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
Three CDW-authored 2026-cycle postings (Sales, Campus Intern/Liaison, and Marketing) share one thing every track carries: an explicit AI-fluency clause, welcoming candidates comfortable using AI tools, including in the application itself. Communication shows up in all three too. Past that shared floor, the technical asks stay track-specific: the marketing posting names Adobe Experience Platform, Power BI, SQL, and Python, while the sales posting leans on prospecting and relationship-building instead. Glassdoor and Reddit interview reports back the same pattern: CDW hires for fit and communication first, then trains the track's specific tools.
What CDW looks for in interns
Skills across 3 CDW intern & analyst job descriptions · 3 CDW-authored 2026-cycle job descriptions (Sales, Campus Intern/Liaison, Marketing), cross-checked against Glassdoor and Reddit interview reports
Method: full-text analysis of 3 CDW-authored 2026-cycle internship job descriptions. CDW doesn't post every track's JD at once, so this snapshot is directional by track count, not by postings volume. AI-tool comfort was named explicitly in all three.
How Is Demand for Software Engineer Interns Moving Right Now?
Software Engineer Intern Hiring Right Now: August 2026
Across 877 US software-engineer-intern postings tracked this month · aggregate market data, all employers
Technical-intern demand is inching up while pay holds flat, and CDW's own postings already lean into the AI-fluency expectation showing up market-wide. A CDW applicant who can point to a real SQL, Python, or AI-tooling project has evidence for exactly what's rising.
Method: aggregate analysis of US software-engineer-intern postings via hiring.cafe daily aggregates, August 2026 vs July 2026. Adzuna cross-checked but excluded from this module; its index moves in abrupt steps unrelated to hiring activity. Sample indexes under half of all US postings; figures show direction of change, not total market share.
Build These Skills Before You Apply
Three of CDW's own skill asks map directly onto Externship projects you can finish before the portal opens.
| Skill (from real JDs) | JD evidence | Externship that builds it |
|---|---|---|
| AI-fluent, prompt-savvy work | Marketing JD names prompt engineering and AI-assisted video tools; every 2026 posting reviewed carries an explicit AI-comfort clause | Wayfair AI Agent Engineering for Business Intelligence |
| Data analysis & reporting (Power BI, SQL, Python) | Marketing JD lists Power BI, SQL, and Python as required tools | Beats by Dre Data Analytics |
| IT infrastructure & security fundamentals | CDW's own boilerplate centers hybrid infrastructure and security in the client-facing Technology/Delivery Engineering track | Hydroficient IoT Cyber Defense |
Each Externship deliverable maps to a real CDW job description line, not a generic project brief.
What Is the CDW Application and Interview Process Like?
Glassdoor's CDW internship interview data (11 reviews) shows a shorter, gentler process than most tech employers, rated 2.6 out of 5 for difficulty with 70% positive experiences:
1. Apply at cdwjobs.com with a resume; Glassdoor reports 78% of hired candidates applied online versus 22% through campus recruiting.
2. Recruiter screen or prerecorded video round. One Reddit account describes a prerecorded, HireVue-style interview with about four questions, one easy and a few harder.
3. One or two live interviews, mostly behavioral. Glassdoor reviewers also report a skills test or presentation round for some roles (17% each of reported stages).
4. Offer, and for some tracks a background check or drug test. Average time to hire is about 18 days, faster than CDW's 23-day company-wide average.
There's no single standardized test across every CDW internship track. Rehearse the behavioral and prerecorded-video rounds instead: our HireVue question guide with a free AI mock tool runs the same format and time pressure.
What Students on Reddit Say
Three threads show how students actually weigh a CDW internship.
The interview was mostly a prerecorded video round, just a handful of questions, one easy and a few harder ones, and it moved pretty fast from there.
I did a CDW tech sales internship and I'm trying to figure out if it actually helps as a resume line for breaking into a bigger tech company later, or if recruiters just see it as another IT reseller job.
Trying to decide between a CDW internship offer and one from another IT company for my first real B2B sales experience, and figure out which one actually sets up a stronger sales career.
How Do You Stand Out for a CDW Internship?
Three moves, all executable before September 1. First, apply the week the portal opens; rolling review across eight metro locations makes timing itself an advantage. Second, build evidence in the exact vocabulary CDW's own postings use, especially AI-tool comfort, which every 2026-cycle JD reviewed named explicitly and even welcomed inside the application itself. Third, treat the internship as an audition for a full-time seat. CDW doesn't publish a conversion rate, but it does run a named intern-to-full-time conversion hiring track, so interview like someone who wants that seat, because you can ask for it.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
CDW's closest competitors are IT solutions resellers most students haven't heard of, alongside the bigger tech names its own interns work alongside as vendor partners.
- Insight Enterprisescomparably sized IT solutions and systems integrator with its own early-career programCareers site
- SHI Internationalsimilarly sized IT solutions competitor Glassdoor pairs directly with CDWCareers site
- Dell Technologieshardware and infrastructure maker CDW resells, with a longer, more structured internship calendarGuide →
- IBMenterprise software and consulting vendor partner with a large, formal global cohortGuide →
- Cisconetworking and security vendor CDW sells alongside, with stronger brand name recognition for studentsGuide →
Our tech internships guide covers the wider field, from vendors like these to the resellers that sell their gear.
FAQ
Can I still apply for a summer 2026 CDW internship?
No. The summer 2026 role was pulled from CDW's job board on January 30, 2026. CDW has said summer 2027 applications open September 1, 2026, just days from now, so set a talent-network alert and apply the week the portal opens.
When do CDW internship applications open for summer 2027?
Expected September 1, 2026, based on CDW's own announcement on its careers channels. That's roughly 10 months before the June 2027 start, and review runs on a rolling basis from day one.
Is CDW internship hiring rolling?
Yes. CDW reviews applications on a rolling basis. Last cycle's comparable role stayed listed for about 5.5 months before being pulled, but earliest applicants still get first pick of track and city.
Does CDW require a minimum GPA for internships?
No CDW-authored posting publishes a GPA minimum. One third-party job listing cites 3.0 for the Campus Intern Program, but it isn't confirmed against CDW's own job description text.
What is the CDW internship interview process like?
An online application, a recruiter screen or prerecorded video round, then one or two live interviews, sometimes with a skills test or presentation. Glassdoor rates the process 2.6 out of 5 for difficulty with 70% positive reviews and an average 18-day time to hire.
Do CDW interns get return offers?
CDW publishes no conversion rate, but it does run a named intern-to-full-time conversion hiring track, showing a formal path exists even without a disclosed percentage.
What skills does CDW look for in interns?
Across three real 2026-cycle postings: AI-tool comfort and communication appear in all three, with track-specific asks like prospecting for sales and Power BI, SQL, and Python for marketing.
How much does a CDW internship pay?
Published 2026 postings ranged $15.85 to $21.63 per hour depending on track and location; the year-round Campus Intern Program pays at the lower end of that range.
CDW has said applications open September 1, 2026, and review is rolling from day one. Use the runway now: a remote Externship turns "interested in IT solutions" into a finished project a rolling application can point to.
About the Author
Bifei Wang has spent 17 years focused on human flow and the growth of young professionals, spanning international education, career training and coaching, and recruitment process outsourcing. Over 7 years at Extern, he has had one-on-one sessions with thousands of students exploring careers in consulting, finance, tech, marketing, and data, giving him a firsthand view of how the job market has shifted for early-career professionals and what it actually takes to break in.
