Tinder restarts internship program, gets swamped with 30,000 applications for 27 roles

When Spencer Rascoff became CEO of Match Group last February, he asked a straightforward question about the company's internship program. The answer surprised him: the previous CEO had canceled it to save money.

Rascoff told Fortune about the conversation. "Two or three months after I started, I called my head of HR and said, 'I'm just curious about the summer intern program. When do the interns arrive?'" he said. "And he's like, 'Oh, no, we can't. The last CEO canceled the internship program last year to save money.'"

Rascoff called the decision "the craziest thing" he had ever heard. Match Group owns Tinder, Hinge, Match.com, and OkCupid—apps built for young people aged 18 to 22. Having interns around the office, he believed, would help the company stay connected to its core audience. "Of course, we need as many of these folks around our halls as possible," he said.

This year, Rascoff moved to restart Tinder's summer "Tindership" program. He posted about it on LinkedIn and other social channels without launching a large advertising campaign. The response was immediate and overwhelming. More than 30,000 people applied for 27 spots, creating a 0.09% acceptance rate.

The flood of applications shocked leadership. Rascoff said the interest reflects how difficult the job market has become for young workers. He also credited the strength of the Tinder brand and growing interest in jobs at consumer-facing companies. "It probably speaks a little bit to the challenges of job seeking among early career people," he said. "But I'd like to believe that it mostly speaks to the quality of the company that we're at."

The 27 interns begin work on June 1 and will stay through August 28. They will work in Tinder's engineering, product, design, marketing, and analytics departments. Match Group has redesigned the program with expanded coaching, mentorship sessions, social events like pickleball, and a gathering at Rascoff's home.

The wider internship market tells a different story. On Handshake, one of the largest early-career job platforms, internship postings fell more than 15% between January 2023 and January 2025. Yet applications have climbed. As of January 2025, 41% of recent graduates had applied to at least one internship on Handshake, up from 34% in 2023.