Why to Think Twice About Bypassing Unpaid Internships

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This article originally appeared on The Daily Muse: read it here

In a competitive job market, internships are a great way to beef up your resume with real-world experience. As an intern, you land a short-term opportunity to work in your field, and that experience can help define the direction of your career. Plus, an internship is a fast way to expand your knowledge and add new contacts to your professional network.

Put this all together, and internships equal one very important thing: getting a job.

But what they don’t always amount to is a paycheck, at least not right away. Depending on how an internship is structured, you might get paid, you might get college credit, or you might get, well, nada.

And as you review your credit card bill, tuition statements, and other expenses, the idea of not having an income might seem daunting. But before you write those unpaid opportunities off, read on for a few reasons why companies don’t pay—and what you could stand to gain from them anyway.

Supply and Demand

Some businesses don’t pay their interns because (gulp) they don’t have to. If you’re seeking experience with a highly sought-after or prestigious organization (like MTV Networks or Clear Channel Communications), there’s likely a long list of people vying for the opportunity, and for good reason. The unpaid factor can be worth it in exchange for getting your foot in the door for a potential opening, accumulating great work samples, or gaining expertise that’s going to look awesome on your resume.

Non-Profit Means Non-Profit

If you’re seeking to intern with a non-profit organization, some may not pay you because, quite simply, it’s not in the budget. Same goes for start-ups. Organizations with limited funding can be in a tough spot when it comes to adding extra payroll—but that doesn’t mean it won’t be an awesome opportunity to get hands-on experience at places like the American Lung Association or Planned Parenthood.

Work Now, Pay Later

Some businesses use internships as a “trial period,” planning to hire most or all of their interns after a successful semester or summer. For them, it’s good—by the time you finish school and are ready to start working, you’re already trained and familiar with the company. And for you, it’s great—you get a job lined up pre-graduation. One example of where this occurs is Goldman Sachs: In 2011, almost 90% of new hires were former interns. (Also check out this list of top U.S. companies who hired interns in 2011.)

So before you dismiss an opportunity because it’s unpaid, consider what you might gain from it that will last a lot longer than money. Ask yourself:

  • Will you get good experience in your desired field?
  • Will you make contacts who can hire you or help you get hired elsewhere?
  • Will you have opportunities for hands-on experience that will strengthen your resume and portfolio?
  • Is there a good track record of interns going on to get jobs—with the company or elsewhere?

If the answer to most of these questions is “no,” then the unpaid gig probably isn’t worth your time—there are definitely companies out there that are just after free labor. But I participated in three unpaid internships in college, and all of them were good experiences that helped me make connections with people who I’m still in touch with—and who’ve helped me secure several jobs.

It’s important to remember that we’re in a tough job market, and when it comes to experience, knowledge, or contacts, every bit helps. As you make your choices, ask mentors, friends, or professors for guidance and support. Most importantly, enter any new role with an open mind and the awareness that it’s just one of many steps leading to your future.

How Do You Know When You’re an Adult?

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This article was originally posted on Betty Confidential, see it here

In the ’80s, Ferris Bueller told us, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Mr. Bueller had a valid point here: one that’s become startling more relevant as I’ve gotten older. Life can be really hard, and go by really quickly, particularly during the transition into adulthood.

Full disclosure: when I use the term “adulthood,” I don’t actually know what it means. Not a clue. So I’ve always steered clear from linking adultness to a specific age or milestone, and instead, presumed it was that fateful moment when you realize that you’ve more or less become a functional member of society.

For me, my adult awakening happened while I was getting my tires rotated. All of a sudden, as I sat amid the stench of rubber and strange mechanical sounds, I froze.

What the hell was I doing at a tire store on a Saturday morning?

This wasn’t normal, no–this was something my parents would do. But my parents weren’t there. It was just me, unshowered in yoga pants, voluntarily having my tires rotated, on the weekend. Suddenly this felt eerily responsible, yet completely comfortable.

It was at this precise moment that I realized, despite still feeling like a 14-year-old most of the time, I was somehow a living, breathing adult. Somehow. But where had the time gone? Hadn’t I just moved into my freshman dorm?

Yet the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I had all the typical adult traits checked off my list. Married? Check. House? Check. Fully balanced tires? Check. Yep, I was rocking adulthood with the best of ‘em.

But here’s where it gets tricky. If I was really on the grown-up train, why did I still feel like my life wasn’t figured out? Why did some things feel so uncertain? It scared me to think that maybe my life was less than what it should be, or that I was missing out on things that I needed to be doing, seeing or feeling.

I began spending a LOT of time obsessing about this. I started to wonder if I was doing enough planning ahead while still living in the moment. I worried that I was devoting too much – or not enough – time to different areas of life. (This then became an intense internal debate over how could I travel the world while still contributing to my 401k.)

I was in a funk about this for a while as I overanalyzed my life, my passions, my bucket list and more. I admittedly drove myself a little nuts.

And then, as fast as this mental storm had arrived, it gradually began to fade. And lo and behold, although nothing had really changed, I was just fine.

And that realization was more powerful than my tire store epiphany. Acknowledging that everything was going to be ok was more enlightening than anything I’d spent weeks pondering.

In retrospect, the entire time I spent wondering if I was “grown-up” enough was probably the very essence of being an adult. I was just having a grown up version of growing pains. Contemplating serious things and evaluating my path didn’t mean I wasn’t a suitable adult, it just meant that I’ve still got some work to do. Exciting work.

I may be 28, but I’m still growing up, and I think that’s ok. As long as I remember to embrace the fact that my life is a work in progress. With any luck, this progress will continue for another 40 to 50 years, give or take.

Happy as a dog.

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Forget clams, I want to be as happy as my dog.

I’ve always marveled at the way dogs develop and act on instincts, regardless of other environmental factors. Mine wear Halloween costumes and eat out of porcelain bowls, but  still manage to exhibit all kinds of traditional doggie instincts.

Somehow this is reassuring, that no matter how badly I’ve screwed up their training, dogs will be dogs.

It makes me wonder why humans, despite landing at the top of the evolutionary chain, can struggle so fiercely with following our own instincts. I’m not talking about biological reactions, but our own personal ones. What we should do in different situations, and what’s right or wrong for us. Often, these decisions are simple when viewed retrospectively, but in the moment they can be paralyzing.

Our world is over-complicated, and we’ve become experts at over-complicating how we operate.

I’ve always been an over-thinker. About everything. A lot of people say that about themselves, but I think I’m among the extra crazy percentile. I think things through, then re-think them, continue to overthink them, and then obsess about the potential consequences.

And that’s the ironic part, I’m never afraid to make a quick decision, but when it comes to bigger choices, the thought of doing something that ultimately could cause regret is scary. I hate what-ifs and I hate the fear of regret.

A few years ago, I was making myself nuts weighing an important decision, when a good friend said something that threw me for a loop:

“You’re a smart girl and you make good choices. What’s the last decision you made that you regret?”

And finally, my mind stood still.

Don’t get me wrong; I’ve made plenty of choices in life that I’d like to go back and rework, handle with greater finesse, or maybe just tone-down a bit (hello, college). But I couldn’t think of a single path I’d chosen that I would completely reverse. Not one.

Not all of our choices lead us to good places, at least not right away, but I think that we have to allow ourselves to be ourselves, in order to really become who we’re supposed to be. Dogs do what feels right without thinking, what they’re supposed to do, and we could learn a lot from them.

Having a Day

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It never ceases to amaze me how similar females can be – despite the differences you might initially observe. Sure, there are introverts and extroverts, blondes and brunettes – and I may be going out on a limb here – but I really do feel that at the core, we’re all the same, us gals. But in a good way, that brings us together and makes us a powerful force.

Last Friday, I was sitting at the airport waiting for a flight, when a woman girl my age plopped into the seat next to me and spontaneously burst into tears. I’m not especially good with criers, despite being quite an accomplished one myself, but this particular crier was in too close proximity for my awkwardness to let me be a jerk. So I asked what was wrong and if she needed anything.

We were perfect strangers, but I could tell just by looking that she was having a day. You know, A DAY. Where everything goes wrong and you feel alone and sad and just want to give up. As a two-year-old, we would scream and throw things, but as adults we often bottle this stuff up. Or, we cry at airports.

She told me her story, and it really was a day from hell; the least of it being when her iPhone fell in the toilet before she’d come to sit next to me. But as we talked, for 45-minutes before even exchanging names, it became clear to me that I’ve been in her situation many times. And sometimes, all it takes is someone listening, without judging, to make us feel ok again.

I think we all have our fair share of feeling more pulled apart than put together, and I’ve found it’s often the ability to relate to someone that makes us feel normal again. Knowing that someone else has felt the way we’re feeling when we’re low, gives us reassurance that we’ll end up on top again.

I love the way women provide this reassurance to each other, regardless of our age, occupation or tax bracket.

And sure enough, as soon as we reassure another troubled soul, we’ll wind up back in our own chaos, looking to receive the same sort of advice we just imparted. It’s a beautiful mess and I’m just thankful to be along for the ride.

“Hi Jessica, I wanted to thank you again for helping me out so much at the airport. You seriously saved me and helped me to calm down so much! Hope you had a blast in Vegas. If you’re ever in town again, we’ll have to grab drinks… No crying on my part and my phone is definitely not allowed in the bathroom.”

bizarro world: charity style

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Earlier this week I wrote about some troubling political fights occurring within the Republican primaries. And if I’d been asked to describe the Bizarro World equivalent of this scenario, I probably would’ve said, “It’d be when two wonderful and interrelated non-profits go to war with each other.”

Because the way non-profits work together is typically the polar opposite of how two politicians relate.

Doh.

If you’ve been following the media storm that ensued when Susan G. Komen for the Cure pulled funding from Planned Parenthood, you likely have a new perspective on the politics behind charity. I find both these organizations to be wonderful, and have always supported their work. And despite this massive bump in the road, I doubt my views will change. You also may have strong opinions about what was right and wrong in this situation – and that’s allowed – it’s the wonderful part about living in a democratic society.

The only proverb I’ve ever memorized is, “First learn, then form opinions.” If everyone did it, we’d all be smarter and more peaceful. So stick with your values when big issues like this are brought to your attention, but also be courageous enough to consider the other side of the equation.

working it out

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My first real job started right after college. I was barely 22 and accepted a position working in communications for the county government. If you’ve ever watched Parks and Recreation, you can visualize exactly what it was like.

At my interviews, I wore a suit, asked all the right questions and even took notes. I sent handwritten thank you notes and practiced my acceptance and decline speeches. But this was my first job – which means there were some big things I didn’t consider in the interview process – beyond the fact that I would get paid EVERY TWO WEEKS.

What did I forget, you ask? Oh. Nothing much, but the following question would’ve been tremendously helpful:

“Say, does anyone under the age of 57 work here?”

Because the answer would have been a great big NO.

I’m not exaggerating. You see, in this particular facet of the county government, there was a rare magnetic force beneath the building that sucked in retirees and rejected millennials. Uh, except me. I was fortunate enough to make it past the secret youth filter and landed smack in the middle of the wrong generation. Who knows, maybe they needed me for a quota.

But, it was a good job. And I learned a bunch. But I was so lonely I think a small rain cloud followed me around between the hours of 8 and 5. The picture above is the only photo taken of me at this job, working at an event – and that “smile” was masking terror…the gentleman on the right was my big scary boss.

Which is why one day, when a consulting firm came in for a project meeting and I saw someone in his TWENTIES, I was full of glee. I latched onto said young person with such enthusiasm I’m surprised he didn’t hightail it out of the office.

My reaction was something along the lines of the baby bird in the Dr Seuss book Are You My Mother, only it was the unabridged version, For the Love of All Things Holy Please be My Friend.

Fortunately for me, this other young person was also looking for a friend. So we hung out, and did young person activities (like we did in college, but were too ashamed to discuss with older coworkers). And together, we survived the transition into working. Which is not at all like college, no.

It had been a few years, but I met up with this buddy today and we had a good time reminisicing. We’ve both since escaped to jobs that are better fits, but have never quite forgotten what it was like to be the new kid, and the honorary grandkid.