ARTICLE: Everything You Need To Know About Internships. The Good, Bad & The Ugly.

Enticing opportunities will make themselves available to you as you continually make progress towards your goal. You need to be aware of this.

These opportunities can sometimes make you question your original desires.

So you start to question yourself:

Do I really want that, or do I want this?

A woman I spoke to recently told me about a time she was offered an unpaid internship to work for a professional sports team; however, she would have to go six months without being paid until after completion. Though once done, the sky would be the limit for her career.

Instead, she took an enticing paid opportunity in something she was uninterested in. As she reflected, she wished she had buckled down for six months and went after what she truly desired.

I always recommend to go after what’s going to pay you and make you the money (legally).

But don’t sacrifice a goal or a dream because of how long it will take before you start making money. For certain things, it takes a while before the big money starts coming in.

It sucks, having to get up and grind everyday for free, but think long term.

Think of yourself like a business. In the first 2-3 years of business you might not make any money. Hell, you’ll just about be able to break even from all the money you have put into it.

It’s usually after that third, fourth or in some cases, the fifth year when the business will experience exponential growth.

The potential benefits of work experience in the industry you are interested in are significant.

Doing unpaid work will give you the opportunity to build your network and connections with industry professionals. You never know what doors this may open for you in the long run.

Experience is an important consideration for companies as they look at candidates. Thus, you might be passed up by another candidate with more experience if your other qualifications are similar.

So while you might not be making money during an internship, the experience benefits from an internship might offset that.

If you’ve dreamt of working at a specific company, don’t underestimate the importance of working there and meeting people in the company.

If the company that you interned for is planning to hire, you would likely be their top choice. If you have already interned, they would not need to spend the time and money to train you since you have already been there. You would definitely have a lead over the competition.

Your unpaid internship basically allows a company the opportunity to interview you for a long period of time and gives you the opportunity to impress them. In addition, it gives you a risk free way to see the company from the inside and understand whether or not you fit the culture.

So, What Are The Pros & Cons To This?

It depends on what choices are available. For example, if you have to choose between:

• Doing nothing
• An unpaid internship

Then the unpaid internship might be a better choice.

However, if you have an immediate need for money and you have to choose between

• A service industry job
• An unpaid internship

Then it becomes a question of how desperate your immediate monetary needs are, and if the unpaid internship can help you earn more money later in life.

If you are choosing between:

• An unpaid internship
• A paid internship in the same industry (but not necessarily for the same employer or the same job)

Then the paid internship is almost always going to be the better experience.

When employers have invested money into you, they will want to get the business value of their money out of the investment. That means they have to give you a good project and make sure you are doing good work.

For an unpaid internship, your “employer” loses nothing if they do not give you a good project and ensure that you do good work.

The MAIN CONS To Unpaid Work

While there are some great things about taking an unpaid internship, there are also some drawbacks.

Before you make a decision, you should consider the downside of taking these internships.

The most obvious drawback to an unpaid internship is that there is no money.

You could be spending your time off from school working a part-time job where you can get paid.

Unless you are financially stable enough to work for free, you may not be able to consider an unpaid internship.

There are some companies who are using these internships to get work done for free and without needing to offer benefits.

This saves them money, but won’t help you at all.

You could be taking an unpaid internship when you could get the same experience through a paid internship or a part time job. In the end, you could be taking a risk.

While the experience of an unpaid internship can help you get a job, it can also hold you back. If it is between you and someone who had a paid internship, the person who was paid will be more likely to get the job.

As An Ex Unpaid Intern, You Have Less Negotiating Power In Your Salary

Having an unpaid internship on your CV doesn’t always look as good as a paid internship.

When you apply for a job somewhere, the employer may be impressed by your work experience. But then they’ll see you didn’t get paid.

If you take an unpaid internship, you could end up getting lower offers when you are ready to start a career.

There are employers who will see that you were willing to work for free, therefore, they don’t need to offer you much money to actually work for them.

Paid and unpaid internships both look good on your CV, but this is especially the case for paid internships.

When you apply to work somewhere in the future, the employer will take you seriously.

The fact you received a paycheque is likely to tip the scales in your favour. Employers recognise how competitive paid internships are so will be impressed by the fact that you managed to secure one.

If you get paid, you will have more work responsibilities. After all, the money you’re being paid could have been used to hire an employee instead.

Your employer may see you as a replacement employee, not just a trainee, and adjust your workload accordingly. You may learn a lot from the experience, but it won’t be easy.

With that being said, if you are unable to secure a paid internship or find one in a field you want to work in then an unpaid internship will still look good on your CV and show that you have some work experience and will have developed the skills required in the workplace.

Not all unpaid internships put you in your career path.

Paid internships, compared to unpaid ones, are few and far between.

While you may succeed in finding a paid internship, the chances of you getting one in your field of choice are very difficult due to how competitive your field of work may be.

Many people compromise and end up pursuing paid internships in a different industry.

It’s not an industry they trained for. In many cases, it’s not an industry they have much interest in.

They mean to switch back later, but it doesn’t always work out that way. This one of THE MAIN reasons why the number of graduates mismatched to their jobs is sky-high.

If the internship is not in the field that you want to work in, then your chances of securing a job in that field in the future are unlikely as even though you have an internship the skills you gained may not be relevant to the roles you want to apply for.

There are some unpaid internships that require you to file boring paperwork, get coffee, and do other irrelevant tasks that have nothing to do with your chosen field.

While you can say that you interned at a company of your choice, you might not learn much. If you are in a paid internship, the company won’t want to waste the money paying you to do menial jobs.

You Also Want To Check Time Limits

How long does the placement last? If you are considering an unpaid internship, it is good to look for ones lasting less than a month.

Some can last up to a year, although many last between 8 and 12 weeks. Yes, the experience that you will gain is great, but working for someone with no pay for 6 months is probably not worth it.

Work experience - which does not have to be paid* - typically lasts around 1-4 weeks, which is a more reasonable timeframe. For some careers, this may be a bit longer.

This is true especially for full-time placements, as most people will need to work alongside them.

Conclusion

I’m all for delaying gratification and being patient… but in a smart way.

They are certainly valuable in terms of experience and improving your skills. But they reinforce privilege by allowing those who can afford to do unpaid work for an extended period of time while relying on external support.

There are pros and cons to unpaid internships, but it is always best to look for a paid position that will reward your labour and level the playing field in terms of who can access the opportunity.

If you hear about an unpaid internship or you are offered one, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons of the internship before you accept.

In the end, the decision is based on what you need and what you want at the moment and for your professional future.

Is money an issue for you? Can you live on what you have?

Will you need to work part-time?

What's your schedule like? Will you be taking classes during the internship?

How interested and passionate are you about the internship?

Till next time.