By, Rachel Martin
I have finally come to the realization that I have a good resume. I’ve worked hard and I am proud of what I’ve done. So, I totally agree with Christine in her post “Changing Fields” when she says, “celebrate your victories”. How you do that differs from person to person. Maybe you go out of a happy hour with friends or a nice dinner. For me, it was redoing my resume.
I was looking for a job in the interactive world and got some great hits and a job offer with my newly polished resume. The problem is it’s a little below me, but it’s exactly what I want to be doing. I was offered a 3-month UNPAID internship to learn how the website works and then after that term I would become a real employee.
During the interview she told me I had the position and wanted me to meet with a few other people who had gone through the internship and were now real employees. A newly graduated, tall boy walked into the room holding my resume. Someone 5 years younger and with not as much experience was about to interview me.
I had two options: be a total snob and talk about how qualified I am for this job or find out what his background was and how he fell into this job right out of college. I chose the latter. I realized that we just took different paths and he decided to go into websites immediately and I chose magazines.
Bottom line is, I’m totally stoked to start this internship even though I’m 28 years old. It feels right on so many levels and I know this internship will turn into something bigger. Wish me luck, I start August 23rd!
What was the last unpaid job you took? Was it worth it?
How old is too old to take an unpaid internship? I’m already committed to this job, so I won’t change my mind, but I’m very curious…
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If anyone can relate to where you're at in your career, it's Nicole Crimaldi: Nicole spent 5 years in corporate America, switched career paths, worked at a start-up, survived a layoff and is now self-employed. Nicole believes that career satisfaction is a huge part of overall happiness. Therefore, she started Ms. Career Girl to help other women get off the treadmill and onto a more fulfilling path.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Congratulations, Rachel! I think it is awesome that you are doing what it takes to follow your dream and get the perfect career for you! I have never been able to take an unpaid internship, unfortunately, as I always had to earn enough money to pay the bills. BUT, I don’t think you’re ever too old to follow your dreams, so I’m so happy that you are able to accept this offer to do what you want.
What weird timing … my name is also Rachel, and I just found out this morning that I did not get a position I applied for at this really incredible company that I’m dying to work for. After a two minute pity-party, I started thinking about what my next move will be. The job I have now is not going where I want it to so I know it’s time to move.
COINCIDENTALLY … the same really incredible company has a paid internship program that I’ve heard great things about. Even if I have to take a pay cut to do it, the place is literally five minutes from my house, as opposed to my current gig which is 40 minutes away. The money I would save in gas would help even things out.
So I was sitting here thinking, am I too old to do an internship? I just turned 25 last week. Would it be worth becoming an intern again in order to gain some great experience and the chance to get my foot in the door at this amazing company?
I think your decision to go for it might be the boost of confidence I needed to go after this opportunity.
I am newly 25 and just started an unpaid internship last week. I spent two and a half years working in an industry that just didn’t do it for me, and I’m trying to transition to a field where I have very little experience. Yes, I could go and get a degree, but that requires a significant financial commitment…not to mention a time commitment. I may make that commitment in the future, but for now, I’d rather not sign up for a degree unless I know it’s a career I really want to pursue. This internship is allowing me to test the waters and make connections in the industry, and for me, at this point, that’s worth it.
I think if you’re exploring a new field, there can be a time and a place for an unpaid internship, but I also believe a lot of it depends on what sort of work the organization needs you to do. If it’s all stuffing envelopes, there isn’t much point. If they’re able to use the experience you have and build upon that, it may be worth it.
Congrats on the internship!
You’re never too old to take on an internship. Here in France, the national vocational school AFPA, requires all their trainees to undergo an internship – some for just two weeks – to be sure if they want to continue in the vocational training that will help them change their careers. I taught resumes, cover letters, and job searching to adults well into their 50s. Internships are not only great ways to solidify your career dreams, but ways to eliminate dead ends and wrong matches. I knew one man at 60 years old try a painting internship for him to realize that he couldn’t physically handle the demands. He chose to enjoy his retirement in peace and take on a few minor painting projects.
I wish you much success.
Warmly,
Leslie Juvin
Okay, I’m totally with you on the age thing. If you think this internship is going to help your career, then by all means – take it! Age ain’t nothing but a number, baby.
STILL, I’m also 100% against unpaid internships. I worked as an intern last summer at a web-based publisher in NYC after three months of living with my parents. I graduated from college last year, and even though that’s in no way “too old” for an internship, I finally reached the point where I felt working 40-hour weeks for no pay was degrading. The experience was great as I was able to write for a website with a decent readership (building up my clips) and my bosses were nice, but they just couldn’t afford to pay. In hindsight though, that really shouldn’t be my problem…
Don’t hate me, because sometimes you have to do what you have to do, but I think internships are belittling, only for people who can afford them and most don’t offer any actual work experience other than teaching people how to get coffee. I don’t want to list all my negativity here (because I really do love this post), but I wrote a post about this exact topic last year, so if you’re interested: http://bit.ly/8os0bN
Congratulations on your internship! Taking on unpaid work is so worth it! After graduating from college, I was hired as a part-time freelancer which took care of my bills, but knew I needed to do something additional to help me gain additional skills and increase my marketability. That’s when I took on a free gig, designing marketing materials for a conference. I had very little experience in desktop publishing, but I knew taking on this opportunity would force me to learn it—and it did. I spent many hours teaching myself, watching online tutorials, reaching out to my connections with design expertise, etc.—but not one second was wasted time. I was able to spruce up my resume and develop additional skills which helped me to land my full-time position. Doing free work is truly priceless! I continue to do it, even though I have a job because it helps to increase your creativity, expand your network, and keep you moving forward professionally.
Thank you for all of your words of encouragement.
I’m about to enter week 3 of the unpaid internship and so far so good. My days are busy and just because I’m not getting paid I stay until the work is done. Each week I set new goals for myself and this week I am pitching my first story which will hopefully turn into a series. I’ll let you know how it goes!