When I landed an internship during my freshman year, I was psyched. Not a lot of people start interning so early, right? That meant I would have more time for more internships, and in turn I’d have more experience by the time I graduated, which would definitely give me a leg up on my classmates as we entered the jungle that is job hunting.
Unfortunately, my first internship didn’t go quite the way I imagined. Not only was it unpaid—which was totally cool, because I really was doing it for the valuable experience and references it promised—but in the last few weeks of working (after I had transitioned from an in-person intern to a virtual intern for the summer), my internship supervisor stopped contacting me altogether.
When I requested that they provide me with an end-of-internship evaluation so that I could see how they felt about the work I’d done, I was assured it would be sent to me within the week. Over a month later, I was still waiting.
Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly the awesome experience I expected. Fortunately, I did learn a few lessons during my time as an unpaid intern:
I am so not ready to graduate and leave college life for a real, adult job.
Good thing I’ve still got several semesters until graduating, because I happen to like sleeping in on weekdays and paying little mind to how I look.
Frankly, working so hard and getting zero financial compensation in return sucks.
I've gotten paid at other jobs for doing much less, and much easier, work. It felt as though they were taking advantage of me.
There are other places I’d rather be at 8 a.m.
My bed, mostly.
Criticism is hard to take when it isn’t constructive.
When I’m being told what I’m doing wrong but not really being told why (or how to do it in a different and better way), those criticisms are difficult to accept.
Staying motivated is nearly impossible when you feel undervalued.
The occasional “thanks for your work” didn’t quite do it.
It was probably illegal for the company not to pay me.
The U.S. Department of Labor has laid out 6 guidelines that internships must meet in order to (legally) be unpaid. My internship violated at least one of those guidelines.
Asking questions is a really good idea.
After all, you’re not getting paid, so you might as well try to learn as much as you can while you’re there.
I actually did learn a couple of useful things I probably wouldn’t have picked up in a classroom.
Not as much as I had hoped to learn, though.
I didn’t get a paycheck, but I did get a pretty good idea of whether or not it’s a career I want to pursue.
That’s a definite positive.
Empty promises suck.
Well, OK, I guess it’s unfair to call it a “promise,” but I was told that I’d probably be offered a paid position at the end of my internship. After that, I continued working hard—you know, trying to seal that deal—but that potential position was never spoken of again.
Dressing professionally is hard.
Especially when your wardrobe consists almost entirely of T-shirts, jeans, and leggings.
If nothing else, it’s an experience I can add to my resume.
The moral of the story is that I gave too much and received too little. If I even felt like I could count on the company to get me a letter of recommendation within a reasonable amount of time, then maybe all of my time and effort would feel like it was worth it. But honestly, I don’t think I could count on that. And after the work I did, I don’t feel as though that’s remotely fair.
One thing is for sure: The next time I have an unpaid internship offer on the table, I’m going to spend a lot more time considering whether or not it’s worth it.
