Internship Traps

Experience, experience, experience. That is what everyone will tell you that you need in order to get a decent job these days. Well, that, and good networking abilities will certainly help. Since it is hard to go to college and work at a job giving you decent resume material, a lot of people look to internships to flesh out their experience for future employers. But that may be a mistake.

Stop falling into the Internship Trap.

1. You are worth more than nothing.
I don't often work for free. That doesn't mean that I don't like working or that money is my only incentive. It just means that I value my time and if your employer did too then they would be decent enough to compensate you accordingly. There are basically two types of unpaid internships: the shady type that expects you to be a gopher and do menial tasks, and the type looking to get top-notch work at a steeply discounted (free) rate. The former is often easy to spot, the latter is much more insidious. Both should be avoided.

2. Internships do not always lead to a good job.
If you can get one of the elite internships and plan on working for that company in the near future, then good for you. But for most people, the internship is just something to add to the resume because they feel they have to have something there taking up space. Make sure the tasks you are responsible for are actually worth the time and effort you will be putting into them, and if they aren't then go elsewhere. You'll be better off putting your energy into other areas instead, which brings me to my next point.

3. Volunteering can often pay off more than internships.
As I mentioned, internships can be a crap shoot among the shady, the useless, and the actually good ones out there. If you want a way to have a little more control over your position, then consider volunteering. There are plenty of non-profits or small businesses that would be thrilled to have a marketing major create a marketing plan for them or talk about tactics and strategy. These are concrete uses of your skills and knowledge and in the long run will pay off better than most internships where you end up pushing paper all day. And the best part is, you can add your volunteer experience to your resume.