hmm… this question arises commonly in every person’s mind one who has completed his graduation or up to finish and looking for a career. what’s the answer for Is it worth doing an unpaid Internship? Read the whole article I will surely guide you whether it’s a good option or not with in-depth analysis step-by-step.
As I come across different types of people in life, this question was discussed many times, so I may give you the proper answer for this. The mindset of doing an unpaid internship is different from the mindset of an employee. Here’s why?
As a Student Point
When a student gets the opportunity to do an unpaid internship either at the time of studying or after the completion of graduation most likely they will go for it, the reason is they think it can be added to the resume and get a good job with the experience.
Yes, it’s true, when you go for the interview many people apply for the same job but you will have the slight competitive advantage of having some months of experience and increase the chance of getting selected.
As an Employee Point
When an employee gets this opportunity most likely they will not be interested in working for a company without pay. Because they know the industry well how companies use them in the name of internships.
Then it is not worth I’m saying? No, it has 2 sides some people like to do unpaid internships by leaving their current job only when the position is offered higher or get benefits by doing so and some people reject the opportunity even though the company is reputed because money matters for them. So, it all depends on you how you think and proceed further.
As an Employer Point
Each employer will have a different object for hiring unpaid interns, for startups, the reason may be the budget is low but still, they want to run the business, at that point of time they may hire for 3-6 months as interns and they keep the position same even after the interns left for newcomers so that without paying anything their work is done.
Not all companies/organizations do that instead they pay less amount for the internship period and make you a permanent employee when they see value in you. Even big companies provide internships, not because only from their budget perspective, but they want to get talented people out of the crowd to save time and money.
Things to Remember Before Joining Unpaid Internship
1. Firstly, You have to see the time period of the internship, if it is for less time you can go for it and if it is for a long time suppose 6 months to 1 year without pay then you need to think.
2. You have to select the internship only that is related to your career, for example, you are specialized in HR and you are doing an internship in data science it may help you personally but not career-wise.
3. You should analyze after completion of the internship how it’s gonna be useful in your career.
4. Before joining please go through the online reviews made by the old interns or employees about the company, where you will get to know certain things how the company operates. You cannot totally depend on this because some competitors leave bad reviews to downgrade but you’ll get an idea.
5. While you face the interviewer ask them after the completion of the internship will they hire you as an employee if the performance is good.
6. Initially, you will be motivated to join but as days go on you’ll feel demotivated and feel why you joined because no reward will be given for your work so think twice before joining.
7. If you are already working somewhere and got this unpaid internship opportunity, then you have to be very careful while taking the decision because you will lose the regular income, opt only if you have the confidence that taking this internship will help in your career growth.
Advantages of Unpaid Internship
- Suppose if an industry is too competitive and it’s hard to find jobs, then doing an internship will give you the experience and time to search for a job.
- It helps in connecting with new people, and many times your network helps in fetching you a job.
- You will learn new skills within a short period of time that helps in your next job.
- Suppose if your work is liked by the employer you will have a high chance of getting offers to work as a regular employee.
Disadvantages of Unpaid Internship
- You will not be paid for your hours and months of hard work. If you are financially free not a problem but if you have financial commitments it’s better to stay away.
- Some companies may use you and send out for their benefit, it’s hard to identify the objective of the companies.
- Some internships work remotely like online or submitting on a weekly or monthly basis. These are not worth it because you alone work from a place and you will have lesser chances of learning new skills and interacting with co-interns or employees.
[ Also Checkout: How to Contact an HR of a Company? ]
Conclusion
Taking Unpaid internships blindly wastes your time and money, so do some research about the company before you join. Many times you will learn more things in new companies than big companies because you will be exposed to all types of work whereas in big companies all the work is divided and allocated to groups that operate in a process. Hope you got the value reading this post if you have any doughts comment below!
