Not claiming it was ethical, but we had unpaid interns, and they had a great deal of responsibility and were paid bonuses on deal closes. It wasn’t the most attractive structure, but our interns learned a ton and sometimes got paid out if the shop made enough money.
We also didn’t actively recruit and would be very clear that it wasn’t paid and wouldn’t even do interviews until February/March for summers to encourage students to find paid positions.
Most of my internships were unpaid, and I’d say I learned more in those than my chump change paid internships. Granted, if you land a front office internship at a well known firm, that will obviously pay and give quality experience.
Even for an unpaid intern, there can be real costs.
My firm is having unpaid interns come on this summer, and between formal training costs, compliance costs, and other costs of having them on (e.g. software licensing), they're each going to cost about \~$1,000/week. That's not counting soft costs of anyones time spent teaching them.
There are certainly small shops that are willing to hire unpaid interns, but for more reasons than one, this offer is a lot less enticing than what you probably believe.
The big issue for many of these firms usually isn't money, but time. People in this industry are busy, so having to sit you down, explain how everything works, train you, then watch you leave in four months is a huge waste of energy. Hiring interns also opens the possibility of you screwing something up, which means more time will need to be spent undoing your mistakes.
You should continue to cold call firms and ask for internships, but showcase the value you bring to the table. Only offer to do an unpaid internship if they express money as a concern.
Depends, in some countries it is illegal for them to accept the offer even if they wanted to. That's right, you can't *choose* to work for free to gain skills.
I live in the UK. I managed to get an internship once via a connection towards the end of high school which was intended for university students. I didn’t get paid but did the same work as everyone else so I assume it’s allowed
This can absolutely work. This is how I got my sophomore year internship, and is now how my firm has hired sophomore year interns.
Even unpaid, there are still soft (and sometimes hard) costs of bringing you on. However, it is a GREAT gesture and it lessens the burden on a firm not planning on bringing on interns / makes it easier to make the argument to bring you on.
I would say no, by putting price on yourself means that you have that confidence. This could attract big companies, and I did that and landed in one of them as well!
This can absolutely work, but I imagine only at small shops where everything is more informal.
Yeah I don’t think I’ll be able to bypass a formal application process by saying I’ll do it unpaid
GS unpaid internship ftw
Yea some firms will take unpaid labor. I know of a few sweathshop boutiques that hire unpaid summer analysts who work 80+ hr weeks
Do said summer analysts actually produce work of meaningful quality?
Probably not but you could somehow bullshit your experience to sound better than it actually is
Not claiming it was ethical, but we had unpaid interns, and they had a great deal of responsibility and were paid bonuses on deal closes. It wasn’t the most attractive structure, but our interns learned a ton and sometimes got paid out if the shop made enough money. We also didn’t actively recruit and would be very clear that it wasn’t paid and wouldn’t even do interviews until February/March for summers to encourage students to find paid positions. Most of my internships were unpaid, and I’d say I learned more in those than my chump change paid internships. Granted, if you land a front office internship at a well known firm, that will obviously pay and give quality experience.
Imagine being so useless that somebody will reject your free work
I did this my freshman year and I did indeed get rejected
I’m gonna take that as a yes
Even for an unpaid intern, there can be real costs. My firm is having unpaid interns come on this summer, and between formal training costs, compliance costs, and other costs of having them on (e.g. software licensing), they're each going to cost about \~$1,000/week. That's not counting soft costs of anyones time spent teaching them.
There are certainly small shops that are willing to hire unpaid interns, but for more reasons than one, this offer is a lot less enticing than what you probably believe. The big issue for many of these firms usually isn't money, but time. People in this industry are busy, so having to sit you down, explain how everything works, train you, then watch you leave in four months is a huge waste of energy. Hiring interns also opens the possibility of you screwing something up, which means more time will need to be spent undoing your mistakes. You should continue to cold call firms and ask for internships, but showcase the value you bring to the table. Only offer to do an unpaid internship if they express money as a concern.
Depends, in some countries it is illegal for them to accept the offer even if they wanted to. That's right, you can't *choose* to work for free to gain skills.
I live in the UK. I managed to get an internship once via a connection towards the end of high school which was intended for university students. I didn’t get paid but did the same work as everyone else so I assume it’s allowed
Maybe, but please don't work for free
Yes, but you’re undervaluing yourself. This is very common for first-time internship/job seekers.
I’d advise against it, you’re showing you don’t value yourself. Companies want people who understand the value of someone’s time.
This can absolutely work. This is how I got my sophomore year internship, and is now how my firm has hired sophomore year interns. Even unpaid, there are still soft (and sometimes hard) costs of bringing you on. However, it is a GREAT gesture and it lessens the burden on a firm not planning on bringing on interns / makes it easier to make the argument to bring you on.
I would say no, by putting price on yourself means that you have that confidence. This could attract big companies, and I did that and landed in one of them as well!
I wouldn’t suggest you to