Tuesday, April 11, 2006
On April 10, I fielded questions with career columnist Mary Ellen Slayter on The Washington Post's Career Track LiveChat.
If you would like to check out the transcript, click here.
There were a lot of great questions, so I will highlight a different question and answer for the next few entries.
Enjoy!
Washington, D.C.: Four weeks till college graduation and no job in sight. However, I may be offered a six-month intern position in New Jersey. This internship is only offered to college graduates and pays $7 an hour. Please tell me how these companies have the nerve to offer such an opportunity to someone just out of college and in debt from college bills? How does a company expect the intern to work full-time for them for $7 an hour and be able to pay for rent and food? I would have to get a second full-time job at night to afford living expenses and pay student loans and therefore, not be at peak performance for the intern job. And then there's no guarantee that I will even be offered a job after the six months!
Brad Karsh: You'll soon find out that lots of companies have nerve! The sad truth is, most companies don't care too much about your loans or your rent or much else. They are in business to make money, and turn a profit.
Fortunately for you, you have the option to simply decline the offer. That's the beauty of the free market system! If no one takes the offer, then they will have to raise their salary.
Another approach is to take the job, do wonderful work, make them fall in love with you, and perhaps you'll get a raise or a full time job before 6 months.
Brad Karsh: Think about your first job or two as an investment. They may not offer the best pay, or the best job responsibilities, but you have to start somewhere. If you think there is a career path for you, if you think it will look good on your resume, and if you think you can learn, you may have to make that investment in a job to ultimately pay off in a career.
Mary Ellen Slayter: You wanna know what's even nervier? In a lot of cases, they'll except you to work at those internships for FREE. Count your blessings.
Click here for the full transcript.
www.jobbound.com
Posted by Brad Karsh on April 11, 2006 at 02:05 PM
Share This!(2) Comments
