Your Worst Internship Stories Paint a Tough Picture for Young Professionals
Unless you’re a member of the small fraternity of genius-wunderkind-dropouts, it’s no longer possible to succeed in business—or any professional field—without really trying. And if you want to acquaint yourself with any sort of career advancement, you’re going to be an intern.
intern
verb
1. confine (someone) as a prisoner, esp. for political or military reasons.
2. serve as an intern.
The internship is an inevitable fate for bright young professionals, and while I’m sure there are some rewarding and downright fun internships out there, most ex-interns would circle definition one as the most accurate description of the word (especially since most are unpaid). A descendant of the apprenticeship, the internship rose to prominence in the 1980s when business schools began using them as a training tool. Thirty years later, the word intern conjures images of latte runs, mail carts, and poorly executed Windsor knots. But there’s so much more to an internship than that.
Those brave interns who tirelessly churn the gerbil wheel that is the internship position are often debased and humiliated in pursuit of professional glory. Some are forced to wear elaborate costumes, others must canvass the streets for petition signatures, and the lucky few get to witness an office fistfight.
With the spring semester now complete, a cadre of fine young collegians are descending upon office buildings everywhere, eager to gain professional experience and no money whatsoever. As an homage to these lemmings, we’ve collected horror stories from now-thriving professionals who triumphed over intern adversity. Let their recounts give you hope, and remember: a latte is the one with steamed milk, a cappuccino is the one with all the foam.
B. F. – Horrible Bosses
Breanne Fultz was on the top of the world when she secured a paid internship in a social media position. The unfortunate thing is that she never got paid and the only position she was in was unemployed. After quitting her full time job, she showed up for her first day of work only to learn the position had been put on hold. “It turned out the two owners had vastly different ideas on how to proceed with their business and had had a giant fight the night before,” said Breanne. She never heard back from the horrible bosses and spent three months struggling to find a job. She is now a Social Media Coordinator for a spa in Canada. Read the rest of this entry »