CONSIDER SEEKING A NON PAID INTERNSHIP IF YOU ARE CHANGING CAREERS.

An internship will give you valuable experience and provide a platform upon which to test new skills, a forum to make contacts, and impress staff and possibly be hired by them or someone else to whom they communicate your talents. Internships, paid or unpaid, are the best ways to learn a job on the job in the direct environment to try out new skills and have some substantial experience to put down on a resume. In addition, they’re not a bad way to seal employment gaps in your resume, either. You accomplish many things at once this way. If you prefer a different arrangement for your needs, you can also see if a company/staff member is willing to have you “job shadow” him/her instead, observing the work flow and how a job is done. It means having the courage to seek out these arrangements. As long as your presence does not in any way, violate union policies, if there is one offered in your desired agency or company, or you seek one out by targeting companies and merely asking/proposing your services to them, you can profit in other ways for entry into a new field other than by earning a salary. You may stay as long as agreed upon, until you find paid employment, or simply want to move on when you feel you have reached your own duration limits for the reasons you became an intern. Companies are often happy to get “free help” and you are happy to test your new abilities so it is a win/win for both—as long as both parties agree. Of course, you may need to network to find an internship, just as you would for a paying job. Check with the labor department about reporting a non-paid internship in relation to continuing to receive unemployment benefits.

2 years ago  /  2 notes  /  Comments