Taking an unpaid internship

shortnuke
Thu, 18 May 2017 22:00:08 +0000

The first thing that I would do is ask your professor about the legality of the position. Don’t most colleges have placement centers that help vet these types of opportunities? I know many business schools that have their own separate center from the university’s general placement center. If the internship doesn’t sound legal, your school has an obligation to inform the business owner of such.

If the internship appears to be legitimate, you may want to look into it a bit more. How well do you know the company? Who is responsible for the internship (i.e. what is their actual position in the company)? What are their plans over the summer that you’ll be involved in supporting?

We’ve had a large number of craft brewing companies open here over the last few years. Some are fairly large scale in their operation, with distribution to local bars and stores. Others are essentially brew pubs that don’t sell any products outside of their premises. Many are involved in different events throughout the summer (BBQ contests, local fairs and festivals, etc.). Participating in these could be a lot of fun and give you some insight into how these types of events are run. It could also get you into some places for free. I’m making some REALLY BIG assumptions here though. Only the person planning for the internship can provide the details.

Finally, since it’s an unpaid internship from a company that doesn’t sound like it has much experience with interns, you may want to see if you can modify the experience to match your major. Maybe you could shadow the person running their books to understand what GAAP apply to social media budgeting and expenditures.