The increasing workload, overburdened editors, and unclear communication all eventually got to me. My contributions weren’t paid, or even acknowledged. I couldn’t help but think too many times, “Why the hell am I putting up with this sh**?” If I had a sense of the work conditions and employer expectations from the beginning, at least I could say I got myself into it (or opted out in an informed way).

Learning:

For a first internship, I didn’t even know what to expect, let alone what pitfalls to look out for. My former manager’s e-mail makes it clear enough: clarify the work you’re expected to do, the conditions, time commitment, and even what the employer will offer (such as skills mentoring).

Ask your employer for regular report cards.

Photo by Jaclyn Clark via Unsplash

Tests in school exist to give you an idea of where you stand in a course. You find out what you’re doing well and what needs to be improved, so that you aren’t slapped with a failing grade at the end of the year.



Unpaid internships aren’t any different. By requesting regular employer reviews, you are demonstrating a desire to perform well and get honest feedback. For example, my (paid) internship at Oursky has quarterly reviews with template questions that help my supervisor highlight my performance standard and suggestions for improvement. We also go over the goals we set at the beginning of the quarter and whether I’ve improved and/or achieved them. Paid or not, I have have a way to track my skill development.

Learning:

It’s usually easy to schedule regular meetings, weekly, bi-weekly, and no less than once a month. But feedback may not be on the top of your supervisor’s priorities, which is why my former boss emphasized requesting the “type of feedback to expect”. If they’re not proactive, then you can give them a simple sheet labelled “doing well” and “needs improvement” for them to drop notes.

If this internship was a race with a first prize of paid work, is there a clear finish line?

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Ambiguous requirements such as “team player” or “go-getter” on job descriptions aren’t helpful goals to work towards. How do you measure them?



It’s easy to be the “new guy” and help with any project that pops up, especially in an exciting startup environment. However, this translates to a minimal amount of progress in a bunch of different projects, especially in a short-term position. Even more, your tasks usually consist of lower-priority tasks that no other employee has the time to do.



What skills will you walk away with? What accomplishments can you own?



Ask for what my former manager called “the guidelines that will ensure the position turns into something paid”. Treat the answer to this question as the prime puzzle to be solved during your internship. “If I achieve goal x, will I then be guaranteed a paid position afterwards?” For example, in my case, it may be increasing traffic to the company site by 10% or recruiting x number of influencers for our company’s product.

Learning:

Meaningful goals throughout an internship are the “the guidelines” that my boss refers to her email. Having achieved targets gives reason for the company to hire me if a position opens up, and if not, at least I have something in my portfolio.

“F*** you, pay me.” — Paulie from Goodfellas

Photo by Fabian Blank via Unsplash

The phrase “competitive salary” sounds promising, doesn’t it? It’s vague enough to get your imagination soaring, but concrete enough by comparing to the market to sound legitimate. But nothing is as legitimate as an actual number.



A common startup refrain is: “We’ll see when the time comes.” But if you don’t bring up the topic of pay before starting your internship, are you actually likely to bring it up afterwards? It can be quite an awkward conversation.



If you don’t get a firm number, will you be willing to take anything your employer offers you at the end of three months? If it’s too low, will you feel resentful in taking it?



Learning:

It doesn’t hurt to ask how much the pay would be before starting the internship. It seems pushy, but it’s just clarifying that, if you get a paid position, there’s a certain amount you’re already okay with. My former boss’ reminder validates my right to ask a question so I can put a worry behind me before I start my internship.

Get everything in writing. Everything.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash

A written agreement tops a reassuring voice any day. There’s no point in discussing everything in the beginning and having it become a “he-said-she-said” a few months down the road.

Of course, most startups don’t want to deal with the formalities when they’re busy trying to make their company work. The startup I was excited about took months before they wrote down what they would guarantee me. I had to gently remind my boss many times (another story unto itself).



There’s nothing more anxiety-inducing and worrisome than not knowing what will happen. No one wants to spend three months of their life working towards something that doesn’t actually exist, and that’s what I was caught in.



Learning:

If I were to go back, I’d get a written contract drawn up and signed within two weeks of beginning the internship. And if that isn’t feasible, at least get an e-mail from the company with all the terms (including hours, compensation at the end of the unpaid term, guidelines and delivery targets) that you respond to with an acceptance. The e-mail acts as an initial agreement and has legal weight.

TL;DR for getting from an unpaid to a paid position.

Establish:

Employer expectations: work output and targets, and your time commitment

Specific guidelines and goals that will translate to a paid position if reached

Exact pay for part-time or full-time staff

All of the above in writing before starting and agree to the terms (even if not a contract, an e-mail counts as a formal agreement)

Unpaid internships are great opportunities — also for things to go wrong. But if you guard against the downside with clear expectations before and throughout your internship, you can focus on performing well and improve your chances of a paid position afterwards.



Everything did not go as seamless as described in the email, as was to be expected. The bumpy ride leading up that moment is another article unto itself, but the fact still stands — my former boss’s advice helped me eventually get my first pay cheque at the startup where I currently work.