Starting Fresh With an Unpaid Internship
July 18, 2009 by admin
Filed under College Students
Three months after getting laid off from a small visual-effects company in February, Beki Gibney started working again—as an unpaid intern.
“It feels weird being an intern at my age after five years of working,” says Ms. Gibney, 28 years old. “It takes a stab at my pride some days.”
Internships—temporary positions that pay little or no salary—are typically designed for college students or recent graduates exploring potential career paths. But with unemployment at 9.5%, some older laid-off workers are taking on these stints to stay busy, gain new skills and expand their networks. In the meantime, they continue to job hunt and, in some cases, collect unemployment benefits.
Ms. Gibney says her unpaid summer position at Revel In LLC, a small multimedia production company in New York, is introducing her to documentary storytelling, with which she had no prior experience. The internship provides free lunch and coffee, along with less-tangible benefits.
Aric Gutnick
Melissa Pereira, 33, took an unpaid internship after she was laid off.
Read the original article at WSJ