10 Reasons Why Unpaid Internships Are Equally Important

10 Reasons Why Unpaid Internships Are Equally Important

In the toss-up between paid or unpaid relationships, paid internships usually win out for a number of reasons. One main reason is that not everyone can afford an unpaid internship. Another reason is that most people look at money as the only form of compensation. Here’s why unpaid internships are equally important and good.

1. Good Branding

An unpaid internship usually offers good branding, by showcasing you as a young professional, rather than as a per-hour intern. Looking good on paper helps boost your confidence and your ability to succeed.

2. Your Dedication Shows

When you take an unpaid internship, you’re pretty much declaring that you’re doing it for the training and the experience, and not for the money. Your employer gets to appreciate your dedication and attitude, which means doors open for you in terms of opportunities.

3. Unpaid Internships Are Actually Apprenticeships

You have the opportunity to become truly skilled in specific areas within your industry when you take up an unpaid internship. Since the company doesn’t pay you, by law it’s required to offer you more training hours and fewer work hours. You get to benefit in terms of training and experience.

4. Higher Chance Of Securing Good References

You can add some really good work experience to my resume, and also ask for good references when you leave. If you’ve done your job well, and demonstrated the right kind of professionalism, your superiors will have no issue writing letters of reference for you. It’s the least they can do.

5. There Are Plenty Of Valuable Perks To Be Had

Unpaid internships pay in kind, via connections, references, work experience and so on. Among tangible benefits, you can ask for transport allowance or use of company transport, college credit, housing assistance, library memberships, and access to important resources and so on.

6. You Can Ask For Flexible Schedules

Since they’re not paying you, they cannot ask you to do a 9 to 5 and 60 hours a week. Most unpaid internships offer flexible schedules. This allows you to deploy your time the way it works for you, and perhaps get a part time job on the side.

7. You Can Demand Substantial Work

They are not paying you, and you’re doing them a favor by working for free. So feel free to ask for substantial work, serious responsibilities and participation in good projects. As long as you can prove you’re capable, they shouldn’t refuse you.

8. You Have The Chance To Work On Serious Projects

Nonprofit organizations usually offer unpaid internships because they are strapped for resources. However, the plus side here is that at times they depend on interns to manage projects. Intern or employee, everyone is required to pitch in and do what they can. You will gain a lot of valuable, relevant experience this way.

9. You Will Get Greater Work Exposure

Companies that offer unpaid internships are usually non-profits and small businesses. These companies have diverse creative interests, as they are not limited by large-scale corporate policies. A single team will be working on multiple diverse projects, which means you can get a varied experience to add to your resume.

10. You Can Choose To Terminate Ahead Of Time

In a paid internship, you’ll have to toe the line for longer, because in most cases they’ll ask you to sign an offer for a fixed period. Unpaid internships are not entirely legal, and there will be no hold on you. This doesn’t mean you can come and go as you please. However, if you need to take a break to do another job, or perhaps want long leave to tend a sick parent, you can avail it.

Rabby works for Tictwo.com, a company that conducts orientation classes for interns in China, including mandarin coaching, training in cooking Chinese cuisine and exposure to Chinese culture.

Entrepreneurial challenge

Entrepreneurial challenge

One of the biggest challenges encountered by many novice entrepreneurs is rather trivial – a very limited budget for marketing and promotional activities. Without high amounts of money for promotion it is hard to generate leads and grow a newly established business. We can of course do some of the promotional and branding activities on our own – for example design a logo or flyers, build links on forums, etc. But there is always a question of time and quality. On the other hand, professional services can be really expensive – 300$ or more for a logo design service is rather a standard rate. Without much sales or advertising income it is practically impossible to afford good quality marketing services.

Big savings – marketing for small business

A potential solution to this problem has been delivered by Jarek Sandomierski – an entrepreneur and graduate from MSc Technology Entrepreneurship at Univeristy College London. His platform – Adsurf.net can be described as a Groupon for marketing services and products, targeted predominantly to entrepreneurs. The clients can choose from various offers and save up to 85% off the standard rates for the services offered via the platform. Moreover, if you offer marketing, advertising or design services you can get them listed on the website and reach hundreds of potential clients effortlessly.

Various services

Adsurf.net offers services such as banner and flyer design (-70%), social media services, video & radio commercials production, banner ads, website traffic boost, SEO services and many more! All of these are offered at the fraction of standard market rate. Such savings can be achieved because Adsurf’s partners treat the platform as an investment and a way to promote their services to new clients. Adsurf.net works only with best service providers and guarantees great results.

If you are self-employed or run your own startup, website or blog – check out Adsurf.net , save hundreds of dollars for your business and boost your clients and sales.

One of the biggest challenges encountered by many novice entrepreneurs is rather trivial – a very limited budget for marketing and promotional activities. Without high amounts of money for promotion it is hard to generate leads and grow a newly established business. We can of course do some of the promotional and branding activities on our own – for example design a logo or flyers, build links on forums, etc. But there is always a question of time and quality. On the other hand, professional services can be really expensive – 300$ or more for a logo design service is rather a standard rate. Without much sales or advertising income it is practically impossible to afford good quality marketing services.

If you are self-employed or run your own startup, website or blog – check out http://www.adsurf.net, save hundreds of dollars for your business and boost your clients and sales.

Did you Lose Focus?

Did you lose focus last year?  Did you lose focus for the beginning of the year?  Have you not quite gotten the goals, resolutions, whatever it is you call them together?  Here’s how you get back on track with focus:  What I mean by losing focus is:  Have you lost focus on what you should be looking at in terms of your business?  Sometimes, we’re looking at small details and we’re not looking at the big picture.  We’ve lost focus and can’t make progress.  Sometimes, we’re looking at the big picture and never put actual action steps into place.  Again, we can’t make progress with losing focus in that way.  That’s what I mean by losing focus.  And you know if you’re losing focus if you’re losing steam and you’re not making progress.  Losing focus could be not focusing on who you should be focused on.  Sometimes, we have so many employee problems and issues; we’re no longer focused on our clients.  Sometimes, we’re so involved with clients and bad clients and client issues; we’re not focused enough on our employees to make it an environment where they can produce the best for us for what we’re paying.

It’s about where you focus.  Which areas of your business need the most improving?  It’s a lot of fun to work on the things that you’re really good at.  It’s not fun to work on the things that you’re not good at.  So, you’ve got to focus where focus needs to be put.  The things that you’re good at, you’re naturally doing.  You don’t have to focus harder on those.  You do need to make sure those other areas are covered and then what you could do is move forward in the areas that you’re good at because you can make fast acceleration in that area.

When?  The timing is important on what you’re doing.  You can’t just look at industry standards and say, “This is how I’m going to do it”.  What’s the timing for your tribe?  Your particular tribe may like to do things on Saturday’s.  That means that you’ve got to be there for them on Saturday’s.  Your particular tribe might like to do the things at a certain time of day.  You’ve got to make sure that you’re there a certain time of day.  If they check their e-mail on their lunch hour, then you want to be in the e-mail box during the lunch hour.  So timing is really, really important.

Did you lose focus on your why?  They always say “You’ve got to know your why in order to really create something big”.  And that’s true.  You do have to know your why, but for most of us, the why is, we’re doing this so we can make a living and make some money especially the recession.  That’s the recession why.  Just so we can make some money.  What you have to do is you really need to look at the why for your client.  That’s the focus I like to get.  Why would your client want to business?  What do you have that’s so special that they can’t get some place else?  If you’re a commodity and you’re going on low price, then they can buy what you do or sell anywhere, but if you’re something special and unique, then they know that they can only come to you.

So those are the places that, in 2013, you need to focus on.  Here’s your in-depth how-to do this:  Check out where your business is in terms of what, who, why, where and when.  Write it down.  Look at what’s weak.  Assess what’s strong.  Hire in the areas that you’re weak.  Bring someone in.  Bring a partner in.  Bring an employee in.  Bring someone in that can help booster your weak areas and then turbo charge the areas you’re already strong in.  That’s the go-big part.  The stuff that you’re good at, continue to show people that you are just kick-butt good at it and move forward.

Losing focus doesn’t have to go on forever and ever and ever and ever and it doesn’t take a psychological change.  It just means you need to focus a little bit more clearly on your business to get what you should get out of it, which is a thriving business that makes you money.

Your turn, comment below if you lost focus ( or not)

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