Anina
What's the best way to go about approaching your boss to turn an unpaid internship into a paid internship?
Hi! My name is Anina and I'm a high school senior interning at CareerVillage. This question is not about me, as I am in fact being paid. I have a lot of classmates who want relevant experience in their chosen field, but they also need money to pay for college expenses. Is it possible to turn unpaid internships into paid internships? #business #internships #human-resources
4 answers
Kara Pearson
Kara’s Answer
Hi Anina, that's a great question! A lot of college students have this issue. Professional experience is a must, but a college education is a financial responsibility, as well. There are many reasons some companies don't offer paid opportunities. But I'd like to switch gears for a second. Let's not discount unpaid internships just yet.
Something to consider: Some companies simply can't afford to pay their interns. And usually, those are the BEST companies to intern for. Why? Think start-up, brand new companies. Think small companies with only a handful of employees in each department. In these environments, you are given the opportunity to do much more than the average intern. You get to see more, participate in more, and in turn, build your resume more than an internship at a major corporation. That real-life experience, paired with the opportunity to be a "big fish in a small pond" is invaluable. And these companies are flexible. See if your classmates can arrange 8-10 hours a week of unpaid internship hours and work an paid job simultaneously. This was my strategy, and it landed me a great full-time position just weeks after I graduated college.
I hope this helps!
Thank you very much for the advice! If you don't mind my asking, how did you still have time in your day? Doing an unpaid internship, a job, and school at the same time sounds kind of difficult.
Anina
I did 8 hours of an internship, some online courses instead of on campus, and I worked about 15 hours at my paid job. You can always do a summer or winter break internship, as well, when you have a break from coursework.
Kara Pearson
Ah, ok, that makes sense! Thank you :)
Anina
Rachita M
Rachita’s Answer
This is a great question. Here's what you could do:
1. Do your homework: Understand your company's policy around converting non paid internship to paid internship. If it's possible, figure the policy/process that you can expect to go through.
2. Prepare for the conversation: Make a list of your contributions. Build a case why you deserve to now be paid for your time/contributions, especially if there are external opportunities which seem to be coming your way.
3. Have the conversation: Block time on your Manager's calendar, with a clear agenda. Give them the opportunity to prepare ahead of time as well. During the conversation, try avoiding discussing business as usual work queries. Ensure that you walk away from the meeting with clarity on next step.
4. Take action post the conversation: Drop in an email, thanking your Manager for their time, and capturing a summary of what you agreed on as next steps
If conversion to a paid internship is not an option, you will need to weigh between what you stand to gain by staying here vs. other viable options outside. Think this through - better to have a continued experience, rather than a break. Of course, at any time if the work circumstances are not conducive to your mental wellbeing & inclusion, you should think differently, and be open to walking away without any other offer on hand.
Hope this helps. Wish you luck.
Christina E. Rodriguez
Christina E.’s Answer
Hello,
There is still a question of not paying an intern if you are a private sector employer but smaller companies often can't afford to pay their intern. I would suggest that the student look for funding elsewhere. Many campuses have funds that will often be available to students and it is not common knowledge. Some suggestions of where to look for the money: the campus career center, your major's department chair or the dean of your college, the student government body, the president's office. Tell them your story - most have discretionary funds that can only be utilized for students. I've given out close to 1/2 million dollars over the last few years for funding internships.
How to ask - make sure you make the case for funding your experience. Explain why it is important, how you found it and how the opportunity will benefit/align with your academic pursuit.
I hope that helps!
Christina
Nerio Ortigoza
Nerio’s Answer
Hi Anna,
First you need to know what are the types of agreement at the beginning of the internship. I assume it was agreed to be an unpaid an internship and intern agreed on this. Also is required to be clear about the timing for the internship that was agreed. Is this time already elapse ? or actually internship has been extended ? All these questions would be good to know up front prior making the decision to request a paid internship. Now, it is good also to understand the policy of the company around this. Is there others interns in the company that actually get paid? If there is no policy about it and you may be the only intern in the company, plus you have a certain amount of time already there demonstrating a good performance, I do not see any issue in approaching your supervisor and make this valid question: Mr./Mrs. XXX, I being here already for XX amount of months/weeks which was the time we agreed at the beginning for my initial internship. I completed my project with all success and I am enjoining what I am doing and I believe that I can be a good contribution for your team. Is there is an option that the company can recognized the need of an intern in your department budget and this can be turn into a paid internship? This is just an example, but please make sure you are clear about the company situation and approach on this. The worse case scenarios would be that they will say no. So go for it! if at the end, you really need a paid internship, continue looking in other companies while you still performing there.