Elusive Internships

Reading through some of my morning blogs I visit, I noticed a trend in people being unwilling to take the prospect of "free labor," whether it be from student interns (undergrad, law, etc) or attorneys who have been laid off due to the economic climate. They are afraid that they will be un-motivated, perform poorly or feel that they are too good for the work that they are given.



I say, judge each situation on the individual who is applying for the work. In my case, I had to have my internship this semester in order to get my Paralegal B.A. I looked for 6 months, taking resumes around every week to solos, firms, courts, banks, etc. No one would give the time of day. They said they didn't have the work for the employees they did have, much less someone else, they didn't want to train someone, or they had poor interns previously. Needless to say I was frustrated. Now I am not someone who shows up unreliably nor does shoddy work. I am in the top of my class and run a successful business, but all people saw when I went around for my internship was the fact that I was a student who was free labor, therefore I must be sub par.



Luckily I finally found an internship in a local court. They loved my credentials, loved the fact I didn't expect to be paid, and appreciate my punctuality and work ethic. I think that this internship is perfect for me as a future lawyer as I get to work closely with the judges and lawyers who spend their time at the court, and I get to see how the court works from the inside rather then from the out.

Volunteers, interns and other free labor should be judged on the positives that they bring to the table and what they can contribute to the business/firm/organization. Just because we are free doesn't mean we, or our work product, are sub par.