Would You Work as an Unpaid Intern?

The image is all too familiar: fetching coffee, making copies, doing mundane paperwork.

As you can probably guess, this description fits interns, or at least some of them. You could end up with these kind of duties whether you’re paid or not, but you may be less happy to do them if you’re not paid. You may also feel less valued as an unpaid intern and find it more difficult to make ends meet. On the other hand, you could build your resume with an unpaid internship and learn useful knowledge.

Ultimately, though, for college students or recent graduates, is an unpaid internship worth it? Answering this question requires looking at a few different factors.
Are unpaid internships legal?

Before determining if you should apply for unpaid internships, you should understand the law.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, an unpaid internship at a for-profit establishment must meet the following criteria to be legal:

The internship should be similar to training the intern would receive in an educational environment, even if the internship includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer.

The internship is for the benefit of the intern, not the employer.

The intern should not take the place of regular employees, but can work under close supervision of existing staff.

The employer that provides the training should not gain immediate advantage from the intern’s activities, and on occasion the establishment’s operations could be impeded for the benefit of the intern.

The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship.

It should be clearly understood by the employer and the intern that the intern is not entitled to a wage while in an internship capacity.

If an unpaid internship doesn’t meet this criteria, then it’s most likely illegal. At that point, the employer must pay at least minimum wage to keep the internship going legally. An internship is probably not worth getting caught up in legal issues.

But plenty of unpaid internships are legal, so this doesn’t cross out all unpaid internships as options.
Financial considerations of unpaid internships

If you perform an unpaid internship on top of attending school, will you have time to work? How are you going to pay your bills? According to a Fox Business article, these are some things you need to consider.

“You have to make sure it’s feasible before you commit, so create a financial plan,” the article stated. “First and foremost, arrange a living situation. Try and stay with family or friends if at all possible, but if you’re headed to a new city, look for roommates, sublets and even hostels. Be aware that intern-designated housing is typically slightly more expensive than finding a place on your own, because you’re paying for the convenience and social atmosphere.”

If you can make it work, and the internship’s a good one, then perhaps you should go for it. Otherwise, you may want to look at paid internships.

Other considerations

Some other factors you should consider about unpaid internships are:

Do you think you’ll feel valued as an unpaid intern?
Will it build your resume enough to justify doing it for free?
Can you get credit toward earning your degree for doing the internship?
Will you actually learn from this internship?
Will the internship interfere with doing well in school?
Will the internship interfere with other school activities that are important to you, such as extracurricular activities or a relationship? Is it worth that sacrifice?
Is your internship mentor sufficiently knowledgeable and a good teacher?
Location: Is the internship feasible to get to at the allotted time, given your transportation situation?
Can you plausibly land an equally or higher quality internship that’s paid?

Of course, some of these questions you can’t possibly answer before doing the internship. But you should research and ask the right questions to ensure that the unpaid internship is a good experience and not a waste of time. As a college student who possibly has a job and is balancing a social life and extracurricular activities, you don’t have much time.

An unpaid internship may be a rite of passage, a learning experience, or a resume-builder for a future career. Or you could just fetch coffee, make copies and do mundane paperwork. Whichever it is, make sure it’s legal, financially plausible, and worth it before accepting it.

Top five careers in 2014: What they have in common

Young people across the world are finding it hard to get sustainable employment or any kind of job for that matter. Most governments, including Kenya, have placed job creation as high priority. But in the midst of the job scarcity, there are professionals that are highly sought, where jobs look for them.

The one thing that runs through these careers is the fact that these jobs are in demand across all sectors, industries and organisations. But there is a catch; You have to be highly specialized or very talented to have companies chase after you.

1. Software Developer
According to Forbes.com, software developers are high in demand. The career includes applications and systems software development. There has been a steady growth in the demand for software developers over the last three years. A degree/diploma in computer science or IT will more likely lead you to a career in software or system development. But there are a number of proactive individuals who have learned how to code independently. This career is on demand because it is not industry specific. Nearly all sectors or companies need a system they can use to improve their operations

2. Accountants and Auditors
Accountants and auditors are needed in virtually all organisations. You can be assured any company worth its value will have an accountant. The more organisations come up, the more accountants and auditors are needed. This is also one career where mobility is very high with highly qualified accounting professionals sought after.

3. Marketers and Sales Executives
Another career that cuts across all sectors. But its not enough to just be a marketer – there are enough marketers in the market – you need to have specialised skills. If you have experience in market research analysis or strategic marketing, you have an edge over thousands seeking for the same opportunities. In sales, you will only be in demand if you are specialized in a particular field and have brought in a few key clients.

4. Computer Systems Analysts
A systems analyst’ work is to ensure computer systems in an organization are working efficiently and effectively. This category will also include network and system administrators. Due to the nature of their job description, system analysts are employed by medium to big corporations. A bachelors degree is required for this career but several software and computer vendors like Oracle and Microsoft offer specialized certification courses, making system analyst a high sought profession.

5. Human Resource Personnel
Organizations are about people management and processes. The science of human resource management has been gaining popularity over the last few years. Like the other ‘hot jobs’, HR management is needed in all organisations.

Five tips for balancing internships and school

The beauty of an internship is that you can devote most of your time and energy to the internship, since you’re probably not in school. Fall and spring interns don’t have the same luxury though, and often find themselves balancing a full course load, an internship, and possibly even a job. Can it all be done?

It can, if you know how to balance it all. Here are five tips for balancing internships and school.

1. Know your priorities

Before starting your internship this coming semester, know your priorities.

Give some thought to which of the two you value the most: your internship or school. They don’t have to be at odds, but if you have an especially busy schedule this semester putting more time into one and less into the other may unfortunately be the case.

Knowing your priorities ahead of time allows you to not make rash decisions in the moment. You’ll know if you need to cut down on hours at the internship, drop a course, or just dedicate more time to one and less to the other. Again, it may not come down to this but it’s good to be prepared ahead of time, to know how to react when situations arise.

2. Be upfront about your school schedule

It’s important that the company you’re interning at knows your school schedule ahead of time and knows your commitment to sticking to it. According to The Intern Coach Colleen Sabatino, discussing your school schedule with your internship supervisor should be a high priority.

“Your concern over these other obligations demonstrates to your supervisor that you’ll have the same dedication to duty at your internship,” Sabatino wrote.

If the internship is for school credit, they will most likely respect your class schedule. If not, you may have to decide if the internship is worth missing school over. In most cases, the answer will probably be “no.”

3. Schedule in some down time

It’s not healthy to fill up every part of your day with school, work or your internship. As writer Harrison Kratz suggests in an article for Huffington Post, you should make time for everything, including physical and mental health.

“This might include scheduling down time in addition to your internship and classes, so you will definitely have time to relax around your busy schedule,” Kratz wrote.

Having that relaxation may allow you to perform better in both school and your internship. Don’t get burnt out. Schedule it in. Maybe this means a nap, a movie, coffee with a friend or even doing some exercise. Whatever gives you energy or a physical or mental break, do it.

4. Outsource your errands

If you’re having an especially busy day or week with school and your internship, you’ll need to cut down as much time as possible on other things to make it work. This is where outsourcing comes into play. Paying others to do your chores may sound like something only rich people do, but consider even the small ways you can outsource time-consuming tasks, suggests Jen Uscher in an article about work-life balance for WebMD.

Uscher wrote, “Could you order your groceries online and have them delivered? Hire a kid down the street to mow your lawn? Have your dry cleaning picked up and dropped off at your home or office? Order your stamps online so you don’t have to go to the post office?”

You may, during especially rough days, ask for help from friends, family or a significant other. Don’t be prideful. Make it work.

5. Suggest remote work, if necessary

If school and your internship have definitely clashed to the point where one or the other needs to take priority, one solution is to ask your internship manager if you can do remote work. for example, if a school project or meeting has come up during your regularly scheduled intern hours, ask if you can do your work for the day from home.

Asking to take work home will look better than just straight up cancelling. Assure them you’ll be sure to keep track of how long it took you to complete it. Don’t make a habit of this, though. Do it only if it’s absolutely necessary.

Earning your degree and furthering your career don’t have to be at odds. You can balance the two, if you’re proactive and flexible.

Beware! Your future employer is looking at your online profile

Employers are increasingly doing back-ground checks on candidates that apply for positions in their companies, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University. The findings of the study showed that between 10-30% of US companies search social networks for job applicants’ information early in the hiring process.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the study found a Muslim was less likely to be given a chance before the interview panel compared to a Christian, especially in conservative states. The Carnegie Mellon University experiment created dummy CVs and social-media profiles and sent them to agencies and firms.

“There is so much information we reveal about ourselves online, sometimes in ways we do not even realize,” said Charles Mickael, an information-technology and public-policy professor at Carnegie Mellon and one of the study’s authors

courtesy of Capital Campus

Your hobbies may be dragging you down

In writing CVs my favorite part is where I put down my hobbies. It’s the one part of a CV where you actually tell things about yourself in an unbiased and unfiltered way. So if in the body of your CV you paint yourself as sophisticated and refined then under hobbies you have football, singing, traveling, dancing and socializing you may just have contradicted the body of your CV.

Now you may need to get rid of those ratchet hobbies from your CV. All those things we love but are not fitting on a future C.E.O’s CV need to go. Rugby, soccer, basketball are not fitting hobbies. You need to replace those with golf, polo and or squash. Notice the higher up you go the smaller the balls become.

You need to find new swanky hobbies that allow you to knock balls with the who’s who, hobbies that allow you into high society by virtue of what you play. Instead of farming skuma wiki in your back yard, you need to consider growing orchids or better still get rid of gardening on your CV and add in viniculture.

Get rid of traveling on your CV, executives travel for work, they stopped enjoying it; add to your CV silence. No, I don’t know what that means either but it seems to impress prospective employers. If you’re trying for a creative, marketing or artsy position you may want to toss in photography and or wine tasting.

It’s not all glum and dreary pastimes on a CEO’s hobby list if you want to portray a more vibrant out going persona then add in, scuba diving, archery, target shooting, rock climbing, bungee jumping, snorkeling, rafting and rappelling. Of course it helps if you’ve at least attempted these sports at least once you’ll be surprised how affordable and enjoyable they are and you may actually pick up a hobby.

And while you’re at it be real don’t say things you have no idea about. Don’t be trying to impress someone and say you enjoy the Australia opening that happened in Vienna Austria. So get real hobbies, there are no people as sad as those who do not care deeply for anything in particular.

What business schools don’t teach students but should

For years, some business schools have gotten away with just providing a textbook education but companies are looking for more than facts and figures. They want to see practical competence in the practice of business, like teamwork skills, along with character strength. For college students looking to get a head start, here are a few skills to brush up on:

                                                                 Dress the part. 
 it’s very important to dress the part. Most companies have a dress policy: mostly business casual Monday through Thursday, smart casual on Friday. However it depends with the companies Why? Because that’s what companies expect.

Depending on the career path you choose to pursue, make sure what you wear to class reflects the industry standard. By doing so, you come off as more professional to your professor and peers.

                                                   Know when technology is appropriate.
 Many students fall into the millennial generation and have grown up in a digital world. They are adept at texting and tweeting, pros at posting selfies and addicted to being in constant, instantaneous contact with their environment.

The business world is different. You actually have to sit through an hour-long meeting without checking your cell phone, Facebook or instant-message platform.

Get into the habit at school. Learn to turn off your phones and pay attention. Not only will you show respect for your professor and classmates, but you will be more focused on what is happening in class. Hey, you might even learn something.

                                         It’s still about people and connections are vital.
 Our digital world has replaced many things, including face-to-face interaction. But in the business environment, people still communicate with each other in-person.

To make it in the real world, developing communication skills is key. Learn how make small talk, network, get to know many people and exercise humility and appreciation.

                                                        Be open to feedback. 
 No one likes criticism but being critiqued is something that is constantly occurring in workplace. Assessments are starting to become more common. Understandably, some feedback may sting, but it only makes people better. So if you are receiving an assessment, be receptive. Ask questions and be open to different perspectives. This will not only improve your personality but also your job productivity

The Most Shocking College courses

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Capital Campus

Listed below are the world’s completely ridiculous college courses being offered at U.S. universities.  The description following each course title either comes directly from the official course description or from a news story about the course…

What if Harry Porter is real” (Appalachian State University)

 This course engages students with questions about the very nature of history. Who decides what history is? Who decides how it is used or mis-used? How does this use or misuse affect us? How can the historical imagination inform literature and fantasy? How can fantasy reshape how we look at history? The Harry Potter novels and films are fertile ground for exploring all of these deeper questions. By looking at the actual geography of the novels, real and imagined historical events portrayed in the novels, the reactions of scholars in all the social sciences to the novels, and the world-wide frenzy inspired by them, students will examine issues of race, class, gender, time, place, the uses of space and movement, the role of multiculturalism in history as well as how to read a novel and how to read scholarly essays to get the most out of them.

Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame (The University Of South Carolina)  

Lady Gaga may not have much class but now there is a class on her. The University of South Carolina is offering a class called Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame.  Mathieu Deflem, the professor teaching the course describes it as aiming to “unravel some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavours.”

The Science Of Superheroes (UC Irvine)

 Have you ever wondered if Superman could really bend steel bars? If you could fly like iron man? Would a “gamma ray” accident turn you into the Hulk? What is a “spidey-sense”? And just who did think of all these superheroes and their powers? In this seminar, we discuss the science (or lack of science) behind many of the most famous superheroes. Even more amazing, we will discuss what kind of superheroes might be imagined using our current scientific understanding.

Learning From YouTube (Pitzer College)

What does it take to have a YouTube hit? About 35 students meet in a classroom but work mostly online, where they view YouTube content and post their comments.  Class lessons also are posted and students are encouraged to post videos. One class member, for instance, posts a 1:36-minute video of himself juggling and others analyze it.

The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur (University of Washington)

The UW is not the first college with a class dedicated to Shakur — classes on the rapper have been offered at the University of California Berkeley and Harvard — but it is the first to relate Shakur’s work to literature.

Cyberporn And Society” (State University of New York at Buffalo)  

With classwork like this, who needs to play? Undergraduates taking Cyberporn and Society at the State University of New York at Buffalo survey Internet porn sites.

Getting Dressed (Princeton University)  

Kenyan campus students need this one too. A lecturer looks over the roomful of freshmen in front of her and asks them to perform a warm-up exercise: Chart the major moments of your lives through clothes. “If you pop open your closet, can you recall your lives?” Well here, freshmen are offered a bonus first year only course on how to dress.

How To Watch Television (Montclair University)

This course, open to both broadcasting majors and non-majors, is about analyzing television in the ways and to the extent to which it needs to be understood by its audience. The aim is for students to critically evaluate the role and impact of television in their lives as well as in the life of the culture. The means to achieve this aim is an approach that combines media theory and criticism with media education