An internship is one of the most valuable assets in your post-graduation search for a job. These internships provide the necessary industry experience that employers are looking for when hiring new candidates. Recently, Universities had an even bigger push to encourage their students to start early with the search for internships, hosting events such as career fairs, tabling from companies and sending out application links through mass communication emails.
Though some of these internships are paid, not all interns receive monetary compensation for their work. Some companies offer internships where the main form of compensation is purely through the experience through the duration of the internship.
There are criteria that must be met by an unpaid internship to make them legal. So, when applying, make sure your employer meets these requirements. Here are some of the criteria an unpaid internship must meet in order to be legal:
- The internship’s training is educational in nature
- The intern directly benefits from the unpaid work
- The employer does not directly benefit from the intern’s work
- The intern is a supplement to and not a replacement of paid employees
- The internship does not guarantee employment with the employer
- The intern consents to providing work without pay
*Source – https://www.honorsociety.org/articles/pros-and-cons-unpaid-internships*
Though you are not being paid, an unpaid internship can still be an invaluable tool to assist with landing a job after college and growing your network.
Meet Andrew, a Junior, studying Business at Kansas State University. Andrew is in the first semester of his junior year and already one of the biggest topics of discussions is which companies invited his peers for an initial interview from the career fair. Andrew had received a variety of interview requests from multiple companies, but only one where the internship would be based out of the location, he wanted… Kansas City, MO. While interviewing with this Kansas City company for an internship in their accounting department. The interviewer tells Andrew the internship is unpaid and consists of observation and training. Initially, Andrew is concerned about how he will support himself through the summer but also recognizes that experience from this company is sure to either land him a job within the company or be enough to look for post-grad employment elsewhere.
A few weeks down the road, Andrew receives an offer from the Kansas City company for an unpaid internship during the upcoming summer. Andrew is ecstatic and more than prepared to take this offer, but there are some key things he should know prior to making this move.
Since he will not be receiving monetary compensation throughout his time as an intern, it is imperative that he prepares months prior to the internship. The first method of preparation will be through creating a Spending Plan. This spending plan acts as a budget for the months he is in school leading up to the start of the internship in summer. As he continues the school year, he can track his expenses along with the money he receives from his part-time, on-campus job to create an excess number of resources to save for the following month.
After a couple of months, Andrew was able to save an amount he deemed would be appropriate to live on for the duration of the internship. Having this plan in place and executing it successfully is what allowed Andrew to go into his summer internship worry free.
Just like Andrew, you can visit Powercat Financial to have a Peer Financial Counselor guide you through the spending plan to ensure you are comfortable starting your internship!
Upcoming Events:
Live Your Best Life – October 16th, 12:00-1:30pm in the Union Courtyard. Come join us for a fun, interactive game of life where you can learn how to make important financial decisions in your life. We will have food and prizes for those who come!
Financial Well-Being Ambassador Meeting – November 6th, 4:00-5:00pm in the Big 12 Room at the Union. Want to be apart of Powercat Financial and learn how you can help spread financial literacy around campus? Come join us at our monthly meeting to learn more!
Cristian Pena
Peer Financial Counselor I
Powercat Financial
