Last fall, I was going to community college to prepare for transfer to the university I now attend. I dabbled as an editor for college newspaper. I worked part-time as a graphic designer at a custom t-shirt shop. Though a busy bee by appearance, I lacked creative stimulation. Thus, I decided to peruse the web for an internship to build my skills as a copyeditor.
With little time and effort expended, I found my glass slipper: a copyediting internship based around my other interests and founded in a bustling city with a telecommuting capability. Perfect.
Dim the lights. Cast the curtains. Cue Bach's "Come Sweet Death." It was that bad.
What began as a fortuitous writing gig led by a laxe group of young business people soon morphed into a stressful conglomerate of missed Skype calls and vague deadlines. I should've known better. I e-mailed my two-week notice after only a couple months on the job.
Landing a fitting job or internship is tough enough without the internet -- abundant with scams, technical issues and miscommunication -- as a confounding variable.
Avoid my mistake and follow these tips to avoid a scam, discover a trustworthy company and ensure you land the right internship for you:
- Is the company legitimate?
- Does the company’s website contain important contact information?
Look for an address, phone number, e-mail address and names of important employees.
- What kind of person is the company looking for?
Does the internship call for experience with a certain program? Should the intern work well with deadlines? What personality traits are associated with the position?
- What are the responsibilities of the internship?
Ask for a list detailing expected duties to avoid being saddled with "fine print" jobs, like cleaning up the company e-mail inbox or sending out B2B mail.
- Is the internship paid or unpaid?
- If the internship is paid, what’s the payment method?
Hourly? Pay-per-word? Pay-per-click?
- How long does the internship last?
- How many hours per week are expected?
- Does the internship count as college credit?
Some universities offer actual "classes" to fill with internships. Other times, you have to submit an internship for approval by your school before any college credit is accepted.
- Do interns go through a training process?
- Will you work alone, with another intern or with employees?
- How will you be interacting with employees or other interns?
E-mail? Skype? Phone calls?
- How often will you interact with employees or other interns?
- Is there a contract? Is there an NDA?
Usually, you'll have to sign some kind of paperwork before you start working as an intern. This can including a background check request and a Non-Disclosure Agreement.
- Who retains ownership rights of the content you produce?
Usually, whoever you work for retains full ownership rights of anything you produce, including blog posts, graphic designs and videos. Ask what the company policy is.
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