CC’s Secret Intern Diary: Interning for “The Designer”

[Everyone's had that internship. The one that sounded awesome but ended up being awful. I had that internship. I thought I'd be reading scripts and doing coverage, but instead, I was leaning over a rickety filing cabinet for 5 hours every day, filing bullsh*t as big Important People stepped over me and constantly forgot my name. I also went on errands for necessary things like laundry, cappucinos, dog food, and cardboard boxes. It was truly a monumental waste of time.

Judging by stories from friends and colleagues, I know I'm not the only one who's done something stupid in the name of free, resume-building labor. When CollegeCandy put out a request for a Secret Intern to write an Internship Diary, we got some truly cringe-inducing stories, but "Elisa's" experience trumped all.

Currently, "Elisa" is interning for a big, flashy 5th Avenue designer. Sounds awesome, right? Well...read on.]

“What are you doing this summer?”

“I’m a marketing intern for a designer on 5th ave.”

“No way!! You’re so lucky.”

Yup. That was me. The “lucky” one. Little did I know I was in for a whole different ride.

I enjoyed my life as a finance/journalism student at Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, but I recently got accepted into NYU Stern. So, I thought I needed to actually do something that had the word “internship” in it. I knew I would eventually want to work in the city, so this just seemed like the right start, without being too boring.

In search of a last minute internship, I turned to seventeen.com, and lo and behold, there were still positions open! Everyone always said that internships in the city are a good opportunity, so I applied for a marketing internship with this big Designer. I had a phone interview, and in 2 days, my boss called me back to tell me I had received the position. Ecstatic, I was jumping around telling everyone about my amazing internship in the city. However, after I received the position, I realized it wasn’t paid. Well, there has to be some type of perks, right? WRONG.

I wanted the internship to make me into a flashy fashionista in the city, but my dreams were soon crushed.

The morning of my first day, I eagerly got off at Port Authority and made my trek to 5th Ave. I entered the pristine store of The Designer, and nervously walked down the steps to my workplace. Everyone was friendly and so well dressed; I felt instantly drabby.

But wait, it gets better. What was my first task? To count bottles. Lots and lots of bottles in lots and lots of boxes. To make things worse, The Designer had recently decided to repaint her store, and the fumes were driving everyone crazy.

It was inventory week, of course, so I spent my whole day, 10-6, counting stupid bottles and bottle parts. Oh, and I didn’t even get to see the designer…LAME.

Man, if this was what I have to do to live a fancy, well dressed corporate life in New York, I don’t know if I can make it.

[Stay tuned for next week's installment of CC's Secret Intern Diaries]