Intern Diaries: Getting a Little Frustrated

[For most college students, summer means one thing: an unpaid internship. We’ve been there and we feel your pain. Whether you’re making copies, making coffee runs, or just trying to make your mark on the industry of your dreams, it’s much easier to get through it all with a little help from your (CollegeCandy) friends. So come back every week to listen/sympathize with/vent with our anonymous intern as she does her thang at a big time magazine in New York City. Because, let’s be honest, what else do you have to do in that cubicle all day?]

By Anonymous

Let me start this off by saying I love my internship. I mean really, I do. I know I might complain about it sometimes, but in the end I enjoy my time here and have gotten amazing experience. I’ve met a ton of cool people and I’ve been able to see my name in print numerous times (a fabulous feeling). I know I’m interning at a place where hundreds of girls would love to be and I don’t take it for granted.

But here’s the thing: I graduated over a year ago. And this whole not getting paid thing? It’s getting more than a little bit frustrating.

When I graduated college, I decided to give myself the summer off. Despite my mom’s annoying pleas to “think about my future” and apply for some jobs, I spent my time stumbling into my house drunk in the wee hours of the night and lounging at the beach all day. I had led a life where things had come relatively easy for me, so I figured that when I was ready for a job, it would be waiting for me.

Um… wrong. So wrong. In the beginning of September, I realized that the majority of my friends were back in school and I was incredibly bored. But after weeks of applying to the magazines that sounded the coolest, I realized that there were no jobs. Desperate to have something to do to pass the time, I started looking for internships. That’s when I found out that there were practically no internships available for graduates who couldn’t get school credit. But by November, even though I was discouraged, I was still convinced something would fall into my lap.

In December, when I started to really feel anxious, I got offered the internship position at the magazine I’m at now. I was so thrilled that I finally had something to do with my life that I didn’t even care that I wasn’t getting paid. I figured I would spend my down time there looking for a job, and that by the spring I might have one.

It is now dangerously close to August, and guess what? That’s right, I still don’t have a full-time job. I long ago stopped thinking that a job would just come to me. Now I’m not sure if I’ll EVER find one. And I also stopped caring about what magazine I was applying to – basically, I’m willing to write about cars and science if you’re willing to pay me.

But apparently, no one is willing to pay me, and I’m more than a little upset about it. I know, I know – it’s a tough economy and print journalism is a tough business. I’ve heard these words (which are supposed to make me feel better?) about a million times already. Still, I don’t really understand why I can’t find a position. I busted my ass in order to graduate a pretty decent university on time, I’ve had two really awesome internships where I’ve gained a lot of experience, and I think I’m a hard worker. So why can’t I find a job?

Frankly, I’m sick of applying to places. I’m sick of searching job websites for hours, of sending out my resume and tweaking my cover letter so that it works for the company I’m applying for. I’m really, REALLY sick of edit tests that I spend a lot of time on only to get this response: “You did great on your edit test, and your references had really good things to say about you, but we gave the position to someone else.” Not to mention I’m sick of doing hours upon hours of work in an office where I get little recognition and basically have to pay to get there (those train fares and Starbucks coffees really add up).

I guess what it comes down to is this: I know I could do a great job at a magazine, and I’m really not willing to settle for any other kind of job. Writing for a magazine is what I want to do, so for now, my job hunt is still on. But for the sake of my wallet and my sanity, here’s hoping it doesn’t last much longer.