Ask-A-Recruiter: Should You Ever Work For Free?

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

If I am really interested in working for a company, is it a good tactic to offer to do a project or a trial basis for free?

I have been seeing more press coverage about “adult internships” lately. These refer to experienced professionals who take on a short-term project for little or no pay. Sometimes, these adult internships are for career changers to break into a new target sector, but sometimes experienced, unemployed professionals use internships to get a foot in the door at a new company in their same sector.

I’ve read about adult internships but I haven’t seen widespread practice of them, so I suspect (but don’t have data to prove) that they are not as prevalent as the press coverage warrants. So I don’t recommend targeting these adult internships or offering free work to employers, whether projects or days on the job. However, savvy, proactive jobseekers absolutely work for free, just not for specific employers.

You are not paid for your job search efforts. A proactive job search takes 20-40 hours per week, and the payoff is not guaranteed. In this way, you are working for free – for yourself and the betterment of your career. The best jobseekers view their job search as their job, not activities to be fit in, somewhere between working out and Oprah.

In a proactive job search, your follow-up with prospective employers should be thoroughly researched and positioned to their pain points. In this way, you are giving specific prospects free consulting with the intelligent questions that you ask and the ideas and recommendations in your follow-up. However, you are careful not to give away too much, and the work that you do even if it is tailored to one prospect is helpful in your research and pitch to other prospects. So it’s free work still for yourself and the betterment of your career.

In job search and career management overall, regular and systematic networking is critical. This is the work that you do outside your day-to-day job to expand and deepen relationships, cultivate mentorships and stay connected to professional groups and associations. Again, you do not get paid for this, and it is work to dedicate time and resources to your network, but the payoff is for you and your career.

Free work is necessary and beneficial, but not in the guise of “adult internships”. Don’t undermine your value by offering to work for any one employer unpaid. Instead, invest in yourself and your overall career. You are worth more than you think.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart , a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Citigroup, Disney ABC, Oliver Wyman, Time Inc, TV Guide and others. Email Caroline at caroline@sixfigurestart.com and ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.