My background: top 10 ug b-school, major in finance, 3.5G gpa, graduated Dec 09.
When I was unable to secure a full-time position I followed the advice on this forum and found an unpaid internship at a hedge fund to improve my resume and wait out part of this recession. The end of the 3 month period is a couple of weeks away and I am wondering what I should do. It’s a small fund and there is no opportunity to turn it into a full time job. My boss basically enjoys free labor and would just replace me with another unpaid intern.
I’ve been looking and applying for jobs continuously during the internship but I have yet to find anything. It took me several months just to find this unpaid internship so I am hesitant to leave but at the same time it feels abusive to continue working for free. I’m just perpetuating the deflationary spiral in wages. I have an actual role in the company so staying on wouldn’t be a problem but I’m wondering if there isn’t something else I could be doing with my time to find a paying job. Will continuing to work as an intern improve my chances of finding a full time job?
I’m basically broke and I desperately need a source of income but so far its been impossible to find.
Have you been networking? Try calling/emailing alumni and see if they could help you, build up some contacts. If they don't have something for you maybe they know someone who does. What about your co-workers, I'm sure someone will be able to help you if you reach out and show them that you are motivated to move up and are hard working. That's what I've been trying to do.
Ya I've been discussing my situation with my co-workers and hopefully somebody can put me in touch with the right people. I tried the cold calling/email technique when I was looking for the internship and had no results. I actually found my current position through a head hunter and I've continued to contact them as well.
As much as your boss might enjoy free labor, try to negotiate with him to see if he is at least willing to give you $8 - $10/ hour, it shouldnt be much even for a small fund, if you are going to leave otherwise it wont hurt to ask. If you are doing real work, there should be a learning curve to pick up everything you have been doing. Try to grab as much work as possible to make yourself less replaceable. You might think there are TONS of other qualified candidates out there, i have seen some interviews recently and a 3.8 from target definitely means less to me now, some people are just not ready for the real world. As for the length, I think 6m+ is the best.
Meanwhile, what Deaem41 said.
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