Working World

With the number of unpaid internships available to students continuing to rise, the Department of Labor and other state-level bodies are apparently beginning to “step up enforcement nationwide” of potential violations of minimum wage laws, the New York Times said last week. In particular, the Labor Department “says it is cracking down on firms that fail to pay interns properly and expanding efforts to educate companies, colleges and students on the law regarding internships.”

It’s no secret that internships are a way in, a way to make that first connection that will jump start your career. Ross Perlin notes that “internships have become the gateway into the white-collar work force…Employers increasingly want experience for entry-level jobs, and many students see the only way to get that is through unpaid internships.” (I recently met Ross, who is doing great work on two fronts: conducting research on endangered minority languages in southern China, around Kunming, and writing a book about the phenomenon of internships in the U.S.) My “in” into the field of international exchange and education came with an internship with Sherry and NCIV.

We touch on this subject in Working World the book,  asking whether internships are perhaps exploitation, but concluding that, while certain internships may be, the overall institution of being an intern is important to career development. But we also note, I now read with interest, that the vast majority of interns will receive “no remuneration or (if you are lucky) a modest stipend.” But is that how it should be?

The Times article is hinting that it doesn’t matter what should or shouldn’t be: the law may dictate that paying interns is a necessity. But even beyond the legality of it, unpaid work is always a tough pill to swallow, especially for young professionals on thin budgets. I feel lucky that I interned with NCIV, which does provide at least a modest stipend for its interns, and got my managerial legs under Sherry, who believes that interns should always be paid for their work, even if it isn’t all that much. The same holds true here at the Alliance—we can’t pay much, but we at least give something.

I guess ultimately, when you’re looking for an internship, pay can’t be the driving factor. If you’re able to find an internship that gives you maximum professional benefit (and I would describe that as an internship that allows you to work with good people, that allows you to work on substantive projects [not just menial stuff] and own your work, and that allows you access to more people in the field with whom you can network), then pay will probably seem rather secondary, especially if that internship leads you to something good down the road.

But even so, I agree with a movement away from unpaid internships. This system (especially here in DC, where things are expensive and there is no shortage of people willing to make you pay your dues) unfairly favors those who have connections and resources to survive on when not getting paid.

I can’t say what’s prompted me to make a return to Working World today, on a beautiful spring day in DC, especially after many months of inactivity. I also can’t really explain what led to my recent hiatus. The simplest answer seems to be that I just wasn’t feeling it—I didn’t want to force it. So I let things rest for awhile (rest, at least, on the Working World front—I’ve been as busy as ever with my “real” life).

But I’m feeling now that a little bit of rest did me good and like I want to try to get back into the swing a bit, so hope some of you are still around! And because my title is a quote from the masterpiece of modern cinema, “Kindergarten Cop,” and because this is awesome:

And then I’m off for the holiday:

IIE’s Open Doors 2009 report was released last week. We paid close attention to this at the Alliance, but I forgot to mention it here. So, here you go. Open Doors is the standard for international educational mobility data—and the 2009 report happily illustrates that the number of foreign students studying at U.S. universities and Americans studying abroad are both up more than 8 per cent. Still, only slightly more than 260,000 Americans are studying abroad, which is not enough…

…and apparently President Obama agrees, as he announced that he wants 100,000 Americans studying in China (which is a pretty hefty increase from the current number of just over 13,000). How and when this will happen remains to be seen, but we are, as always, optimistic.

Have Work, Will Travel — An Australian world traveler makes the case for an expanded working holiday program in the United States.

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Mad Men fans:

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone:

CNN.com tells us how to “tap into the growing overseas job market.” Jean Marc Hachey gives some good tips in the second half of the article, noting that international/globally-minded employers aren’t usually looking for a regional specialist, but rather someone with previous overseas experience and cultural skills that will enable him or her to adapt and roll with the punches:

What they are especially interested in is that you can demonstrate that you have crossed over various cultures at various times, and you have a set of skills that mean you can quickly be up and running in new cultures.

Mary Anne Thompson, quoted earlier in the article, makes what strikes me as a big generalization:

In order to apply for a work permit or visa on your behalf, most employers have to prove there’s no one in that country with the credentials to do the job, and show that they advertised the job and no locals applied for it.

“Most employers?” Is this really a fair statement to make when we’re talking not about a particular industry or city or even country, but rather “the world”? I’m sure this can be true in certain instances (it can be now in the recession-ravaged U.S.), but is this really so true that one can generalize like this and not be rather misleading? Maybe so, but it just strikes me as an odd thing to go out there and state as fact.

Career fairs, as a subset of networking, have never been a strong suit of mine either. They feel forced, artificial, like everyone’s going through the motions. That said, they aren’t a bad thing to go to just to get a sense of what is out there. The career services office at Tufts University gives some pointers on getting the most out of a career fair and not looking like an idiot while you’re there:

Myth: I’ll look like a buffoon if I don’t come with my resume, cover letter, portfolio and salary requirements in hand.

Fact: While it is a good idea to bring along your resume, it is certainly not necessary. Some students go into the Career Fair hoping to land a job. Others go just to ask questions and see what’s out there. Either route is fine. Employers realize that everyone is coming in with a different level of preparedness, eagerness, etc. They are happy to talk with you (and some even have cool little giveaways…just saying). At the very least, be sure to grab the business card of everyone you talk to. That way, you can research the company later on and get back in touch with them should you feel inclined to either apply for a job or request an informational interview.

Myth: There’s no point in going to the Career Fair. Getting a job right out of college is not for me. I’m Eurotripping to find myself, man.

Fact: Going to the Career Fair does not mean you’re obligated to apply for a job. As mentioned before, students come in with various intentions. Some want a job, some want to ask questions, some just want to experience what a Career Fair is like. The Fair is what you make of it. When it comes down to it, why not go? It’s a chance to hone your conversational skills, make valuable connections, and practice wearing the slightly uncomfortable business attire that will soon become your everyday look (PJ bottoms don’t usually cut it in the workplace). Just go in with an open mind…you may be surprised at what you find.

One nice little tidbit I discovered in my prep for a trip to Mexico City tomorrow for the Western Hemisphere EducationUSA Adviser Conference is that the city is known to residents and those in the know as el Distrito Federal, or DF. Clearly I’ll seem like an old Mexico hand with this bit of knowledge on my side—until I try to say more and it’s clear my Spanish is terrible.

Anyhow, I’ll be down in DF all next week so posting will be light until I return. No tengo nada que declarar.

At the Georgetown Dean’s Lunch Seminar I spoke at on Wednesday, one of the participants, a freshman, asked if I thought a “gap year” between graduation and, in his example, law school would be beneficial. I responded that, while everyone is different, a year abroad after graduation before entering grad school was tremendously beneficial for me—not only because it allowed me to recharge my scholarly batteries, but also because it broadened me, allowed me an experience I may not have been able to have at any other time and that has helped me tremendously since, both personally and professionally. So yes, I said, I think a “gap year” can be terrific for many, especially if it is spent abroad gaining international exposure and language skills.

A young woman, a senior, followed up by saying that in her research into possible international opportunities following graduation, she was having trouble winnowing out those that might be right for her. For example, she said, should I do the Peace Corps, do a Fulbright, teach English?How do I know what’s right for me? After we discussed the difficulties of knowing what is “right” for her or anyone else, I brought the conversation back around to the fact that she had just lumped the Peace Corps and “doing a Fulbright” into the same category. I thought it was very important for her and the other students to realize first, “doing a Fulbright” does not mean just one thing—there are many different ways to be involved with Fulbright.

But second, I said, it seems to me that the Peace Corps is not just another abroad experience. Though I wasn’t a PC volunteer, I know many who were, and from what they’ve told me, the Peace Corps is a very specific, and often very difficult, experience, one that is not right for everyone. I relayed to them the story of someone I know who, despite being one of the more idealistically gung-ho people I’ve ever met, just resigned his Peace Corps position a year and a half early. His reasons for resigning were: he wasn’t doing the work he wanted to do; he didn’t believe he was effecting any positive change; he was not enjoying the culture he was living in; and he no longer wanted to, in his words, “help reinforce a system that only hurts the people I want to help.”

While I didn’t quite know how to interpret this reasoning, again not having been a PCer myself, a good friend who completed the Peace Corps in a similar region wasn’t terribly surprised: “There are inevitably those who thrive and those who quit. The Peace Corps isn’t for everyone.”

If you’re interested in the Peace Corps, try to talk to as many people as possible who have done it before. Get a clear picture of what it really is. Because the Peace Corps is not just “going abroad,” and it’s not for everyone.

I was looking through my boss’s passport the other day, as he had it out doing paperwork for a Russian visa. Now there is a beautiful passport: beat up beyond belief, packed with additional pages making it fat like an overstuffed wallet, and full of more stamps and visas than I’ve ever seen, easily from 40 or 50+ countries: India, Russia, Brazil, Ukraine, China, Peru, Thailand—and those are just a sample from the past two years. I hope mine looks like that someday.

[And I've got a long way to go, a fact which was not helped when I got a shiny new passport last year with the fancy embedded radio frequency identification chip. (A comparison of a well-used passport to a stiff new one below, courtesy of Travelvice Travelogue.) Just when my passport was getting to the point where it looked awesome and well-worn, it has to go and expire---now it looks like I've never traveled a day in my life! I guess I'll just have to redouble my efforts...and maybe I'll try to wear it in like a baseball glove, so I don't feel so self-conscious...]

Sherry pops up in the Minot Daily News. She’s there visiting an NCIV member organization, the Minot Area Council for International Visitors, and will speak at both Minot High School and Minot State University on international careers. A welcome reminder that it’s not just people in large and/or coastal cities who aspire—or who may wish to aspire given the proper prodding—to international careers.

The Times cautions job seekers (especially experienced, recently laid off job seekers) to be wary of forking over cash to job search firms who promise the moon. According to some, these firms won’t even give you for $8,000 what you can get on your alma mater career services site for free:

“Many employment services provide valuable help, but others misrepresent themselves and their services in an attempt to take your money,” said the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, who succeeded several years ago in having one career counseling company, Bernard Haldane Associates, banned from doing business in the state. “To find legitimate agencies for your needs, it’s critical to do your homework first.”

A friend who works in HR for a large association is organizing a training session looking at how to manage four generations in the workplace. One of the participants actually sent in the below with his RSVP.  I thought it was a particularly funny and apt way to characterize the stereotypical response from each generation:

Silent: Will be there at 14:00 hours prepared to identify opportunities to downsize costs.

Baby Boomer: Sounds great; we can combine it with a fun run and a community project.  However, we need to make sure that this is morally pure.

Generation X: Another requirement for my calendar.  I’ll be there, but I don’t get any reward for this extra work (as usual), and I’ll never have a decent standard of living.  We’re only starting to get respect, now that we are the 2/3 star flag officers.

Gen Y (Millenial): DUDE!  Sounds cool, and I will work it in between the company paid advanced computer training and my revision of my resume for my continuous job hunt.

[The Millenials might also organize an after-session cornhole tournament in the parking lot.]