The Good, the Bad, the Internship Experience.

Have I mentioned internships are important to your growth and development as an individual and a professional? That internships are great for gaining real-life work experience?
OF COURSE I HAVE, MY FINE INTERNEES!
Dear 'ole Alice has been giving you advice, tips, and information on how to find, get, and keep an internship. Hopefully, they have been helpful, whether you're searching for an internship or at an internship now and you're struggling with any ethical decisions.

What I have failed to mention, however, is that in reality sometimes...
SOMETIMES
...internships don't always have the fabulous outcome you were hoping for.

Whether you realize you didn't like the job/career/field, you and the boss man did not get along, or perhaps you're like me, and you just set your expectations a little to high. The truth: sometimes internships just aren't what you were looking for.

Here are a few examples of some peeps who had terrible internships and lived to tell about them.

• Richard Bottner - He interned at one of Boston's largest companies and had a tough time. He makes an awesome point when he discusses the moral of the story!
• Dan Marley - He writes about an internship at The New York Sun, where he expected it to be completely...different. (He is an insanely hilarious writer!)
• "The Atlantic" - Offers jobs to interns with requirements that really shock them!
• The Gawker - Writes about the worst internship ever.

Now that you've read about bad internships, it's time to put you in the middle of the madness! You are an intern (if you're not already), you are interning for a company you thought you would love but you HATE. Despise. Loathe. Not only do you have to get coffee everyday but, excuse my french because I'm going to say it, you're their little intern bitch. That's right, it's not just coffee, it's lunch, cleaning, printing, mail, errands. (I consider this the "stereotypical internship" because I know for a FACT not all internships are like this, but most TV shows, movies, books, all make internships sound like this.) So, you're interning and it is the pits. How do you deal?

Have no fear, miserable internees! Quint Careers is here to help you! They offer you advise on how to make the most of your internship, even when it sucks.

The key is to make it your own. So you have to get coffee everyday and hand out mail and bla bla bla. Say you're at a TV station, as I was, and you want to learn the ins and outs but your boss is only interested in you answering phones and running prompter. Yes, you are learning something, but you want to edit and record and all that good stuff! What do you do? YOU TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS, INTERNEES! You want to make sure you're getting what you want out of the internship! Make friends who will teach you about the career and help you learn programs, explore on your own! As Quint Careers explains, take initiative, ask questions, NETWORK. It may suck, but you could get a better internship out of meeting the peeps in the office and getting to know them and who they know.

DEFINITELY read the full article on Making the Most of Your Internship, it will help you whether you love or hate your internship! (Especially hate.)

So, your internship is crap. Take the advice of Quint Careers and don't be afraid to take matters into your own hands. Your internship is what YOU make it. Plus, the important thing is what YOU get out of it, and if you don't want to leave with permanent burns from coffee and paper cuts from mail, then do something about it!

Lastly, if you really really really REALLY hate your internship and there is absolutely no way to fix it and make it better for you, talk to your boss/advisor and see what other options there are available for you. If worst come to worst, you can always leave. Because sometimes, as you know, internships just don't work out.

Happy interning!
Love, Alice