Starting Work
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Paying to Land a Non-Paying Job
August 19, 2009
Recently, I appeared on Fox Business News and was asked to comment on a plethora of new companies that help people, from new college grads to established professionals changing careers, land internships. These internship placement programs, which promise to help clients gain a toehold in an extremely tight and competitive job market, have seen the demand for their services skyrocket.
Critics of these programs complain that they are yet another advantage accessible only to the most affluent or those who can afford to pay the requisite fees. In some cases, those payments are not insubstantial. I am aware of at least one company that guarantees an internship placement for a fee that ranges between $5000 and $9500. (If a placement is not successfully made, however, this company refunds its fee.)
To those concerned about the fairness of such programs, I am convinced that all of the money in the world can’t buy success. In the long run, the people who rise to the top in any given profession are the ones who consistently demonstrate perseverance, resilience, and the ability to connect with others. The initial toehold in the job market may be bought. From that point on, however, performance is what matters.
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