Spoiler Alert: It Wasn't Fun
Now, hold that thought-- I know what you are thinking.
I am well aware work isn't supposed to be fun. PLUS this was my second time interning in New York at a fashion based location, so I was no rookie.
I'll help you picture it:
I commuted to the city twice a week from Monmouth University (at the crack of dawn), spent an insane amount of money on gas (and 3 hours both ways in traffic) didn't get reimbursed for public transportation (metro card), was not paid a dime, was doing all the same tasks the employees were doing PLUS being the coffee and errand bitch.
I thought I was pretty gosh-darn reasonable for me to believe working at a high-fashion wedding boutique--with a reputable following on the 'gram--would result in becoming a career cultured college student.
Silly me. I blasted that place on social media for being the next best thing since sliced bread. The first week of work, It was like I was living in
Barbie's dream house and I was Bridal Stylish Barbie.
But the second week felt like a never ending cycle of being "Coffee Bitch Barbie" or "4 hours straight of Paper Shredding Barbie" or "Run to Bed Bath & Beyond Do My Returns Barbie."
THEN, we were short staffed for about two weeks and I was thrown right into helping clients without any insight or guidance. It felt like they were the sorority and I was the pledge.
I was working 8 AM - 5 PM, community for 3 hours each before and after, and ultimately, I was doing nothing to benefit my well being or my resume; I was loosing money on travel expenses and I my sanity along with it.
Dramatic? Maybe. I promise you would have quit, too. My resume was already established and I just like being two steps ahead of the competition. So what was I still doing there?
With barely any sense of direction to begin with, I was being sent all over the city to pick up and drop off wedding dresses. Ever carry two hella expensive wedding dresses on the subway, a tray of coffees, and keep your phone in your frame of view so you can follow the subway directions on when to get off? That is something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy.
All in all, I was there about two months. I tried to be a good sport and wait for it to get better because I really wanted it to. And that's when it got worse instead. I needed an incentive because at that point, I wasn't doing it for myself anymore. I was doing it for them.
I shot my supervisor the ol' "You-need-to-pay-me-or-I-need-to-quit" email and you know what she said?
Oh i'll show you.
I closed my laptop and cringed at all the time, hard work, and money that had gone to waste. I wish I told her every time she asked me to do a bitch errand that I didn't have that capability.
You have to know your worth when it comes to these "glamorous" jobs; employers will take advantage of you. If you are doing the same work as the employees PLUS running errands, speak up. After all, if you weren't doing them, an actual paid employee would have to. Think about it.
