A while back I wrote a post Finding Your Passion: Sometimes It takes 33 Jobs. I detailed the pitiable list of jobs I endured over the years. Yes, I allowed myself to take some crap jobs and the ONE good job that I didn’t take was an internship at Vibe Magazine when it was just being founded.

I wrote:
“I passed over a writing internship with Vibe magazine when it was launching. I met with Keith Clinkscales the CEO himself. He offered me the position directly and I said no. Why? The internship didn’t pay. Instead I kept a paying job selling coffee at a local gourmet espresso bar.”

Yes, I gave up an opportunity to be mentored. I could have gained invaluable work experience. I passed on that in favor of pulling coffee for $8 an hour. I traded a career filled with possibilities for a job that I would eventually be illegally fired from and wind up in court fighting my employer. I simply didn’t see the gift being offered me. All I could think was “show me the money.” Here I am almost 20 years later and I still make myself sick just thinking about it.

This is why I am writing this. It is for all of you out there who are so caught up in the NOW that you are selling yourself out. Please take a 50,000 foot view.

1. Money is not how value is exclusively measured.
If I am being honest, I could have taken the Vibe internship.
- I was living at home.
- My parents were supporting me.
- I had very few bills to pay.
- I could’ve gotten a part-time job on the weekend.

It was an ego issue with me. I equated money with value. Paradoxically, I would let someone exploit me for $8/hour but I wouldn’t allow someone to mentor me at my expense. A skilled professional was interested in taking time out of his day to teach me job skills. When you grow up you will discover that you will have to pay good money by the hour for that kind of access. Do the research and you will find that it will cost you thousands of dollars to learn someone else’s business secrets and have exposure to their contacts just for one weekend. One successful friend of mine charges $25,000 for two and half days of his time.

2. All the glitters is not gold.
Most interns want to work for prestigious companies and not startups. Go ahead and you will discover what it is to be a worker bee serving the queen.  Every day will feel like you are living in a David Mamet play or starring in The Devil Wears Prada.

Most professionals are loathe to give a big responsibility to temporary help. Time is money. I know of one publishing company where there are too many interns. The interns clock in and are routinely ignored. They stand around and wait for someone to give them filing to do or a coffee order.

Choose a smaller company where you have one-on-one contact. You want to be able to ask questions but not too many questions.

3. It is the interns’ job to learn something and create value.
Most professionals will view you as a speed bump if you can’t take charge of your time.  As an intern you want to do everything and be everywhere. Access to power occurs in conversation. Even if you are doing nothing, ask to be allowed into meetings where you can be a fly on the wall.

4. On the job training is priceless.
If someone sees value in you and invites you into their business, take it. Be a sponge. Be a YES to everything. It is easy to find people who is unmotivated and quick to say no. Be the CAN DO person and you will find yourself moving up the ladder fast.

5. If you do good work, the money will come.
Simon Cowell, Richard Branson, David Geffen are all media moguls who learned from the bottom up. They were willing to pay their dues and do the crap jobs so they can learn what it was to hustle. If you want a sure thing, well, join your family business. Even then, there are no guarantees.

The bottom line is at the age of 23 I was a risk averse coward. I took menial jobs that didn’t nurture my career, or my spirit. I wanted a sure thing despite being unsure what I wanted. I measured my worth in pennies. I refused to invest in myself but I had no problem asking someone to invest in me.

You don’t get offered a gift twice. With that Vibe internship, my writing dreams set sail. It wasn’t until a decade later did I begin again. I derailed my own train for coffee. Seriously.

I learned by cutting off my nose to spite my face. Don’t do as I did and you can thank me later.

- Erwin