Undergraduate Blog / Career Development

I Should Have Said Something

Summer is coming to an end and so is my internship at a particular lingerie and lounge wear company. I wish I could say I learned a lot from my internship but the truth is, I only learned one extremely important lesson: Do not get taken advantage of. It is safe to say that many companies, especially in the fashion industry, hire interns to do tasks that higher ups do not want to do. Even though this is the case, these tasks should help interns learn about the basics of the company. My internship entailed lots of steaming of pieces in the showroom which is inevitable. But when I come into the office at 10am and is given the task to steam until 5pm, then there is a problem. I can’t even say that I learned how to steam clothes for I’ve been steaming my outfit daily since the age of 12. What this company does not see is that an internship is supposed to be mutually beneficial to the company and to the student. If the company cannot answer the question “what will he/she learn from this?” then the task should not be given to the intern. Not only is it unfair, it is quite frankly, rude, because I am interning for free and most importantly, to learn!

If not for the internship sponsorship award, I definitely would have quit already. One thing I will not be again is to be taken advantage of which is what I was this summer. I can count on one hand, how many times the sales executive, the person who is supposed to be my mentor, has taught me something (I probably wouldn’t even get up to 2). It felt like I was the intern for the other intern that has been there starting this January.

I should have said something.
I should have said something earlier.

Because this was an internship, I kept thinking to myself, HANG IN THERE, ONLY ONE MORE MONTH LEFT. I realized that this mentality would not work when I find a real job after I graduate. I would really have to say something and let my boss know that I am unhappy and feel unchallenged. If I had said something earlier, I still could have learned so much in the one month or even two weeks left. I should have said something because Babson students will not be taken advantage of.