You Don’t Have Time for an Internship? I’m Calling Bullsh*t

I read an interesting blog post yesterday… yet another in the litany of posts calling Gen Y “lazy” that tries to explain why they appear to be so.

The author’s point: Gen Y – a group that actually includes many truly capable, dynamic, entrepreneurial people doing great things at a young age – gets a bad rap for being lazy.

I totally agree… with one caveat which started me on this quasi-rant blog post…

Almost daily, I read comments in Twitter chats and blog posts, and receive emails from Millennials saying they know internships are important. However, follow with “I just don’t have time!”

I’m calling “Bullsh*t

Not enough time? You (and you know who you are) are living up to the Gen Y stereotype.

For some, this is going to sound harsh, and they’re going to stop reading here. For those who want something better for their lives, perhaps that’s good that they left… because it means less real career competition for you. For those still reading, I’m calling you out. And here’s why…

You can do better.

The vast majority of you DO have time for an internship, and – at the risk of sounding all parental or professor-y… you know I’m right.

We All live Within the Structure of a 24-hour Day

We all have talents, either God-given, or those we leverage through hard work and passion. And while we may never rise to the level of accomplishment of a Zuckerberg, Branson, or Seth Godin… we all have the same amount of time to accomplish great things. The exact same number of hours, minutes and seconds that you have available, so does everyone around you – including your competition in the job market.

“I don’t have time” is an excuse

And you are listening to bad advice – and this time, it’s self-inflicted. It’s not that you don’t have the time… it’s how you use your time.[one_third]

[/one_third]
[two_third_last]

The people in charge of today’s world, from generations before you, have screwed the pooch when it comes to the economy, job market, national debt and maybe your student loan balance. You may not control any of that, but you DO control your time – and how much effort you put into developing your career — and how you will rise above and achieve.

[/two_third_last]

Here are just a few ideas off the top of my head where you can recover several hours a day… hours that could be put toward a career-building internship:

• Sleep just one hour less per day (you can make up for it on the weekends)
• Put down the game controller once in awhile
•  Instead of Instagramming your lunch and texting your friends for the next hour on your iPhone, use the device to network, job search and connect with influencers
• Don’t just be social in social media, but have a purpose; perhaps join a career-related Twitter chat or Google Hangout
• Maybe get a B- instead of a B+ in that all important Philosophy class and spend some time in an online class directly related to your future career (self-learning is a hugely in-demand soft skill!)

For yourself, prove the “Gen Y is lazy” naysayers wrong! For many of you now is when you do have the most time in your life to start building your career. “I don’t have time” is no longer a valid excuse. And I’m going to keep calling “Bullsh*t” until you’ve done something about it.

And so should you.

Find the time; take the time; make the time… for an internship.

[divider]

Undergrad Success thanks YouTern for this article