I moved back to Vancouver at the beginning of May 2010 and immediately started trying to land a job with an events company that I could learn from and benefit from their expertise and experience. I came across a job posting looking for event planning interns for a locally well-known event. Although the internship was unpaid, I thought that this might be a great way of getting the experience that I craved while making important industry contact so I applied.
A couple of days later, I got an email from the producer asking me to come in for an interview. Perfect. I went for my interview the next week and by the time I left, I had mixed feelings about the internship. Although the producer was very nice throughout the interview, his expectations of the internship weren’t based in reality. He wanted an intern that could work 35+ hours a week for 6-7 months. When I mentioned that I would need to take a 2nd job to earn some sort of income, he vetoed that immediately. His reasoning was that this event and internship would demand the full attention and time of the eventual intern. I believe in being honest and straightforward so I told him that while my priority was gaining events planning experience, I still needed to earn an income, especially over such a long period of time. He promised me that the opportunity was worth it due to the contacts and experience I’d gain. I left telling him that I would have to think about it.
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Priscilla Chan 