Spotted: Unemployed and Educated DC Intern Looking to Start a Career
6/5/2011 “This blog is dedicated to those DC residents who eagerly await (or completely dread) intern season… For many interns, this blog will not apply. For those interns to whom it does apply, we hope that you use these anecdotes to change your behavior and, eventually, change the stigma attached to DC interns.” If you’re on this site, you’re probably well aware of what blog this is describing. For those of you who are not spending time looking at intern rants, this is the infamous DC intern blog gearing up for another Summer Intern season. For years this blog has highlighted intern goofs, snaffoos, and downright stupidities of interns both on and off the Hill— padding the stereotype that all DC interns are 18-year-old kids whose lives back home revolve around Greek mixers and the latest episode of “Audrina”. I appreciate the disclaimer about changing the stigma attached to DC interns. And I find myself just as amused as the next person when reading about how one confuses the Capitol for the White House and Eric Holder for being Caucasian. However, the blog does magnify the fact that interns are divided in two very different ways—and only one seems to contribute to the DC discourse. What about stories of the college graduate turned intern who happened to exit the academic world during the worst economic climate seen in decades? Or the intern who, pre-recession, began building the foundation of a successful career but is now back at square one after said recession hit? It’s unnerving, really, the number of us in DC who are educated sharp, creative, motivated and WANT to work but are unable to find it. How many JDs turned Cosí servers will it take for the twentysomethings of 2011 to have a voice and contribute to the DC discourse? When will we be able to separate ourselves from the kids getting their study away college experience to the take-me-seriously potential staffer? Many question with seemingly dismal answers. Here at Overqualified Intern we’re hoping to reach out to any of you who can relate to the examples above and join us in finding positive solutions to these very real concerns.
