Is Seth's offer fair?

[Tiara Shafiq]

I was reading this article about a guy who's struggling to get work (after being laid off) to the point of having to distribute his resume on the streets. This bit, about his daughter having the same struggle, reminded me of Seth's offer:

http://www.businessweek.com/blogs/recession_in_america/archives/200...

Now that she's graduated, she'll have an easy time finding work, right? Wrong. She couldn't get an interview for anything. Office assistant, receptionist -- no luck. And the jobs she did get called about were "unpaid internships." Now, tell me how does someone pay commuting costs to New York City, health insurance, and student loans with no pay?

How does an employer have the nerve to call a free employee an "intern"? It's just a way to get an employee in New York for less than the wages paid to a Chinese factory worker.

One strong applicant, Becky, challenged Seth to consider the parameters of his challenge (read it at: http://www.squidoo.com/beckyslifechangingmoment#module12830474) . As an international applicant, I can attest to how the costs are extra difficult, and how this has always been a big issue for international participants (my rant: http://wannabeakp.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/no-cash-no-opportunity-t...)

What do you think? Is Seth's offer fair, or is he missing something? What can be done so that Seth's offer, or anything like it, can be made fairer?

[Tiara Shafiq]

Not so much offended, really. I'm not sure where I'm implying that I'm entitled to get in. My reaction mainly stems from having done something very similar (which fell apart - my Ningblog has more info) and learning from the aftermath.

I was horrified to hear people saying they were willing to give up health insurance, or sleep in a car, or whatever. Perhaps it's a cultural clash, but I don't see how anything is worth giving up your basic needs. I wanted to make sure people knew what they were getting into, and to make sure they got what they were worth.

[Dave Kaiser]

I was one of the applicants who was really taking a leap of faith to go to New York and tough-it-out for six months on a shoestring.

I wasn't quite willing to sleep in a car, but I would have been making great sacrifices for what I hoped was a great opportunity.

The American economy is in terrible shape. Both my wife and I lost our jobs two years ago, have applied all over the place for work, but no luck.

Then exactly a year ago my wife broke both legs, fell from a ladder while decorating the Christmas tree, ended up in the hospital and we ended up with a $100K hospital bill. She can still barely walk and can not work or apply for a job.

To survive, I have worked in various below minimum wage jobs, taxi driver, rental car jockey, grocery store shelve stocker (they now call it store merchandiser), etc. What American business does today to get around paying benefits is only work such employees a maximum of 20 hours per week--which meant I had to work three jobs at once at below minimum wage--just to survive.

Now, due to the lack of tourists coming to Florida, even those jobs mentioned above have vanished.

I am 65, I have worked all over the world, and there are absolutely no job opportunities. To add injury to insult, I have a son who is a sophomore in college and trying to pay his expenses.

So, at this stage of the game, if it were necessary to sleep in a car to improve my job qualifications--I would be willing to do so. They say unemployment is at around 9 percent, neither my wife or I count in those statistics, so there are a lot of people in dire straits. The opportunity with Seth was a way to dig myself out, at whatever cost.