When looking back at her own success, going from internship to employment, and eventually landing at Squarespace, Mathur insists “you’ve got to be willing to do whatever it takes” early in your career. “I was willing to work for free, I was willing to work any hours they needed—even on evenings and weekends. I was not focused on traveling,” Mathur concludes. “You really have to just be willing to do anything, any hours, any pay, any type of job—just really remain open.”

Unpaid internships are basically just a way for rich kids to leverage their parents wealth into a career. The vast majority of people cannot afford to work for “experience”, this is only applicable advice for people whose parents are willing and able to foot the bill.