Updated: February 15 2020
Summary
If you’re starting out your career or starting in a new field, then yes, you should work for free. Free work leads to two things: (1) Bigger, better opportunities and (2) It helps you reach the unreachable. We’ll dig into both reasons below. If you’re ready to work for free and just need some help with what to say to get free work opportunities, you can read my word-for-word scripts here. They’re free and available to be repurposed. Be sure to read this full article for the full context behind these scripts.
“Can you endorse some of my skills on LinkedIn?” my friend texted me. “I’d be happy to do the same for you. Just let me know.”
LinkedIn endorsements? I wondered. Do people look at those?
“I’m having a hard time landing full-time work, so I’m trying to boost my LinkedIn profile,” he explained. “Anything else you think I can do to stand out?”
This friend is a smart, good person. Eventually, a lucky company will snatch him up, and it’ll have nothing to do with his LinkedIn endorsements.
I told him the best way to find an awesome job that pays well was to start by working for free.