Squarespace chief marketing officer Kinzil Masur got his first job by calling companies and saying he was willing to work for free. This was 20 years ago, and Masur had a degree in finance and was working through the Yellow Pages.
Kinjil Mathur, CMO of Squarespace, sparked a debate with his statement: {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
“I started looking at company listings and calling companies and asking if they had internships available and if I would be willing to work for free,” she told Fortune in an interview.
Only on HT to know more about tax impact, key announcements, sectoral analysis and more from Union Budget 2024. Read now.
The strategy worked for the New York resident, who landed his first internship at travel company Travelocity while attending the University of Texas, before moving on to work at Condé Nast, Saks Fifth Avenue and Foursquare before becoming chief marketing officer at Squarespace.
“Any hours, any pay, any job.”
Kinzil Mathur showed rare tenacity when she called companies and offered to work for free, and she expects the same from today’s Gen Z job seekers. But the world has changed a lot in the past 20 years, and today’s newbies are averse to unpaid work.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
“I looked for an internship every summer,” Masser told Fortune. “I just wanted to gain experience. She maintains that early in your career, you need to be willing to do whatever it takes.”
“I was prepared to work for free, I was prepared to work whatever hours they needed, nights and weekends. Travel wasn’t a priority,” Mathur says. “I had to be prepared to do anything, any hours, any pay, any work. You just have to be open.”
Her comments were not well received on social media, with one post criticising her receiving 8.6 million views on X.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
Some X users accused her of trying to exploit unpaid labor rather than using her power to bring about positive change.
Some people have vowed to boycott Squarespace in response to the comments.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
“No one should have to work for free. For example, I’ve always advocated for interns to be paid at least the living wage, yet many companies don’t pay interns anything or even charge them for the ‘privilege’ of working for their company,” entrepreneur Gary Kruyt said.
Get the latest trending news, videos, photos and weather updates from India and the world. News / Trending / Indian-origin executive draws backlash on social media after saying Gen Z should work ‘any hours, any salary’
Source link
