Tess Vigeland on High-profile Unpaid Opportunities

Here’s a post I recently wrote on Facebook:

I said “yes” today to a high-profile opportunity that will require a not-small amount of work and preparation, relies on my public profile and speaking skills and yet will pay me only in kindness. Apparently I learned exactly nothing in six years of hosting a personal finance show.

I posted that on a lark. It was a (hopefully) humorous jab at myself, but also sort of a public venting that I should’ve been stronger in my pushback, defiantly, though politely, explaining that my time, effort and experience are valuable and worthy of compensation.

I thought any response to the post would be along the lines of “Yeah, Tess, what were you thinking? They’re getting you for free?!” or “Go back and play hardball!”

But the reaction from my well-meaning friends (and fans) was eye-opening — and the polar opposite of what I expected — even though many are as far into their careers as I am, at 44.

Our pal Tess Vigeland has a post up at Next Avenue discussing when she says yes to high-profile opportunities that require some work and preparation but doesn’t pay. The responses on her Facebook feed tended to be along the lines of: “You are building your brand!” and “This will lead to other opportunities!”

I’m not quite sure what the opportunity at hand is, but occasionally, I’m asked to take time out of my work day to speak at conferences, or give a lecture to college students who are interested in working in journalism, and they’re always unpaid opportunities. When I mention to friends what I’m doing, they’ll say something similar: “Hey, you’re getting your name out there!” and “These speaking engagements will look really good on your CV.” Which I suppose is true, but I’ve only said yes to opportunities I’ve actually wanted to do. If you’re going to do something for free, at the very least, you should be genuinely interested in doing it (unless you’re doing a favor, which an entirely different discussion).

Support The Billfold

The Billfold continues to exist thanks to support from our readers. Help us continue to do our work by making a monthly pledge on Patreon or a one-time-only contribution through PayPal.