[russell]

Forget free. It's illegal, even fro interns, where you produce value for the company. I would consider it unethical for me to hire you for minimum wage, cheap is OK. You are in an oddball situation, so HR types wont pass your resume on. Forget BofA. Startups probably cant take the chance. However, there are usually a few companies on that advertise entry level. Non-profits are also a possibility, because they cant pay so well.

Your post is a good bet, so I upvoted it.

EDIT: I checked your profile. You dont have contact info. A job cant find you.

[bdclimber14]

Free isn't exactly illegal. Theres a set of criteria for an employee (aka intern) to be able to work for free. The biggest criteria is that the work can't directly have an impact on revenue, e.g. no free sales positions.

[danshapiro]

"Volunteering" at a for-profit company is indeed against the law, in that it violates minimum wage laws. There is an exception as noted earlier for training positions, but real work generally doesn't qualify.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/business/03intern.html

[anywho]

free = volunteer :) is volunteer work illegal?

[trotsky]

I'm not aware of it being illegal per-se, ie criminal. But there is some rather strong evidence that volunteers for a for profit company, if treated like an employee (time cards, minimum work hours, training, etc.) would probably be able to successfully sue for back wages and penalties.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL_Community_Leader_Program

In February 2010, the United States for the Southern District of New York gave preliminary approval to a settlement between AOL and the Community Leaders totaling 15 million dollars. Final approval was granted in May 2010.

(Good luck to the OP, I know that situation can be rough)

[rhizome]

It's basically a PITA for corporate taxes for a company to accept free work that contributes to their bottom line, as well as the AOL case noted elsewhere.

[sean12345]

I think the idea is volunteer work at a for profit company.

[unemployedinSF]

thanks I forgot about that. updated my hn profile with an email