Today’s my birthday. I’m 25. If you want to get me a present, you can buy me something on my Amazon Wishlist
So what’s that I said about the fact that Charm City Cakes is REALLY REALLY not hiring? While I was perusing their website looking for information on internships, I came across this blurb on their FAQ.
We are not currently hiring any staff, interns, externs, unpaid grunts, or volunteers.
It’s not as strongly worded as their blurb on not allowing visitors, but it kind of has a similar tone:
If you ask to visit, we will be forced to say “no”. If you show up anyway, we will not be able to let you come inside. We don’t want to let you down and we don’t want to feel like mega jerk meanie heads. We are very sorry to be so stern and such, but there are no exceptions to this policy.
If you think about it, it makes sense. Most companies are dying for great applicants, but when a company has a reputation like Charm City Cakes does, there’s the problem of too much interest. I’ll bet they hear from every Joe Schmoe who has ever cracked open a a Betty Crocker box and thinks that he is the next Ace of Cakes. It’s an administrative nightmare. When they do need to hire someone, it’s probably not going to be some random that e-mailed them. The same can be said about other similar companies—hedge funds, boutique consulting firms, other businesses featured on tv shows. Getting an internship with them can truly seem impossible.
So, how do you do it? I see two ways, and both involved networking. The first is pestering the person you want to hire you until he or she just can’t say no again. You’ve seen this approach work in movies and popular culture, and it resembles Charlie Hoehn’s idea of free work in a lot of ways. This isn’t the best way to endear people to you, but sometimes unwillingness to give up will convince someone to give you a chance. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re in search of a dream internship like mopping the floor at Charm City Cakes for no pay, then it might be worth a shot.
The second technique is to build up your value. Start somewhere with a lower profile and bust your butt until you’re the best. Then network your way into a conversation with the person that you want to hire you (or maybe just cold call them). That conversation is very different from the one that I previously mentioned, because now you are just the kind of superstar that the company wants. You’re no longer some amateur with an unrealistic ambition. This means stepping back down to an unpaid internship after a few years of a real job, but it may be worth it.
I can’t promise that either of these techniques will work to get you an internship at Charm City Cakes, but if you have a dream job that seems unattainable, these are my suggestions on how to give it your best shot. Sometimes companies truly don’t have room to grow and really won’t hire anyone on any condition, but if you’re good at dealing with rejection, there’s no sense in not trying. The biggest takeaway is that you need to differentiate yourself from all of the other applicants who aren’t truly serious, and to do that you need to be willing to sacrifice everything to make your dream happen.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
How do you recommend that new grads go about attaining unattainable internships?
Do I Know Anyone at Charm City Cakes? - Check LinkedIn | Check Facebook
Tags: food, holiday, Internships, Maryland
Hi. I know you all have heard this before, but I just wanted to tell you that you do an absolutely amazing job at what you do. I am in the Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management Program at my university and absolutely love the culinary portion of it. I constantly watch your show and try to recreate some of the cakes at home, but they dont turn out “quite” the same. Haha! I look up to all of you, what you do, and what you have done. I am going to try my best to get a culinary/pastry internship somewhere and no matter how hard the work is, I am willing to whatever it takes to reach my goal. I know that is what you all did and it is very inspiring to a lot of people. Keep up the great work!
Elyse