The intern economy is one that trades promises, not paper, as currency. It should go without saying that a full-time unpaid internship that puts you in debt and does not teach you anything beyond how to balance eight coffees at a time will not help you succeed. But, it must be said that it is possible to gather experience as an unpaid intern that benefits you and your career, but you have to put the highest possible premium on your labour and demand that others do the same, and then you have to know when to give it away for free. Here are the five ways you can make an internship work for you and how to tell when it just isn’t worth it.