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Gen Z should work ‘any hours, at any pay,’ says Indian-origin exec
Mathur secured her first job two decades ago through cold-calling companies and expressed her willingness to work for free.
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Kinjal Mathur. / X @squarespace
Squarespace's chief marketing officer Kinjal Mathur has drawn flak on the internet for stating that Gen Z job seekers today should work for “free” and “any hours needed”.
In an interview with Fortune magazine, Mathur said that that she displayed a rare kind of tenacity when she cold-called businesses offering to work for free.
“I was willing to work for free, I was willing to work any hours they needed—even on evenings and weekends. I was not focused on traveling,” Mathur said. “You really have to just be willing to do anything, any hours, any pay, any type of job—just really remain open,” she said in an interview with Fortune.
“Every single summer I was trying to find some internship,” Mathur added, “I just wanted to get experience. She insists that early on in their career, “you’ve got to be willing to do whatever it takes.”
Her comments were met with backlash on social media. Some X users accused her of attempting to exploit unpaid labor rather than using her position of influence to drive positive change.
Kinjil Mathur interview summarized: "My labor was exploited and now that I'm in a position to make a change, I want to force that same barrier of entry to the workforce because I'm a complete ghoul."
— jermainetoafault (@jermainetofault) July 22, 2024
Others even announced they would boycott Squarespace in response to her comments.
So glad that this came out as I will NOT be giving any of my hard earned money to @squarespace due to the soul-less, greedy and disgusting comments of chief CEO Kinjil Mathur. I hope to see the sure downfall of square space. Trash. https://t.co/HztaVqSDm7
— Lacey Outlaw (@LaceyOutlaw333) July 22, 2024
“No one should ever work for free. I've always insisted, for example, that interns should be paid at least the living wage where many companies not only pay them nothing but charge them for the ‘privilege’ of being an intern at their company,” entrepreneur Gary Clueit opined.
Mathur secured her first job two decades ago through cold-calling companies and expressed her willingness to work for free. Armed with a finance degree, she worked her way through the yellow pages.
The strategy proved successful for New York-based Mathur. She landed her first internship at the travel firm Travelocity while studying at the University of Texas. She then worked her way up through the ranks at Conde Nast, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Foursquare before becoming the chief marketing officer at Squarespace.
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