If you are interested in the position find out more about it. My son took an unpaid internship at a radio station. It turns out that of the six people who currently have the position he would be interested in five of them interned at the radio station. The internship is not full time so he still has time to work his paid jobs over the summer.
BTW-in many states you do not have to be of legal drinking age to handle alcohol. My son is bartending in TN and he is not of age. In our home state (FL) you do not have to be 21 to tend bar, serve in a restaurant, or handle alcohol as an employee. State laws differ.
From what you have told us, Im in the camp that this company is not complying with federal labor laws here in offering this unpaid internship to you.
From my understanding of the laws (understanding gained from listening to an NPR segment about gov cracking down on companies trying to use college students for free labor), unpaid internships have to be provable mentorships where they already have someone in the job and that person is teaching you the job- a kind of job shadowing if you will- but the paid employee does most of the work. The company cannot receive any kind of substantial or immediate benefit from your work. On NPR they also said they can’t send you out to get coffee or run errands for the company bc that would be an immediate benefit from your work 
You wrote the position was “to help them out with social media marketing”- that sounds like they would benefit immediately from your work…
and it kind of sounds like a scam to me… also its obvi going to involve you promoting alcohol, which, as an underage person, doesn’t seem super ethical (esp in this age where your social media posts can come back to haunt you later in your career)… IMO, if you want to be an accountant, I wouldn’t compromise your ethics for this.
Here is an article related to a winery using volunteer labor. It did not turn out well for said winery. http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/09/15/castro-valley-winery-fined-115000-for-using-volunteers/
@nordicdad Yikes, that sucks! I wouldn’t want to get myself wrapped up with the brewery, if what they are doing is illegal.
@runswimyoga Thanks for your advice and information.
I think mountains are being made out of molehills here. Bartering is as old as time, whether it is 100% legal or not. All kinds of people exchange their energy and time for skills and merchandiseIf the job fits for you, pursue it. They might not bring you on board anyway given your age and background. If it doesn’t interest you, drop it.
Regardless, find something to do this summer. It’s getting to be late May and it sounds like you have no plans right now. Work on building your resume. That’s just as important as a degree in landing a post graduate job these days.
I’m less critical of unpaid internships. Years ago I did one, it turned into a permanent paid position which changed the course of my career. A non-profit I do freelance work for now had an unpaid intern last semester; today she’s talking to them about a paid trip to South America to act as a translator.
Some unpaid internships are worth the time investment: they can give you invaluable experience, contacts, portfolio items and may turn into a paid job.
This is a controversial opinion on CC, and I’ve caught hell for it on this site (smile) but I had to share it.
Don’t take it. Find a paid summer job instead.
@katliamom From my NPR listening session about the gov crackdown on companies exploiting college students through unpaid internships, I gathered that unpaid internships at non-profits are OK and have MUCH different laws/regulations than non paid internships at FOR-Profits…
I get what you are saying, BUT there is a difference between the two.
I agree with @doschicos with respect to mountains and molehills. When my son found out that the radio station hired almost exclusively from their unpaid interns he decided that he would make it work for him. Since the position is only a few days a week and only a few hours at a time he decided it was worth it to donate his time. So far he is learning a lot. I can’t see the downside for him. I am pretty sure the radio station is in compliance with the law since it is affiliated with a big media company but if it isn’t then it isn’t. He still sees it as beneficial to him.
He will work as a bartender (he’s 20) and for the minor league baseball team for money and donate his time to the radio station. He also worked an unpaid internship for the university athletic department during the school year. Since he wants to work in sports media he will have a resume that includes work for a sports radio station, a D1 athletic department, and a minor league sports team. Bartending is where he plans to make his real money.
The only case in which I’d be okay with an unpaid internship is if you will be gaining some skill or knowledge that will advance you in your career. That would be the “payment.” But even then, the knowledge and skills would have to be pretty special and rare. Your labor is worth something.
@massmomm I’d argue that your labor is yours to do with as you will. If an adult wants to volunteer for something, they should be free to do so. Take the article that @nordicdad posted for example. These were people volunteering at a winery for the camaraderie, experience, and love of the industry. They didn’t care that they weren’t being paid, but the government decided to punish the business anyway (and therefore everyone else that enjoyed volunteering at local wineries).
My D told me her friends who have taken unpaid internships are working nights/weekends in restaurants to earn money. You can do both, right?
@doschicos If you read through my previous replies, you can see where I clearly said that I was going to apply to Old Navy/Barnes & Noble. Not sure where you got the idea that I have “no plans”.
But it is interesting to see everyone’s opinions on unpaid internships in general. I think my best bet would just be to not apply for this position, even though working in a brewery would be cool.
My point was you have nothing pinned down currently. No job in hand on May 20th.
Considering I go back to school August 28th and I already applied to the two jobs, I think my plans are fine…