While the frustration of an unsuccessful job hunt might motivate you to do almost anything to get your foot in the door, this offer is simply a bad idea. Were the company to take you up on it, in most cases the employer would be breaking the law. While there are specific exceptions for those volunteering for private nonprofit and governmental organizations, the law requires that if you work, you get paid at least the minimum wage ($7.25 under federal law, and higher in some states). Even nonprofit and governmental organizations using volunteers cannot assign them to tasks similar to work customarily performed by employees. Volunteers cannot be involved in the nonprofit's work that is a commercial enterprise competing with other businesses (such as a church thrift store or a hospital gift shop.) And if you're seeking to volunteer for a for-profit business, think again. You cannot waive the right to receive the minimum wage for the work you do; otherwise, employers could routinely exploit desperate employees by asking them to waive all or part of their wages. A reputable company is not going to risk legal liability by hiring "volunteers,"-not when you could later sue them for back wages and penalties covering the hours you worked.