Fortune Falsely Says Squarespace CMO Kinjil Mathur Advises Gen Z Job Seekers To 'Work For Free,' Which She Did Not Say

Finding a job is often a difficult, arduous process, as many Millennials know and Gen Z laborers are learning, but Squarespace CMO Kinjil Mathur has offered her advice for youngsters ready to break into the workforce: do anything and do it for free.

At least, that's what it sure seems like a viral Fortune headline is implying Mathur is saying.

As screenshots of the Fortune headline circulated, many on social media were shocked by how brazenly out-of-touch the quote sounded, particularly coming from a very successful executive who presumably doesn't have to worry about money.

However, Mathur didn't actually say Gen Z should be willing to "work for free" in the article. Instead, she told a story about how, as an undergraduate, she called businesses in search of internship opportunities and said she would be willing to work for free, which got her her first gigs (the article does not go into how she was able to work for free, though a Vogue article from 2022 that describes her father as an "engineer" and her mother as a "medical professional" may shed light on that question).

She claimed those experiences eventually led to a full-time job when she graduated and set her on the path to corporate success. Mathur's actual advice, as quoted in the article, is, "You really have to just be willing to do anything, any hours, any pay, any type of job — just really remain open."

It's familiar hustle culture jargon mixed in with the usual scolding of young laborers for being too demanding in their search for employment. Fortune quoted Mathur as saying, "The list of criteria for people coming out of college, or in college, right now is so long."

The publication also wrote, "Mathur suggests that unemployed Gen Zers need to ditch their list of demands for prospective employers — including plenty of working from home, minimal working hours and a generous pay check — and start hustling."

While social media can undoubtedly quibble with the advice presented in Fortune's piece, she at the very least did not say young workers need to work for free — a fact now reflected in Fortune's current headline, which reads, "Gen Z job seekers should be ‘willing to do anything’ — any hours, any pay, any type of job, says Squarespace CMO."