My Grandad used to say "You'll never be out of work if you work for free." But there are times when doing a small amount of work for no charge can really be beneficial in the long run - the trick is to make sure that other people are not taking advantage of your abilities. For example, a couple of years ago, a Ukrainian company asked me if I would help them with their English language website in return for graphic design services rather than payment. Now, I don't have a lot of use for graphic design (I already have good designers who help me out), but I accepted their offer because of the unusual projects it would add to my portfolio. Two years later and I still proof their English news items and occassionally provide some copywriting nous to their web pages. While I don't receive any payment for this, I am able to promote my services on their website, use the work as portfolio pieces of 'English fixing', and make contacts that I would never be able to make just working in the UK.
Having said that, I do limit my involvement to no more than one to two hours per month. You have to know where to draw the line with favours!
So if you get the chance to work on a non-paying project that might boost your portfolio, don't dismiss it out of hand. Act like a good copywriter and spot the benefits first!
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