Posted by CV Writers on Tuesday, 01 November 2011
Unpaid internships are increasingly seen as an important first step
on the career ladder. However, the more that is published about real
life intern experiences, the more it seems there is a lot of bad and
ugly and limited good about them.
The arguments for unpaid internships are that they provide cheap
labour for companies that may be struggling and give valuable work
experience for people who may otherwise be unemployed. That work
experience could turn out to be a valuable asset on a CV for future
employers.
The key argument against, other than the obvious and valid
exploitation one, is that internships are for the rich. Well, at least
for those who can afford to live on no income for 3 months or however
long the internship lasts for. Inevitably then, to take on an internship
a person must either have considerable savings (yeah right after 3
years at University?) or parents able to subsidize living expenses. To
compound the problem most career type jobs demand specific type of work
experience leading to a catch 22 situation. For instance, a graduate
with a degree in Law could be faced with a difficult choice: to take
paid employment as a shop assistant − the only way to afford to live. Or
to take an unpaid internship with a legal firm in order to get the
necessary work experience − but not be able to pay next months rent.
Some choice?
The website www.internsanonymous.co.uk
allows interns to blog about their experiences. Even allowing for the
fact you are only likely to do this if you feel strongly about the
subject, it makes for fairly depressing reading. From a paid internship
by a responsible sounding organisation (the good); to a PR firm where a
typical day was spent picking up the bosses dry cleaning and buying
birthday presents for her friends (the bad); to a government thinktank
where the unpaid intern suffered mentally and physically after taking on
the pressures of a role that was previously a full time employee (the
ugly). You often here employers complain that many students graduate
without the necessary work skills. Well, if some of the internships you
hear about are supposed to be about gaining such skills, then it is
perhaps not surprising that more and more people feel angry with the
system and would rather protest outside large Cathedrals. Especially
when Directors of the FTSE 100 give themselves 49% pay awards at the
same time.
All internships should be paid
It's that simple.
An employer is more likely to make the internship worthwhile for
themselves if there is a monetary value placed on it. There is a built
in incentive for the role to contribute productively for the
organisation, even if it is only for a limited time. The intern is
likely to be far more effective in their role if they are paid something
and given clearly defined − and useful − tasks. This is basic
economics. It makes sense. Interships are a good idea if they are are
run responsibly and are properly valued. At the moment they are open to
abuse and it's time this was stopped.
It seems as if students agree. According to a survey by Wikijobs 75%
of students think interns should be paid. According to Wikijobs founder
Ed Mellet “...some businesses are taking advantage of graduates who have
little experience of the world of work. Government should step in and
protect these people from being exploited.” www.ri5.co.uk
After the article, one anonymous person posted:
“Breathtaking hypocrisy from a company that itself uses unpaid interns”
Hmm.
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