Service of Interns
January 25th, 2010
Categories: Appreciation, Assistant, Education, Internships, Manipulation, Mentoring, Training
Volunteering is what my family has done for generations. I’ve done a chunk of it myself on numerous boards, countless committees and by mentoring students. I believe in the concept.
Everyone has their reasons: My Mother volunteered because she wanted to supplement what she gave to the organizations she supported. Volunteering on boards or committees of industry organizations can provide invaluable contacts, useful gossip–even new skills. Some feel they gain social standing and companionship. Others enjoy the work, accomplishing something and helping others.
I wonder: How did the volunteer model became corrupted by large corporations and small companies when they turn interns into volunteers? I am irritated when I hear about interns working for free while their employer is compensated for this work–by advertisers, clients, subscribers or others. I don’t suggest that interns be paid a full salary, but they should be paid something. The words “child labor laws” and “minimum wage” come to mind.
In theory, interns take away more than they give: Experience and teeth to add to their resumes. Well known brands and industries with too many wanting to get in take advantage of the situation. But they are also taking advantage of young men and women. Isn’t this behaviour generally frowned upon?
Granted, it is disruptive to bring someone in to a team for only three months when it can take that amount of time for a nubie to catch on. But business owners don’t suffer this disturbance–their staff does. Owners profit from free work. There are employers who toss interns at overstretched departments instead of adding assistants to the payroll. Again, it’s win-win for the owner and yet another responsibility for the out-of-breath staff.
Do you think that interns get enough out of the experience that they don’t need to be paid? If a company has enough to do that it can benefit from the efforts of an intern, should it pay? Or should the company be commended for volunteering its facilities and staff to train the next generation?
Interns should be paid, at least a stipend to cover transportation and lunch. More important is what they are asked to do. I spent a summer in college making photocopies and cleaning moldy coffee cups (yes, they can mold!) instead of being given tasks I could learn from. I now give my interns things to do that they can learn from.
In the current economy I’ve see too many people who have graduated from college being offered internships rather than jobs. Companies are taking advantage.
Internship is a boondoggle to employers. Many interns are given low level jobs that barely count as experience for the honor of adding XYZ corporation to their resumes. When my son graduated from UCLA 2 years ago, he was almost the only graduate in his department to be offered a “real” job. The rest of the students were saddled with non-paying internships that forced them to live in substandard living conditions (unless their parents could continue footing the bills). This is criminal, in my opinion.
This is an interesting subject, and I know people have some strong opinions on it.
I’ve used interns a few times over the years, with varying success. A couple were fantastic and saved me lots of time and even came up with some good ideas. Others were not good and, in those cases, I ended up spending an inordinate amount of time explaining and re-explaining and then correcting.
I try to give interns meaningful work where they can learn and gain valuable experience, rather than having them as free go-fers to get my coffee and clean my office. (I’ve seen interns used in both of those manners.)
While interns gain experience and hopefully learn a bit about the company and the profession they’re interning in, they also gain a valuable thing they can put on their resume that makes them stand out from other new graduates.
However, I still think interns should be compensated — not at the market rate, but at the very least, a small stipend to cover their carfare/train or subway cost and a modest lunch. When I’ve had interns, I’ve usually given them a stipend of about $20/day. It made me feel better about “using” them, even as I was teaching them.
I think that it’s important for interns to be paid. When I had interns at the off-Broadway theater I worked at, I advocated that they get paid. Instead of payment, I agreed to pay the intern’s LIRR train ticket (about $60 per month). I think it’s important for interns to feel they’re valued and often that’s shown by paying them.
In my art days, I did volunteer internships at the Guggenheim, Phillips Collection and Fogg Museum. And, I was considered lucky.
Christine,
Did you get anything out of the experiences in addition to a golden resume?
A realization that I should definitely NOT pursue that avenue as a future.
Ironically, I reached the same conclusion by being a messenger at a law firm. That job was paid.
Having just jumped off the intern merry-go-round last year, and having both paid and unpaid internships, I am loving this post.
I can say with some conviction that regardless of the status of the places I worked, I appreciated the paid internships much more, and it was reflected in my work. Between new work clothes, lunches, commuting costs, and sometimes the stress of working an additional paid job, unpaid internships wind up costing the students more that the internship is usually worth.
I also noticed in my circle of fellow students, that many times students that interned at the company they were looking to be hired at, would get passed over for actual jobs in favor of students who had a better skill set (which was usually earned by launching their own projects, instead of filing papers away at an internship).
I think unpaid internships are an appalling way for companies large
and small to exploit the hungry-for-work-and-experience youngsters
eager to gain a foothold in particular industries.
In the good old days these young people could expect to find
entry-level jobs that were at times menial and at other times
exploitative—but with a difference: They got paid and received some
benefits. Today, it’s virtually slave labor. The hours are long, and
even if there is a promise of a full-time job at the end of the
internship, in so many cases that promise is unfulfilled. The intern
leaves, perhaps richer in promise but poorer in pocketbook. And a new
intern is brought in—at no charge.
I know there can’t be anything like an intern’s union, but I think
there should be a statute on the books that will ensure that an intern
receives modest payment for working long hours and weekends and that
some form of compensation is offered—even if it’s only carfare. Why?
Because I think that a great many companies are getting a free ride
today, knowing how desperate so many recent grads are to gain on-site
knowledge and experience.
It was once considered an honor to be awarded an internship; now the
general feeling is, “You got screwed.”
Merv, You are right. It used to be an honor. What happened? I guess too many people, thinking that they could get away with something, did–and it was no longer such a big deal.
This is a tough question.
I worked in a field in which interns didn’t have either the specialized training or experience to be of much use to us. However, corporate policy was to take them on because if they were bright, having them spend a summer with us was an inexpensive way to recruit potential management talent. That said, I tried to avoid having them assigned to my department. Incidentally, we did pay them.
As to whether interns should be paid, I’m of two minds. As a moral matter, I think they should be. But I also believe in letting market conditions determine the level of wages any employer should pay. If someone is willing to work for free, then I can’t blame an employer for taking advantage.
Not wanting to sound lawyer-like, it involves consideration. If the intern is receiving tremendous experience and insight relative to minor contributions on their part, then financial compensation may not be warranted. A properly motivated intern will see that newly acquired wealth of experience as an important investment in their future. If the intern is contributing as much or more to the relationship, then compensation may be in order. I try not to mix “volunteerism” with “internship.” The former implies giving without expecting any future gain ($). The latter implies that there will be financial reward.
I started my magazine career in New York as an intern at Hearst. I was paid $50 per day, had just graduated from college, had no health insurance and was not getting money from my parents. It was not much money but there were lots of perks and I worked for the most amazing editor who included everyone from the lowest intern to the top editors in group staff meetings and discussions. She taught me a lot which was invaluable - in three months time I became her assistant and therefore received an on staff position and a boost in salary. Maybe I was just lucky but she taught me valuable life skills and work skills that everyone has something to contribute and that no matter what your level on the totem pole, your opinions and experiences are valuable. I might add that, except for one other editor, manager, boss etc. , I have never come across anyone who treated their staff with such respect and making them feel like part of the greater team no matter what their level. It was an amazing start to a long career in magazines and has taught me how important it is to respect everyone and know that everyone has something to contribute and by including them you make them feel important and believe me, people will work for much less and do much more for you if they are respected and included.
Tom S and Tom W and NenaghGal,
Were that all internships were as you describe them. Some may still be.
I don’t see payment as a legal issue–maybe not even an ethical one or a what the traffic will bear situation. If someone is working for you, you pay them. Does a teen mowing the neighbor’s lawn get no money because he/she is not the employee of a landscape business? A babysitter in nanny training work for free?
I have a rule. If a friend feeds my hypothetical pet goldfish when I am out of town, I am grateful and bring a souvenir in thanks. But if this friend does work for me, I pay them. The same goes for interns.
When I was with Gear American Country, we had a standing agreement with Syracuse University to employ (we paid transportation and lunch) interns on their spring break. Several became full time employee’s once they graduated.
I was never comfortable with the concept as I thought they should be given a salary, but was told that the experience was a salary. I wasn’t writing the checks so I accepted the situation and tried to include the interns in as much of the every day studio work as possible. However, many a day the experience was limited to filing artwork especially if we were on a deadline and time was of the essence.
I think like so many business agreements you take from it what you can and move on if it is unfair. Interns can learn from being “used” and learn how to negotiate next time around. I certainly would have respected an intern who defined what they wished to gain from the experience before excepting the job. One intern wanted to enhance her portfolio so I immediatley knew the assignments I could give her and we were both happy. I guess it is the old …. good communications up front works. Interns can ask for a job description !!
My daughter received a transportation stipend for her internship at the Museum of Natural History — and that was OK with me. It was a named internship, which has a bit more cache, and as long as she got something, that was fine — it’s a non-profit, after all.
She did real work with the public, and loved being there. But what’s the message when corporations don’t pay anything? Along with getting a bit of experience in a possible career path, a key thing that students need to learn is money management. And shouldn’t corporations be teaching students that hard work leads to monetary gain? Or is their message: You work hard, we’ll keep all the money, thank you.
Deirdre,
Your message reminded me of a seminar I attended in which the speaker pointed off in the distance and asked the audience if they had this kind of boss who would say, “Do you see that house over there on 10 acres, the one with the lush landscaping, swimming pool in the back yard and the Rolls in the driveway? If you work just a little harder and longer, all of that could be mine.” [Her point was if you do, move on.]
Good for the Museum of Natural History, for Hearst, and for all the people who work with an intern and give them great instruction and invaluable experience.
Obviously, Jeanne, you have hit the jackpot with this post if you were out to find a sensitive subject.
I hate to prick the balloon, but I think it’s a question of supply and demand in the labor markets.
I’d be delighted to pay $50.00 a day, not a week, including room and board for an intern to work at real estate management. Prerequisites for applicants should include honesty, minimal literacy, a willingness to work hard, as well as physical strength and stamina. Intern will learn basic gardening, window washing, elementary painting and carpentry and variety of what used to be known as domestic sciences.
I bet I have no takers!