6
AN INTERN ’ S
DUTY
TO MOST OF US , UNPAID INTERNSHIPS ARE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE JUST ACCEPTED AS ORDINARY BUT WHEN POLITICAL MATTERS QUESTION THE MORALS AND LEGAL FACTORS OF IT , WHEN DOES UNPAID BECOME UNFAIR ? JESSIE BROOKS INVESTIGATES THE INTERN INDUSTRY TO OBSERVE THE MATTER IN QUESTION .
When talking about internships , does unpaid mean unfair ? It ’ s a known fact that for the majority of job roles now , a good qualification or two just isn ’ t enough . After all , having a piece of paper to say you ’ ve passed an exam tells an employer nothing about your abilities in a working environment . All industries whether it be web design , fashion , or motoring , do in fact require the help of interns to assist the running of their organisation . Is the experience that the eager to learn individuals gain , really worth having to work full time in an irrelevant job to pay bills ? However could we not argue that working for free eliminates the hard working applicants from the lazy and that if we were really adamant we would suffer the consequences ?
It can be argued that if you have genuine faith in yourself and your work abilities then 1 month of working for free should be a small price to pay for landing your dream job . Having said that , employers are now becoming so comfortabe with treating interns as ‘ disposable ’ that companies such as Urban Outfitters are advertising unpaid internships for a period as long as 9 months . Now , I was offered an internship with Urban Outfitters once and the opportunity sounded incredible , it was explained to me that I would really become one of the team and therefore what I learned would 100 % be worth the lack of pay , but if I was really one of the team , would get to do the same jobs as them and would be working their hours , surely this opportunity was being sugar coated and sold to me because if I am truly one of the team what makes it okay for me to be the only one working for free ?
I myself have completed multiple internships and work experiences that have been unpaid and I ’ ve spent a lot of time explaining to friends of mine why I work so hard for no money . The answer is , I genuinely have learned so much already and I ’ m only in my first year at university . At 18 I have 7 internships under my belt and no amount of money could give me the same satisfaction as seeing an interviewer look impressed when they see my CV .
Although I have had some bad experiences too , I once agreed to a weekend of work experience for a bridal show as a catwalk stylist & dresser for a small wage of £ 60 ( better than nothing in my 16 year old eyes ). After starting my Friday , Saturday and Sunday mornings at 4am to travel 3 hours from my home town to the venue on public transport , I was praised continuously by my employer due to my efforts given my journey etc .. after three 16 hour days , £ 200