Internships: Experience or Exploitation?
Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by admin in Business, Education, Finance & Investments, Network
Competition in the workplace is probably at an all time high for graduates everywhere. Internships are arguably the best way to get your foot in the door or so they say. As a graduate I am aware of employers pushing the envelope on what is deemed as fair and not. I guess I am one of the few lucky ones that weren’t stuck in the photocopier room all day or on tea making duties.
Don’t get me wrong, there were tedious tasks that you could do with your eyes closed, but hey I got to do it for the experience right?…hmm!
The first internship I embarked on was unpaid, it didn’t bother me and I was willing to work for free to gain experience. However, they paid more than enough for lunch and travel leaving me with spare funds. Genuinely, some companies cannot afford to pay an intern a salary, but several companies with their tight-fisted approach understand that it will not deter intern’s from working, but make them work that much harder to acquire knowledge for their chosen field.
On the lookout for my next internship I had a telephone interview with one company offering travel expenses and £3 per day for lunch. Needless to say the employer most definitely heard the drop in my voice after she made that substandard offer; as I expected I didn’t hear from them after the phone call. I KNEW there were better offers out there and it felt like a step back not forward.
Another company took exploitation to the next level; this internship is for 6 months and travel and lunch expenses at £150 per month. Honestly, I thought she was joking and probably my face collapsed, can’t hide my emotions when it comes to foolishness. The amount is fairly decent for some individuals, however not when you are based in Zone 1 and I no longer have the luxury of a student discount oyster card…PATHETIC!
As I quickly absconded from the interview, something she mentioned rang in my head, ‘I get an intern every 6 months’ WTH!! Here I was thinking slavery was abolished. She had the nerve to ask if I was still looking for full-time work as well as internships, well I had already made my mind up that I didn’t want it, so I told her YES! It explains why I haven’t heard from her, in the words of my mom ‘good riddance to bad rubbish.’
Reputable companies tend to push the envelope when it comes to paying interns. We are all aware of the fact that they have money, millions of it to be more precise. Yet, they find no need to pay the little man. I have had two interviews with such companies regarding internships, I figured why not get their name on my CV so that I will be one step ahead of my peers.
Both companies offered me the position; one had issues with their HR department and let’s just says I am still waiting to start. The other company offered travel expenses and £5 for lunch, this is an okay offer but it placed me in limbo because I knew they could offer more and I turned it down. It took some serious soul searching before I earned the courage to decline the offer knowing their reputation.
All in all, I finally found a paid role with the possibility of being made permanent after a successful completion of the internship. All the above did not offer this and I guess I am one of the lucky ones. Internships are worth it to a certain degree but some do exploit as I have duly noted above!
