Unpaid internships are bad for business
THE BBC came under fire when its highest paid stars’ salaries were revealed last month. Not only did the overall salaries raise eyebrows, the apparent gender gap at the top end of the BBC dominated its own news agenda.
Yet there’s a much more insidious pay-related problem that is endemic in the media and marketing, and it’s spreading to other sectors too. I’m talking about the disgrace that is unpaid internships. Recently, we recruited for an intern to join us. Before deciding on the job spec and salary for this role, I did a bit of research to find out what was out there in our region for young people.
The results were depressing, and a sad indictment of business ethics in certain quarters across Yorkshire. Not only were numerous organisations offering unpaid internships, some were even asking applicants to supply their own laptop and phone. Others failed to offer travel or subsistence expenses, meaning effectively that they were expecting their intern to pay for the privilege of working for them.
Some companies were advertising for an intern to not just assist, but to develop PR and marketing strategies, take responsibility for social media and media relations and analyse and report results – effectively a brief that most experienced agencies and marketing managers would be familiar with, and certainly not something that an inexperienced graduate should be asked to take on.
Unpaid internships are unethical and make poor business sense, and any business offering them ought to think long and hard about their approach.
Firstly, taking the ethical issue, I’ve always been a firm believer that a decent day’s work deserves a decent day’s pay. Exploiting young people’s ambitions to access unpaid labour is something any firm ought to be ashamed of.
We are all bombarded with news stories about today’s students graduating with tens of thousands of pounds of debt – what message are we sending when we decide that their significant investment in education and skills doesn’t warrant even a basic salary?
Just because we can get away with doing something doesn’t mean we should. At Cream, we regularly get emails from students and graduates offering to work for free in the hope of getting that all-important first step on the ladder. Competition is fierce in industries like PR, media and marketing, and having a bit of experience is often the deciding factor in getting an entrylevel job.
I understand how difficult it is to gain that experience, and therefore the temptation to offer to work for free. I also understand the financial restraints many smaller agencies and organisations face. When cash is tight, a bright and talented graduate offering to join the team for free can seem like a gift from the gods.
But as responsible business owners, it is incumbent upon us to look at the bigger picture, and ask ourselves, is this really the right thing to do?
Perhaps certain individuals can justify unpaid internships to themselves on the grounds that their intern ‘really, really wants to work for them’ and they’re giving them an opportunity that will allow them to progress to a successful and lucrative career.
After all, if both parties are happy with the arrangement, why should anyone pass judgement? This brings us on to the wider impact of unpaid internships.
Internships, when managed properly and fairly, can be fantastic things for both employers and those starting out in their careers. Businesses get fresh new ideas and enthusiasm; interns get a chance to explore their prospective career and gain experience. But when they’re used purely to get things done for free, they do more damage than good.
As a business owner, if you’re taking profits out of the business, you can afford to pay your interns. Alternatively, if you’re having to rely on unpaid labour to get the work done and bring the cash in, perhaps it’s time to question whether or not your business is really viable at all.