Earlier this month, the New York Times featured a few articles focused on internships and whether they are truly valuable for the intern or just a disguise for companies to exploit workers and capitalize on "free labor."
In one article, Ross Perlin, a researcher for the Himalayan Languages Project in southwest China and author of Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy, suggests that "the labor of unpaid interns has quietly replaced or displaced untold thousands of workers." Perlin goes on to say that "the well-intentioned, structured, paid training experience of yesteryear is increasingly giving way to an unpaid labor racket". The discussion surrounding internships is very relevant to me as I look to staff my growing recruiting business. I find that much of my daily activity cannot be outsourced, nor am I willing to outsource. Much of my work involves directly sourcing candidates for particular positions or conferring with clients on exactly what they are looking for in their next employee; I feel my background in the electronics industry sets me apart from many recruiters. It would be difficult for me to "teach" an intern the nuances of the electronics business in a single semester. However, I recognize a need for a greater social media presence for JJM Search, which could be well-executed by an intern, specifically someone from Generation Y, where social media is second nature.
I recently hired (yes, hired!) an intern from a local liberal arts university. Lauren is a senior (a business marketing/management major) and has already brought a wealth of energy and fresh perspective to my business. Lauren is focusing on all aspects of social media including establishing the company's Facebook presence, enhancing the LinkedIn site, creating a YouTube company video, and developing an improved and fully-linked Website at www.jjmsearch.com.
The internship is virtual, except for occasional lunch meetings to fill in the blanks from our weekly calls and to get out of the office or off campus! The stipend that Lauren earns probably isn't enough to make a dent in her student loans but is based on approximate hours of work and equal to what she would get working part-time locally. Lauren says she would have taken the internship even without a stipend, as the work experience is valuable for her as she looks to enter the job market permanently in May. Not to mention the connections this internship provides.
I am a firm believer in internships. I had several during my college days -- some paid, some unpaid -- and all provided a wealth of experience. In some cases, the experience helped in highlighting careers I didn't want to pursue. Perlin, in his article, concludes that "ultimately, the government has a fundamental responsibility for ensuring that the labor market remains a level playing field and that America continues to be a land of opportunity. The law has said for decades that unpaid work, with few exceptions, is illegal. It is time to enforce the law."
I'm sorry, but I wholeheartedly disagree that the government needs to step in and eliminate unpaid internships. I believe internships (paid or unpaid) can bring tremendous value to an intern, and, ultimately, to his or her future employers.
My job experience and career started during my internship. After the internship, the company offered me a part-time job throughout my study. To me, the internship is of great value.
Both paid or unpaid interships can provide one with excellent opportunities to gain career-related work experience. Intership has some basic values like clarifying students career goals with professionals helps in making decision if the field is right or not, it also has a value of expanding students knowledge by seeing how problem are solve on practically.
As an Intern I feel that it doesn't matter if it is paid or not because it is the experience I am recieving from the internship. Yes, getting a little extra cash is nice but in the long run the valuable skills and connections I am making will benefit me in the end. These days, more and more people are looking at our resumes to see if we have any prior experience or internships that may divide us from other competition in the job market today who haven't had any internships.
Obviously the value and experience internships brings is undoubtedly rewarding.
Conversely the value of unpaid labour gained from an intern by the organisation is equally worth a great deal, this too should be rewarded.
Hence, employers should give due consideration and reward the efforts and contribution interns brings to their businesses. Particularly where an intern brings fresh ideas and marked contribution to the organisation.
You are right, each internship needs to be evaluated to determine whether "it is a fit" for the individual.
Sometimes value comes from places you least expect it. One of the first calls my intern made was to someone at another MRI office in Michigan. Call was set for 11:30 am not realizing the one hour time difference - lesson one learned in very first call. When working across time zones, verify time and zone!
In journalism school I was offered an internship with a local radio station and as a broadcast major I thought it was an excellent opportunity until the terms were spelled out. The station was about 20 miles from where I lived and the out-of-pocket expenses I would have to pay were high. Also, I would have had to work odd hours, switching from morning shift to afternoon to night each week, which further complicated transportation. It was also unpaid.
The station manager told me I would learn a lot. I couldn't afford that kind of learning experience. And neither could my parents. Plus, my college had a student radio station at which I worked (interned) during school days without pay. So, I turned it down.
Instead, I interned with my sister and her husband, both of them physicians starting their own practice. I visited companies on their behalf to get them retainership with businesses. It was tough work but I learned a lot about human relationships and sales, all of which may or may not have had anything to do with journalism. But I did the real work, not watered down stuff. Plus, I got paid. Which kind of came in handy on resumption!
Companies don't hire interns out of some altruism. They do only because they know they can extract some value from the students, even if that value lies only in keeping the coffee pot full and fresh. Whenever you engage with someone to provide a service as a for-profit organization, you owe that individual some payment, otherwise don't bother.
For certain fields in which experience is considered more important than coursework, interships are invaluable. Those are worthwhile even with no pay. There are also intenships that do pay. When my husband worked at Goldman Sachs, he said there were several college students working in the summer as interns. They actually got paid well, but they were worked hard and treated not so well. Still it would have been worth it to any of them, not just for the money, but because they got to put the name of the firm on their resumes.
My daughter also had several internship opportunities during her college career. All of them were valuable in helping her fine-tune her career aspirations at the end of her college tenure. While I am sure there are some less valuable internship 'opportunities' out there, I would hate to see a disincentive for those who are providing valuable opportunities.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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