About Unpaid Internships...

        This week at the press, we have shifted our attention from our ongoing Amazon vs. bookstores debate to another matter entirely. Are unpaid interns being exploited? Some of you may have heard about the former Harper's Bazaar intern who is suing Hearst because she claimed she was doing the work of a full time job and not receiving any pay (you can read more about the case here). Something I was unaware of is that there are six criteria that need to apply to every unpaid internship to ensure the intern is not being misused. I believe that the most important of these is that the internship must be for the benefit of the intern. Internships are meant to give interns experience and knowledge in a certain field. Making coffee and copies all day is not going to teach anyone anything about any industry. People who have had to suffer through those types of internships have a right to complain.
        However, not all internships are like that. At the Press we receive the benefits of learning first-hand how a press works. For example, right now, two other interns are poring through manuscripts, checking to make sure the most recent draft is up-to-date and the grammar is correct. Working on this blog post, I am reminded of when I got to help with the Press's blog redesign last year, which taught me about what is essential in gaining a larger following and how to design a blog using html.
        The case with Harper's Bazaar should make all interns think about the experience that they are getting at their internship. Are they learning something that will be beneficial to them in the future? Do they feel like they are helping out or performing a job that someone could be paid to do full time? If interns feel as though they are being taken advantage of then they should talk to their supervisor and try to work out how to alter what they are currently doing so they will not feel like they are wasting their time. It can be easy for an intern to get misused, but it is also easy for an intern to speak up and try to turn things around.
For more views on internships we suggest reading this article from The New York Times. Leave us your opinion in the comments below!

Posted by Elizabeth