COMPANY DIRECTOR SWAMPED WITH HATE MAIL
The publishing company that ran what’s been called The worst job posting ever? for an unpaid internship has been shocked by the outcry it triggered – but claims it was “a modest proposal” and that interships offer a valuable way for young people to “prove themselves” to employers.
In an email exchange with a reporter for the Irish Times, John O’Brien, the director of Dalkey Archive Press, wrote:
“The advertisement was a modest proposal. Serious and not-serious at one and the same time. I’ve been swamped with emails (I wish they’d stop: I’ve work to do), and with job applications. I certainly have been called an ‘asshole’ before, but not as many times within a 24-hour period.
“Strangely, no one (except the applicants) seem to have noticed that jobs are being offered: when does this happen with internships? In brief, I take internships very seriously, and take on only people I think might be a future employee. Since coming to Ireland, I’ve seen so many applications to Dalkey in which CVs list upwards of six internships, which tend to smack of ‘we looked, we evaluated, and didn’t think the person was good enough to keep’. And my 25 years of experience with interns has been very mixed: the most common problem being that they aren’t prepared, don’t know what to expect, hope that a job might be at the end of the rainbow, and yet don’t have a clue as to what an employer is looking for. Employers wind up frustrated that they put in so much time, and the interns wonder why a job wasn’t forthcoming.
“Employers do not offer internships out of the goodness of their heart (well, perhaps some due); they want the internships to be the grounds on which people prove themselves. And yet they are strange situations: interns aren’t employees; they don’t quite fit into a well-defined category at the company; they have to do something worthwhile for the company or why else have them around; but, at the same time, they don’t have much to offer because they don’t have the knowledge or experience to do very much.
“So, the tongue-in-cheek advertisement was a call to apply for the internships (and the two possible positions) if you’re going to be serious and are ready; if not, then let’s not waste each other’s time. Usually this is couched in the sanitised language of ‘must be deadline-oriented, well-organised, ambitious’, etc. But as I think we’ve known for a long time, the age of irony is dead, and I’m a fossil.
“This is my ‘official’ reaction to the hornet’s nest.”
Mr O’Brien did not make clear whether he was still intending to hire unpaid workers for these positions in his company.
*ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THIS RESPONSE?
Should Dalkey Archive Press apologise for this advert – and promise to re-think their position? Do you think the company director understands why so many young people were so upset by this advert? Should it be illegal to advertise unpaid internships?
Tanya… My take on the whole thing is he *is* hiring, but the job advert in its exact form was intended as satire.
Why do I think this? He describes it as a “modest proposal”, a famous work of satire by Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift. The “Modest Proposal” was a piece which proposed that to end the Irish hunger, they should have children and eat them for food.
Saying that, despite the work being one in the Irish tradition of “Modest Proposal”-style satire, I don’t believe for one minute that his comments suggest in any way that interns won’t be providing a vital service to the Dalkey Press and it is my belief that that they should be paid positions.
Interesting. I feel like he probably wrote the original posting in a “funny” way because he didn’t want to make the conditions to seem so draconian, even though they are. All this huffing about how no one understands his satire sounds like he was caught off-guard now that someone actually wants an explanation for what he meant by it, and while there is something to be said for criticising the impersonal HR style of writing, I don’t think this is the right way to do it. Will he be conducting interviews through pantomime? Will his employees be given satirical contracts? I would expect not, and I don’t think his attempts at “humour” are appropriate for a job advert.
The satire excuse sounds particularly fishy given his views about how worthless interns are, what with their inability to read the employer’s mind and have the experience of a sage. His comments indicate that his interns receive no training, no specific job descriptions or roles with their own workload, and just depend on him for every single task that has to be done just so. The comment about how people with a long list of internships have clearly been judged not good enough also betrays ignorance about the dependence of the publishing industry on unpaid labour, a problem he himself perpetuates. Not to mention that making interns hope that “there’s a job at the end of the rainbow” is something he is guilty of as well, it would appear.
Also, seeing as Mr. O’Brien made a spelling mistake in his email (“due” instead of “do”), does that indicate that he’s not qualified to work for the Press? Or am I now giving unsolicited advice (which is grounds for dismissal)?
Looks like they are not the only ones – how about Inside Buzz (a careers advice site no less) who offer a 3 to 6 month internship and will “initially cover expenses (travel and lunch)” and will “consider an additional stipend for the right candidate”
I wonder when people will realise that stipends are illegal…
The original ad and this response are absolutely dripping with arrogance. Where on earth does he get off suggesting that people need to “prove themselves” by working for free? If you work, you get paid. If you’re learning, you have no responsibility to the company. He’s looking for people to work for no pay. What part of ‘illegal’ doesn’t he understand?
Absolutely excellent comment Kayla: I agree x 1 million.
“Employers do not offer internships out of the goodness of their hearts…” So now we’re supposed to be GRATEFUL for the chance to work for free?! Employers offer internships for their own end, i.e. free labour! Maybe some are looking for someone to employ in a paid role but as Sarah mentioned, it’s illegal! You wouldn’t hire a manager and insist he proved he could do the job by working for 2 months unpaid, why do people think it’s OK to do this to the youngest and poorest members of society? His attitude is disgusting, in fact I think worse of him after reading his ‘defense’ than I did before.
Thanks, Caitlyn! I absolutely agree, this attitude of “employers aren’t doing it out of charity” really makes my head hurt. Of course businesses aren’t charities, but that’s precisely why they shouldn’t be depending on unpaid work! If someone decided to recruit for any position beyond the entry level / perpetual intern level and suggested that the candidate should do their probationary period unpaid, I doubt that anyone would agree to this, other than people who don’t have much choice. It’s actually really sickening that in this age of CSR and ethical business standards, so many people accept that exploiting those with little power in the job market is just dandy because they’re young. And don’t get me started on the bizarre idea that apparently only young people are able to gain experience from “the world of work”, or that experience is an acceptable alternative to money…
I was really hoping that this advert was a hoax. How anyone can accuse grads and jobseekers of being entitled when there are employers like that is crazy.