ONLY ‘MEDIOCRE’ GRADUATES WOULD QUESTION THE VALUE OF UNPAID INTERNSHIPS, SAYS EDINBURGH BOSS
Do some bosses feel it’s their human right to hire unpaid staff? Like many people, we were shocked by the story about Casa Morada, the Edinburgh interior design business that advertised six unpaid, full-time, six-month internships. As each job required 35 hours work per week, the business was advertising 5,460 hours of unpaid work.
But we were even more shocked by their response to being challenged. When Edinburgh-based artist Eugene MacDonald asked why the business expected people to work for nothing, the founder of Casa Morada – Eve Serrano – wrote:
“I fully expect you to proof [sic] to me that you can actually be an asset to my business before I invest seriously in you with a full time contract.
“I deliberately place UNPAID intern positions precisely to sort out the mediocre (you) who will never apply, from the formidable. You will never go far with your present mindset. Rest assured of that. 150 CVs now in, from as far as London, and counting.”
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But Serrano was just getting warmed up. She later told The Student:
“We don’t believe that working 35 hours per week does in any form disadvantage students from poorer backgrounds because we all have universal access to 168 hours in every week of the year.
“The question here is how badly do you want to get into the highly competitive creative industry. Some will be prepared to make the personal sacrifice of holding two jobs, one paid, one unpaid, during six months to obtain valuable and priceless experience, increasing their chances of future employability, while others simply won’t bother.
“A university degree is meaningless nowadays. Any average person with moderate IQ out there can get one.
“A recent graduate on an internship is an “intern” i.e. someone with limited capacity to make a serious and immediate contribution from the start and [is] largely “clueless” as to the challenges of surviving in a competitive environment.”
What a lovely lady. Happily, Casa Morada has now been reported to HM Revenue and Customs (thanks to The Student and campaign group Intern Aware) and the adverts have been removed.
But it got us thinking about some of the most extreme cases of intern exploitation that we’ve heard about, and the shocking attitudes of those who employ – or attempt to employ – unpaid interns.
What’s the rudest thing an employer has ever said to you, when you asked about pay or questioned the value of your internship? Is Eve Serrano a one-off, or do other employers share her disdain for young workers? Please share your stories below…
So, because you cant afford to move to the other end of the country and work for nowt, you’re ‘mediocre’ Not only that, she then goes on to insult graduates as a whole! Clearly they don’t have a PR department or anything to even spin that or provide a completely ‘professional,’ ‘reasonably toned response.
Unbelievable. Pure arrogance. Now rightfully named and shamed.
Maybe not the rudest thing an employer has said, but whilst interning I was made to do cigarette runs for her (I don’t smoke) and buy her dog’s food when she ran out. I also had to take parcels of clothes that had been sold on eBay the night before to the post office. Didn’t say anything as it was my first internship since graduating.
That being said, after this I completed a 6 month unpaid internship elsewhere and they were the best 6 months to date for my career. I learnt so much, with an amazing team, they helped me get about 7 or 8 job interviews and I now have my dream job.
But I agree, unpaid internships are disgusting. I was very lucky that my parents lived within easy travelling distance of my last internship which allowed me to complete it
A senior level director said we can use the interns, get them in to cover need and then just get them out.
It’s my experience that a lot of employers and their underlings make a series of comments, gestures and give different looks and grunts to try and mould you into being like them – workaholics, whereby you cannot put a monetary value on your work and you simply “get with the programme”.
That’s how they behave on Spain. now you understands 25% unemployment, 50% young unemployment, 75% young unemployment on Canary Islands.
That’s Spain.
The backlash against this employer is unrelenting. She’s gone from a 5-star rated business on Facebook to a 1.2-star rated business.
Her reaction has been nothing short of inane.
Being asked to put bleach down a blocked toilet. Not even the task – it was the tone I was spoken to with when instructed to perform this action.
My God it was a terrible internship looking back that at times bordered on bullying. Did I speak out? Of course not. I needed a reference.
That Smiths lyric comes to mind – I can smile about it now but at the time it was terrible.
Hi everyone
I’m working on a big report for a magazine about internships so am collecting stories about the poor treatment young people have received from employers. Those of you who have contributed anecdotes to this thread, do you think you could drop me a line with a bit more detail? I don’t need to use your name or name the company, but an idea of what industry it was, how long you worked there and what other tasks you were given would be great. Please email me via the Contact page (link below) – thanks!
http://bit.ly/duLICY
Tanya
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