text by Emily Burley

With the graduate job market tighter than ever, many students rely on unpaid internships or work experience for skills that will put them ahead of the pack. While these programs can be invaluable opportunities for practical experience and networking, employers are increasingly being criticised for exploiting unpaid workers.

Whether it’s part of their degree requirements or simply recommended to them as a means of increasing employability, most university students undertake unpaid work experience at some point. It can be a challenge to push aside study and paid work to focus on a job with no monetary gains, but unpaid work experience offers other rewards.

Internships provide the opportunity to learn new skills, or develop existing skills in a professional setting. Work experience also allows you to network with potential paid employers or referees, and get your foot in the door for future job openings. Most importantly, you get the opportunity to test-drive the job before fully committing.

Erin is a third-year journalism student with four unpaid internships under her belt. While she admits struggling to balance these experiences with her casual job, she says sacrificing some of her paycheck will be worth it in the long run.

“You can’t just walk out of university with a degree anymore,” she said. “In a lot of industries, but particularly in the journalism industry, the job market is tight. It can take years of experience to land a paid job so if you’re not getting that experience while you study, you’re way behind.”

When asked if she’d ever felt taken advantage of as an unpaid worker, Erin was quick to defend those she worked for.

“I really am thankful for the opportunities I’ve had. I’ve met some great journalists who have taught me things you just can’t learn in a classroom. Unpaid work is just part of the experience and one day, when I have my dream job, I’ll know that my hard work has paid off.”

Sadly, not everyone has a positive internship experience. Common complaints include being given menial tasks with no opportunity for skill development, being expected to fill what should be a paid role, and being strung along with false promises that the experience will lead to a paying job.

Caitlin was excited to begin her internship as a radio broadcaster, but says the experience turned her off the industry for good.

“It got to the point where I just had to leave,” she said. “I was getting to work before any of the paid staff, and staying long after they left. I was continually being promised training and the chance to work with professionals but it never happened. It was left to work things out for myself.”

Caitlin’s experience is a familiar one. Only recently, Condé Nast, well-known publisher of 20 brands including Vogue and Vanity Fair, terminated its internship program. The decision came after two former interns filed lawsuits against the company for failing to pay them minimum wage.

While we hope employers will do the right thing and provide unpaid interns with great opportunities, there will probably always be some who are ready to take advantage of inexperienced workers. Unpaid internships can be very beneficial, but before beginning any program it’s important to know your rights.

Last year, the Fair Work Ombudsmen published a report into unpaid work called Experience or Exploitation: The nature, prevalence and regulation of unpaid work experience, internships and trial periods in Australia. The report found that many legitimate unpaid experiences exist, but that they must meet specific guidelines to be lawful.

The key to determining whether an unpaid work experience program is lawful is to assess whether or not the worker and employer entered into a legally binding employment relationship. If the worker is expected to meet similar productivity requirements to regular employees, they should be paid.

 Ultimately, you should consider who is benefiting more from the arrangement – you or the company. If the answer isn’t you, it’s likely you’re being exploited and it may be time to walk away.

This article originally published in hijacked.com.au

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