According to a recent New York Times article, two former interns of Fox Searchlight Pictures are filing a suit to claim that their employment to the producer of the 2010 film “Black Swan” was both unjust in pay and professional experience.
It’s becoming a standard requirement in almost every professional industry that a candidate should seek experience outside of their education and, in most cases, that means holding an internship. Some may even argue that internships are becoming the new “entry-level” position for most employers. Internships are now in more demand than in the past four years, which a sign of times for Gen Y – is it worth taking the risk of an unpaid internship?
Answer: It solely depends on the employer offering the internship. Although some companies do exploit interns as “free labor” – you don’t have to be apart of it. Consider Heather Huhman’s five factors in determining whether your internship of choice is legal, whether it is paid, unpaid, and/or for college credit.
Referring back to the case of the two interns, both claim that their tasks were menial and offered no educational value. It may be determined that these factors of their experience during the internship violate the Fair Labor Standards Act, which list six factors to protect interns from being taken advantage by employers. What was missing from the internship at Fox Searchlight Pictures was the mutual benefit from the employee-intern relationship that, unfortunately, does not exist in some cases.
So internship-seekers of any profession (or age), do your due diligence before accepting an internship position. Hold value in your professional worth by not settling for internships that provide no educational benefit for your professional growth.
Have you even taken an unpaid internship? Was your experience similar to the two interns filing a suit against their employers? Are there any other ways to avoid an unfair internship?
