How important are internships for college? What are your college freshmen doing this summer?

[Anonymous]

Video didn't properly post earlier.

Most internships are illegal.
[youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S35X8lGxGPI[/youtube]

There are several cases working through the court system right now.

In order for internships to be legal, Federal labor law requires:

1. The internship is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;
2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern;
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and
6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

And it's probably not legal to have your interns fetch your lunch or coffee or to make copies. Ask your paid staff to do that.

Students should be negotiating all of the above when they are seeking internships to ensure that they are not being taken advantage of.

[Anonymous]

I had various internships while I was in college -- think tanks, Capitol Hill, etc. and honestly, I wish I had worked a real job.

One thing that I have found is that an actual honest to god job job is more likely to yield you the kinds of experiences that you can talk about in actual job interviews in the future. If you look at the sorts of questions people ask in job interviews (i.e. Tell us about a time when you had a conflict with a coworker and how you resolved it; Tell us about a time you had to implement an unpopular decision; Tell us about a time when you had to work with others) they're looking for real-world experiences where you had some responsibility and had to work well with a boss and with coworkers, where you had to make decisions. Being an RA for one person in a think tank doesn't really give you those experiences.

My kids have had lots of real world experiences as RA's, camp counselors, lifeguards, waitresses and this has given them the sorts of experiences that they can use to answer those types of questions in a job interview. Look at the new foreign service exam. The skills questionnaire or whatever it is asks questions about 'a time you had to work with someone from a different culture,' etc. Having had an actual job probably provides a better set of experiences for answering those questions.

[Anonymous]

I guess it depends on how you define an 'internship" -- one reason we don't hire younger students is because our interns are treated as real employees. They are paid, they do real work, and are treated as a regular part of the team.

The PP who posted the video noted a legal internship requires "The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern". How is 'advantage' defined? I'm not hiring someone who will not provide me an 'advantage', that is, to me, they will produce actual work, which includes making copies if that's what's needed at a particular time (really, we rarely copy anything and if we do generally the person who needs them makes the copies). But, we do pay our interns above minimum wage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess it depends on how you define an 'internship" -- one reason we don't hire younger students is because our interns are treated as real employees. They are paid, they do real work, and are treated as a regular part of the team.

The PP who posted the video noted a legal internship requires "The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern". How is 'advantage' defined? I'm not hiring someone who will not provide me an 'advantage', that is, to me, they will produce actual work, which includes making copies if that's what's needed at a particular time (really, we rarely copy anything and if we do generally the person who needs them makes the copies). But, we do pay our interns above minimum wage.

The law is the law PP. Just make sure you follow so you don't get sued like Fox Searchlight picture. Don't be using interns as low paid or free labor to otherwise replace professionals. Time to protect the worker!

Who wrote The Iron Heel?

Where's Joe Hill buried at?

Which eye is Big Bill Haywood missing?

How'd Frank Little die?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess it depends on how you define an 'internship" -- one reason we don't hire younger students is because our interns are treated as real employees. They are paid, they do real work, and are treated as a regular part of the team.

The PP who posted the video noted a legal internship requires "The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern". How is 'advantage' defined? I'm not hiring someone who will not provide me an 'advantage', that is, to me, they will produce actual work, which includes making copies if that's what's needed at a particular time (really, we rarely copy anything and if we do generally the person who needs them makes the copies). But, we do pay our interns above minimum wage.

The law is the law PP. Just make sure you follow so you don't get sued like Fox Searchlight picture. Don't be using interns as low paid or free labor to otherwise replace professionals. Time to protect the worker!

Who wrote The Iron Heel?

Where's Joe Hill buried at?

Which eye is Big Bill Haywood missing?

How'd Frank Little die?

WTF PP? You sound unhinged. OP asked a simple question. Either you answer her question or move on.

- np

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had various internships while I was in college -- think tanks, Capitol Hill, etc. and honestly, I wish I had worked a real job.

One thing that I have found is that an actual honest to god job job is more likely to yield you the kinds of experiences that you can talk about in actual job interviews in the future. If you look at the sorts of questions people ask in job interviews (i.e. Tell us about a time when you had a conflict with a coworker and how you resolved it; Tell us about a time you had to implement an unpopular decision; Tell us about a time when you had to work with others) they're looking for real-world experiences where you had some responsibility and had to work well with a boss and with coworkers, where you had to make decisions. Being an RA for one person in a think tank doesn't really give you those experiences.

My kids have had lots of real world experiences as RA's, camp counselors, lifeguards, waitresses and this has given them the sorts of experiences that they can use to answer those types of questions in a job interview. Look at the new foreign service exam. The skills questionnaire or whatever it is asks questions about 'a time you had to work with someone from a different culture,' etc. Having had an actual job probably provides a better set of experiences for answering those questions.

I tend to agree. I was never able to afford unpaid internships in college and had to work at least two jobs over the summer (waitress was always one) to make a lot of tuition money. When I graduated I had a lot of work experience and when I interviewed for jobs there was always a lot of head-nodding from employers when I mentioned how being a waitress helped me to learn about everything from time management to communications. I also wasn't afraid to roll up my sleeves and work, which is more than I can say for many of my peers for the top 20 college I attended.

My DD is a rising college freshman and she has two jobs lined up for this summer already (one she already works 30 hours a week) even though we are paying her full tuition for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess it depends on how you define an 'internship" -- one reason we don't hire younger students is because our interns are treated as real employees. They are paid, they do real work, and are treated as a regular part of the team.

The PP who posted the video noted a legal internship requires "The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern". How is 'advantage' defined? I'm not hiring someone who will not provide me an 'advantage', that is, to me, they will produce actual work, which includes making copies if that's what's needed at a particular time (really, we rarely copy anything and if we do generally the person who needs them makes the copies). But, we do pay our interns above minimum wage.

The law is the law PP. Just make sure you follow so you don't get sued like Fox Searchlight picture. Don't be using interns as low paid or free labor to otherwise replace professionals. Time to protect the worker!

Who wrote The Iron Heel?

Where's Joe Hill buried at?

Which eye is Big Bill Haywood missing?

How'd Frank Little die?

WTF PP? You sound unhinged. OP asked a simple question. Either you answer her question or move on.

- np

There have been several court cases recently on this in the U.S. 2nd Circuit. Glatt v. Fox Searchlight and Wang v. Hearst. Both cases broadened the DOL standards to make them more flexible, but employers must show a clear educational benefit and interns cannot be used to do work that would otherwise be done by paid employees.

[Anonymous]

Tell him to get a LinkedIn account if he doesn't have one and join groups. Tell people within the groups he needs an internship.

Also, see if his school has access to Leadership Directories. Find contacts and write to them.

I'm a college career director and big believer in just writing to places of interest or calling them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell him to get a LinkedIn account if he doesn't have one and join groups. Tell people within the groups he needs an internship.

Also, see if his school has access to Leadership Directories. Find contacts and write to them.

I'm a college career director and big believer in just writing to places of interest or calling them.

+ 1. I'm the PP with the kids who had paid internships and think tank internships. Do use the career centers and all contacts on campus. Just for future reference for anyone reading this, we devoted spring break to trying to figure out what both college-aged kids would be doing this summer. That's when we found out that the deadline had passed for most of the prestigious honors think tank programs - a lot of these programs now are designed more to benefit your child and to expose them to D.C. than the photocopying we all used to do (in large part because of the lawsuits). There are think tanks to fit any political persuasion but as one employer said, they do look for applications in January. Three think tanks I know of had a Feb. lst deadline and required resume, letters of recommendations, transcript, essay why I want to work at Brookings, or Pew, etc., then if you get lucky, a Skype interview. Some do have stipends and cover room and board. Very detailed writing assignments are sent in advance so the kids know what is going to be discussed each day and who they are going to meet. I have been very impressed with the programs offered (would like to do it myself!). It's not the old make coffee internships that many of us experienced. We just sat each child down and said here's a bunch of places and contacts, start sending emails and calling. By week's end, both had summer positions. It's a lot of work but worth it in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell him to get a LinkedIn account if he doesn't have one and join groups. Tell people within the groups he needs an internship.

Also, see if his school has access to Leadership Directories. Find contacts and write to them.

I'm a college career director and big believer in just writing to places of interest or calling them.

I agree with this. I got an email this week from a college junior looking for an internship. Unfortunately I don't have one to give but I gave it some thought and did respond to her email. There may be smaller places that don't have a formal intern program but may be interested in some project specific help. That being said, if t had been a college freshman I may not have given it much consideration.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, all!

[Anonymous]

OP here, just wanted to provide an update:

DC's professor did come through with a terrific internship opportunity for this summer. Thank you all for your advice an encouragement!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are important but not the summer after freshman year. I'd focus on just having a summer job, regardless of field. I hire college interns and really only look at students for the summer after junior year when they've actually had some solid coursework in the field, good idea of what they want to do, etc.

+2

My brother has his first internship this summer - summer between junior and senior year. The previous two summers he worked.

[Anonymous]

If you want to be a journalist you better have all the internships you can get because there is no entry-level training, you are expected to come in and hit the ground running these days.

[Anonymous]

My rising s sophomore has a fellowship on the Hill. This is when going to a college with a big endowment helps.