An open letter from one PR industry intern to another
Freshly landed in Melbourne from his native New Zealand, wide-eyed PR intern Campbell Brown shares his advice for any intern in a similar situation.
Kia ora future interns,
This open letter is for you. Having been in your position, I know first-hand that being an intern is never easy. Then again, they say the best things in life never are, so I hope this letter gives you a bit of comfort.
This story starts about six months ago when I graduated with my bachelor degree in communication at Auckland University of Technology, packed my bags, and did what many of my Kiwi counterparts were doing – moving across sea and land to our closest westerly neighbour and arriving in Melbourne full of hope. I moved away from friends, family and most importantly, as a true millennial, my LinkedIn connections.
Campbell
It was a privilege to have you as part of the team. Your enthusiasm and raw passion for comms was infectious and you are very much missed. All the best for the next challenge.
Nga mihi
Chris
Did you get paid as an intern or were you asked to work for free?
I was paid a very fair wage. I have happily worked for free in the past, but the extra income was definitely a big help.
glad you did.
sadly too many agencies still offer unpaid internships. this is morally and ethically wrong.. if the intern is doing work that earns revenue for the agency, they should be paid. simple as that.
the only argument i could see for non-payment is if the intern did no billable work, and simply admin or observing. in which case its not much of an internship in my opinion.
best wishes landing a permanent job
I suspect accountants, cleaners, receptionists etc would disagree with working for nowt based on that idea …
if they were employed as cleaners , receptionists, etc – yes
but we’re talking about an internship in a marketing agency.. keep up!
Read it again.
“no billable work, and simply admin”
Accountants and receptionists were admin last time I looked…