Unpaid, Unfair

I graduated with a 2:1 in History in 2008. It took me over a year after graduating to find my first paid job: temp work with a charity in London. In between I applied for dozens of jobs, spent weeks on work experience placements and cut my teeth in the working world during a three-month unpaid internship at a Westminster think-tank.

I am sure my experience is a common one. In fact, I know it's common, because over the past two years I’ve been running a blog for graduates to describe the problems they are having in the job market. Interns Anonymous provides a forum for paid and unpaid interns to describe the work they do and how they feel about.

Some interns' experiences are great and some are terrible. The vast majority fall somewhere in between. But what almost every intern that writes to us agrees on is that internships have become a prerequisite for getting on that first step of the job ladder.

Politics and the media are traditionally notorious for unpaid work, but now it’s very unlikely that you will be able to make it as a lawyer, an accountant or a graphic designer without slaving away for free for months on end. The only people who get ahead are those that can afford to get ahead. The knock-on effect for social mobility is obvious. What’s more, previously paid entry-level jobs are now being replaced by rolling three-month unpaid internship schemes. This is why we are campaigning on the issue.

National Minimum Wage laws are very clear. If you do more than shadowing for a few weeks, are relied upon to produce work, have set hours – and don’t get paid – then you can take your employer to court and claim back a wage. Sadly, the competition for jobs is so fierce that only a small minority of interns are willing to complain.

If you are going to fork out the money to do an internship – and getting experience on your CV is undoubtedly important – then you really need to be ruthless in knowing what you want. Tell your boss what gaps you want to fill on your CV and what projects you want to work on. Don’t waste your time making cups of tea. It’s your experiences that count, not just the name of the company you are working for.

Always remember that you are not doing your boss a favour. This is your money and your time that you are investing. If you have signed up to a three-month internship, and after two months feel like you have got everything out of it you can, then get leave and move on.

The majority of internships will not lead to jobs. Yes, you need to impress and work hard, but don’t be fooled into thinking a job will be there at the end of it. Your employer should expect a reference request to land on their desk every time you apply for a job (which will be often). This is why you are investing in the internship in the first place.

I think the most important advice of all is: don’t feel trapped by an unfair system. My internship did not get me my first job. What I base my job applications on is setting up a website, campaigning on problems in the graduate job market and showing I can do something myself. Try and do something a little out of the ordinary. This will get an employer’s attention better than any big-name brand on a CV.