An Argument for Unpaid Internships

I am one of the co-owners of MultiLingual Media, which publishes MultiLingual Magazine, a print publication serving global business leaders interested in staying informed on the latest innovations at the intersection of language, technology, and business. 

We recently posted an internship opportunity to several university job boards. We are not offering payment for this internship. I understand this is controversial.

When personally approving whether to create unpaid internship opportunities at MultiLingual, I thought long and hard about it. I am well aware that unpaid internships make many uncomfortable for a variety of reasons, and so I would like to address just a few of the many attitudes and opinions on unpaid internships that I have been made aware of by many of my trusted colleagues that have invested the time to discuss this matter with me.

I’ve spoken with students, professors, colleagues, and other business owners. I am not writing this in a vacuum. It is my goal to simply come to an understanding that I feel comfortable with as a business owner, a teacher, and a global citizen. 

Next to talking with trusted friends and colleagues, writing is the best way I know how to organize my thoughts around complex topics, so here goes...

What is the purpose of unpaid internships?

The goal of an internship should be to mutually benefit both the intern and the company. It is actually my belief that internships are a way for companies to give back and any internships offered should disproportionately benefit the intern, providing them training, connections, and confidence to move forward to their next opportunities. This is particularly true if the internship is not paid. 

Surely there are some (many) companies out there that take advantage of internships to get free or cheap labor to fuel their businesses… I’m not talking about those. I’m talking about internships done right. 

So let’s look at the two main arguments against unpaid internships. First, we will discuss the “Modern Slavery” argument, which is that internships are just a way to take advantage of free labor. The second argument is a little harder to define, but essentially it is that unpaid internships create (or perpetuate) inequity and are not fair to historically disadvantaged groups.

Internships Should Provide Opportunities that Would Not Otherwise Exist.

The first argument to look at is that companies only use internships for free labor. Perhaps some do… but this is certainly not how they should be used.

Internships should not fill permanent requirements… They should be seasonal. They should be transitional. The goal should be to equip the intern with skills and knowledge that will aid them in their future endeavors. Another goal could be for the intern to learn more about a specific role or function before deciding if they fully want to commit themselves to a career in that area.

For these reasons, a company should never hire interns to take care of core activities. In other words, the business model should not be built upon cheap or free labor. Interns should be hired for special projects and work that would otherwise be deprioritized. In many ways, work should be created for interns and this work should be selected based upon input from both the intern and the company. In this sense, the tasks given should be considered more as curriculum than work. 

For example, all of the work happening at MultiLingual magazine needed to meet press deadlines is already being done very well by paid employees. The “work” done by interns will be based upon their individual personal and professional goals, and they will learn from and be supported by their full-time colleagues. 

Internships are not equitable… but neither are “real” jobs in a globalized world. 

Unpaid internships can disadvantage people lower on the socioeconomic scale and other historically disadvantaged groups. That is an argument that I keep hearing… and I agree with it! 

However, the devil is in the details. When talking about “people lower on the socioeconomic scale” - how low? How low are we talking here? Are we talking about “starving USC college students” or are we talking about “impoverished third world nation” levels of disadvantage? Typically when I hear this argument being made, it is talking about the local labor market

However, today we operate in a globalized economy. Since our companies are remote-first, we can go to the global labor market and hire industry experts with years of experience for a fraction of the cost of a college freshman in California. Many of these experts in offshore locations would certainly be accurately labeled as “disadvantaged”, particularly when juxtaposed against the typical US worker or recent University graduate. While hiring a paid intern in the United States could cost anywhere from $20-50 per hour (loaded costs), I can hire two or three top-notch team members in Ghana and pay them very well in local wages, which will contribute to the needs of their families and their communities. At the same time, I am getting a strong team member with whom I don’t need to spend (as much) time ramping up. 

Through this lens, we see that every paid internship means less budget for offshore team members, and less opportunity for MultiLingual to have an impact on the international markets we serve. One US intern is the budgetary equivalent of three well-paying jobs in most markets around the world. This comparison may be a tad dramatic, but this doesn’t make it any less true. 

So while I agree that unpaid internships may disadvantage people lower on the socioeconomic scale, I would add that there is always somebody lower. 

Know your worth, know your market value

Know your inherent worth and your goals. If an internship is not a good choice for you at this stage in your career, then more power to you! I work with people all the time who are looking for a career switch or perhaps trying to find that first job. I tell everybody: know what you want. If you don’t know what you want, then you can't create a plan to get it. However, this is just the first step. 

The next step is to realize you may not get everything you want. The world isn’t all Unicorns and Rainbows. Wanting something really hard is not enough. Sometimes, working really hard for something is not enough. It is important to keep your expectations in check. Therefore I encourage you to also know your market value. 

Market value may be related to, but is not dependent upon nor does it affect your inherent worth. You may be extremely knowledgeable and experienced, but if nobody is hiring for your talents, then you do not have much market value. This can be a scary realization for people graduating from degree programs. 

The job market is fickle. Having a degree does not mean you have value in the labor market. But it gives you an excellent foundation to build on.

You Get What you Give

I know we already touched on this… but it is important, so we’re going at it again. Many of you just spent 4-6 years doing free work for a University and paying them a lot of money for the privilege of doing so. I guarantee you that on-the-job training and professional networking from an internship will be just as valuable, if not more valuable. However, like with your studies, you get what you put into it. 

I teach and guest lecture at various universities. One of the classes I taught this year had a virtual (asynchronous) lesson plan, meaning that students could just watch videos and take tests. Because I feel that the personal connection is one of the most important aspects of any college class, I also organized regular office hours and even two-weekend bonus workshops. I made sure to let the class know that all of these were completely optional, as it has been a stressful year for everybody.

Out of the >30 people that signed up for my class, only four of them ever showed up to the optional events. These four people are going places in this world. They are showing up and putting in the effort. The other ~26 people in the class perhaps had very good excuses for not attending a single office hours session… But whatever their excuses were, they missed an excellent opportunity to build connections, get advice, and potentially even get referred to a job upon graduation. 

Internships are no different. Neither are “real” jobs. You get what you give. If you coast and don’t take advantage of the opportunities in front of you… Well… You’ll never know what you are missing out on. 

Side note: The current Chief Marketing Officer of Nimdzi Insights was a student of mine years ago. I hired her directly from my class as a copywriter and she has climbed the ranks since then. She showed up to Office Hours. Just sayin'.

Whether you are looking for a job, applying for an internship, or considering signing up for a master’s program - I salute you. Careers are hard. Life is hard. It takes resolve and discipline to strive for improvement, especially in the face of delayed (and sometimes uncertain) gratification. I want to support you, and MultiLingual wants to support you. 

I appreciate everybody who has reached out to me to express their concerns about unpaid internships. Your feedback has been invaluable in helping me, along with my team, to solidify our stance and strategy on this surprisingly controversial topic moving forward. 

Right now, we don’t have the budget to hire a dozen recent graduates. But we have the time and passion to offer unpaid summer internships to share our knowledge and platform with the next generations of professionals in our industry. To not offer anything would be to rob somebody of an excellent opportunity to expand their network and kickstart their career. 

If this is something for you, then reach out - let’s talk! If it’s not for you, then reach out anyways - you will never be excluded from MultiLingual just because an internship is not a good fit for you right now. We (and I, personally) remain committed to helping people regardless of background, current situation, or future goals.