bangsandabun.com

Oh my god, tell me about it. I worked at a few PR companies and magazines back in the day when I was starting out 10 years ago now (eek!).

A particular low point was when I was sent out with a shopping list of various items to suit the different diet fads of the people in the office. This included all manner of different coffees that I could barely carry and – wait for it – grapes… ‘be sure to get black, not green grapes now – don’t worry there’s a shop a 20 minute walk away that does black grapes’.

What really got me about said company was they had 4 ‘work experience’ people on the go at any one time, which without them, they would have clearly needed 2 more full time members of staff. It was also one of the rare companies that wouldn’t even pay travel – so you were actually out of pocket to be able to work there. Nice.

I am so passionate about this issue, I want to explode when I think about it.

If you’re after a job in a creative industry, working for free is a given. I did a 4 week internship at a glossy mag whilst at uni, and seeing my words in print at the age of 19 was worth much, much more than a wage. I was never asked to make tea, collect post, run errands or get lunch. I was there to write and that’s what I did. They hired me as a freelancer after my 4 weeks and paid me handsomely for my work. I think that experience has shaped my opinion of work experience and the idea of working for nothing ever since.

I believe you should prove you can do a job before you get paid for doing it. For students and new graduates, or those going for a career change, this inevitably means building up experience through unpaid work first. But that’s only the FIRST step. The second step is going to that interview, with the beginnings of a portfolio and bags of enthusiasm and passion, and asking for a job that will pay you for your time.

My friend is a 3D animator he did his degree and also did animation mentor which is basically being taught by the best in the industry (it’s ran by pixar and some of the teachers have worked on some of pixar’s major productions). Afterwards he ended up doing quite a bit of free work for various companies trying to build up his showreel and collection of work. He branched out and did some different types of 3D work for architect companies but after about a year out of work he was desperate for a full time paid job.

The problem is when he went to apply for jobs he often got praised for his work but never got the job as they said he was too experienced. The irony was he had built up a good collection of work yet many viewed him as over experienced for an entry level job but he didn’t have enough experience for a higher position.

He did eventually get a job, but I remember him being really stressed out about it all.

I get really really cross about this sort of thing. I work in TV and after years of earning minimum wage and really struggling, I am doing alright. It was tough but I never had to work unpaid. I didn’t have wealthy parents or London-based family to support me so I had to go for paid work only. I was lucky, but I know of people who missed out on internships etc because they couldn’t practically manage it and, the insinuation was that they didn’t care enough or weren’t ambitious enough to make it happen. Bollocks. Of course they cared, but London is so expensive, they can’t live on air. And as many unscrupulous companies use interns as workers (especially in TV where the hours are brutal) they can’t easily have a 2nd job.
I hire runners as part of my job and the ones that have come from wealthy backgrounds inevitably haven’t had a proper job before and are usually useless at the basics. (oh but they can handle a camera alright) Entry level jobs need people who are good at the basics (customer service, admin skills, punctuality) as well having good training in their specialisms so they can progress.
You’re right Bangs, interns are there to to learn not prop up poorly managed budgets. I will never hire unpaid work experience unless the work officially forms part of their degree/training because I know they will truly benefit. I believe anyone from any background should be allowed to achieve their goals and it should not be at the expense of others who are less fortunate.

What employers and grads need is better training schemes in the creative industries. Employers get junior workers and can talent spot, and youngsters get education that means something in the real world and doesn’t exploit them. PHEW.
*steps down from soapbox*

This is an issue very close to my heart! When I left university, I was lucky that these kind of internships were only being used by a few companies and even then I never applied on principle. I took on quite a bit of volunteering while I was at Uni in order to get the experience on my CV and though it meant (slightly)less partying during Uni, I found that when I graduated, I got offered paid freelance work for many of the places I volunteered for. I should probably note that I did also work my way through uni, in the bookies, before anyone shouts about having the time. After I graduated I also took low paid jobs to get a foot in the door which were very hard to live on in London and, when I left I told them this! I also hate that these internships are often offered by companies that have higher levels of funding than some companies that could actually use the help more! One small point I feel I do need to make though, is that more and more I am coming across a generation of Arts graduates that have come through the system with good arts funding (which is now about to change)and don’t seem to understand that in the creative industries sometimes your (paid) job may include making tea, or helping clean the office for a meeting or loading the van even if it didn’t say this in the small print. The people who have had to work for free or volunteered to gain experience are often more rounded and therefore successful workers. However, I also believe that volunteering to gain experience should be done in a supportive environment. Whether this is whilst studying in some shape or form, or on their terms so they can work for money alongside. Maybe we should just outlaw the term intern (as it seems to add some kind of respectability to their demands) and make them recruit volunteers instead. At least then everyone understands what they’re asking for, and maybe it’s not as easy to treat a volunteer like crap as it is an intern!

As Don Draper would say- we’re creative, the least important most important part of the company.
No-one could argue that David Beckham absolutely adores his job, he loves it & constantly says that’s all he wants to do is play football, but does he do it for free? Does he hell.
I think there are times when all of us have to do something for nothing, but I think you really need to think hard about each of those situations and weigh them up. If you don’t value yourself no one will & even if you start out working for a tiny wage at least it’s a wage, you can only go up from there. When you start at 0, it becomes very difficult to figure out what you are worth. It takes a massive amount of strength to turn down a great experience because you think you are worth more, but I think everyone should do it once just to know what it feels like. It feels good & sometimes they come back and give you what you’re actually worth and that feels fantastic
Doing something you are passionate about and getting paid for it is the dream, you can have the dream, you just need to fight for it.
Besides while you are trying to live the dream, you get to think about David Beckham a lot & I can think of worse things to do!

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