Here is a letter I wrote to a Local PR Firm in response to a Craigslist Ad they have posted for an unpaid intern

Kelli,

I am thoroughly disappointed to find a PR firm looking to hire an Intern with a list of qualifications and responsibilities that should otherwise merit an entry level salary of at LEAST $20 per hour. As an Internet Marketer I value my craft. Being proficient in website design, email marketing, user interface design, print media creation, SEO, landing page optimization, and analytics are all aspects of my career. To find a firm that sees these skills as something they need yet assign no monetary compensation for the person executing them makes me sick.

There is clearly incredible value successfully executing all of the tactics you have listed as part of the internship responsibilities, yet you appear to see the internal value of the team member who wishes to execute these tactics at nothing? That not only devalues your firm, but the industry as a whole.

In addition to lack of respect for the industry and your interns / employees, please review the legality of the issue. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=lab&group=01001-02000&file=1171-1205 . Specifically 1194, 1197 and 1197.1

I am confident your peers share a similar disgust with unpaid internships.

As you can tell, I am very much against unpaid internships. If an employer is going to benefit from my work, I deserve compensation.
Don’t be taken advantage of.  Your skills are of value, if they don’t pay their interns who are doing their work for them, what makes you think that a job at the firm is going to provide adequate compensation after the internship is over.

Let me reiterate, if someone can get you to work for nothing for 3 months, even with some training provided, how much are you worth at the end of those 3 months? Nothing + 3 months experience??

Not compensating employees for their work is wrong and needs to end.

EDIT: Please see: http://www.dol.gov/whd/opinion/FLSANA/2004/2004_05_17_05FLSA_NA_internship.htm

1. Internist says:

   August 6, 2010 at 8:57 am

   Did your internship at eBoost Consulting include compensation?
2. electricmice says:

   August 9, 2010 at 8:02 pm

   Negative.
3. Liza says:

   January 10, 2011 at 6:26 pm

   Hi…came across this as I was searching internships and you pretty much hit the nail on the head….unpaid internships are pretty much filthy….
4. Micha Mikailian says:

   February 19, 2011 at 6:54 pm

   I completely disagree. I will say upfront that eBoost did restructure our internship program after learning about the legal issues surrounding this but I think this law is a detriment to society. We take on interns who have absolutely no experience and spend a tremendous amount of time and energy teaching them everything they need to know to kick start a successful career. If someone wants to enter into that relationship BY CHOICE and leverage our resources to help elevate their career opportunities I feel WE should have the right to offer an unpaid internship and PEOPLE should have the right to decide if they are willing to give their time for free to this. I know a lot of companies abuse free interns but people need to take personal responsibility for their choices and if they are not getting a commensurate benefit from the internship they should quit.

   BTW – Our interns now are NOT ALLOWED to do any client work or engage in any acts that produce value to our firm, we still take on these interns and teach them but their experience and education has suffered because of the government trying to push unnecessary control upon society.
5. Justin Goodman says:

   February 21, 2011 at 3:53 pm

   In response to eBoost consulting. They do offer a pure, amazing internship. The value received through an internship at eBoost consulting offsets the lack of pay. I am happy to have seen the internship program grow into the charitable setup that it has.

   While I do wish that all internships would pay something, even a stipend, to show appreciation for work done on behalf of the company. I understand the value in education for interns. Even in the case of charitable work, the interns are reimplementing the company. Again, I would like to stress that Micha and the eBoost team have quite possibly setup the best internship program in america and not only provide interns an amazing education, but also give back to the community.
6. Johnny Chan says:

   February 21, 2011 at 6:34 pm

   Thanks for the kind words about the eBoost Consulting internship program, Justin. I have to admit – I am a bit shook by the title of your blog post. It hurt to see that but I understand the point you’re trying to get across and your actions have always supported the team. We’re proud of where you’re at and where you’re going. I just hope anyone that reads this title and superficially associates it with the eBoost internship sees this comment trail. Our interns give us their all and we give them our all as well.

   -johnny