Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Are You an Intern or a Corporate Panhandler?

Capitalism is now so dystopian that we pay for the privilege to work.

2024-04-11T15:29-07:00

There is an alarming trend in today’s job market where internships mask a selfish motive, one even more self-serving than a company’s desire for free labor. As if working without compensation isn’t draining enough, some of today’s interns are expected to pay for experience through fundraising.

An internship should be a healthy balance of give and take. You give a company your talents and take away valuable experience for your next career move. When the agreed-upon date is reached, a job well done ensures a solid reference at the next company, or maybe even a promotion at the current one.

Now some internships don’t simply end when the contract date is up. Another caveat is becoming more common: the fundraising clause.

Lately I have grown tired of web development and am considering a shift to something more creative, so I’ve decided to dust off my journalism degree and put my writing skills to work. I’m looking at internships since my reporting credentials are ten years old and I lack a portfolio of recent stories. I have to start (or restart) somewhere after all.

I applied to several unpaid gigs, one of which looked like a great fit. It was at a non-profit focusing on global poverty, and this business needed content writers for its nascent blog. I was thrilled when an email popped into my inbox telling me I had passed the first round of the application phase. I reviewed an expanded job description they sent containing more information about the role’s expectations, but was shocked to see that I needed to raise a certain amount of money to earn a reference.

After some more research I learned that many internships now have this catch. Employers won’t consider the role finished until the intern raises a certain amount of money, which in itself raises a red flag. Some of these listings demand upwards of a thousand dollars in revenue. Even if it’s not the intern’s money it is still a fee that companies expect for experience, and it is a burden that distracts from gaining that very experience.

The company’s structure also plays a role. Many startups consider themselves a team effort in every aspect, even generating capital. If that’s the culture you want to join, that’s fine, but you deserve to have management hone your talents while they hound you for cash. Monitoring only your fundraising isn’t mentorship — it’s exploitation.

The integrity of a business suffers when internships place more importance on fundraising than on professional growth. Would my bosses even consider the quality of my writing, or would I be nothing more than a corporate panhandler?

I want my content critiqued and not my sales ability. That’s why I am turning down any role that asks me to raise money while working for free. It’s a hidden fee that I’m not willing to pay.

Have you experienced this while looking for work? Let me know on TikTok, Instagram or X @fern_haus_