The Value of Internships

We at the Career Center are always telling students how imporant

internships are, whether they are paid or unpaid.  Below is a letter to

the editor in response to a New York Times article called "Jobs Few,

Grads Flock to Unpaid Internships". We couldn't have said it better

ourselves!

Letters

Sunday Dialogue: The Value of Internships by Bendik Kaltenborn

Published: May 19, 2012

The Letter

To the Editor:

Re “Jobs Few, Grads Flock to Unpaid Internships” (front page, May 6):

As a casting director and business owner, I have been privileged to know

and work with several smart and talented interns, both unpaid and paid.

Some of these colleagues have, deservedly, gone on to wonderful success.

As your article points out, economic conditions have been challenging,

and jobs for new graduates are scarce. One can only empathize as they

enter the job market.

Yet one undertakes an unpaid internship with the understanding that it

is, in fact, unpaid; the myriad benefits of such an internship can be

invaluable to one’s career. However enriching one’s college education

has been, there is no substitute for witnessing, firsthand, how a

business works.

Employers seek interns (and staff) who are bright, personable, motivated

and curious and possess a strong work ethic. Unpaid interns, who often

work only part time, agree to a trade-off: volunteering their time to

learn and gain hands-on experience, and perhaps a future paid staff

position, at a company in the field of their choice.

No task required to keep a business running — opening and sorting mail,

filing, emptying out closets and so on — should be considered menial. I

have often hauled trash bags into the hallway for collection, all the

while joking about “the glamour of show business.” Any size company, be

it in fashion, media or another arena, depends on elbow grease, small

details and often “boring” tasks to keep it functional and thriving.

An unpaid internship in any field can greatly expand one’s knowledge,

experience, contact base and chances of future career success.

ILENE STARGER

Brooklyn, May 14, 2012

The writer, a casting director for film, theater and television, has her

own company, Ilene Starger Casting.

Darlene Johnson
Senior Associate Director