By Rebecca Le Jeune, Third year, Politics and International Relations
As a fourth year on the brink (aah!) of graduation, my housemates and I have developed a shared sense of impending doom. For those of us who haven’t quite secured the mythical graduate job yet, the anxiety is substantial.
As a LinkedIn warrior on my daily scroll, I find myself caught by certain titles. Consider this: Global Governance & Accreditation Officer intern, part time, in London. With a name like that, how could you not click? And the process was impressive in itself - two rounds of interviews, two assessments… for an unpaid role. I smiled at it sadly, then continued scrolling. Is this really a thing?
Unpaid internships in the UK are generally illegal if the intern counts as a “worker” with set hours, defined tasks, and work that benefits the employer. Yet many of us have one (or several) unpaid internships under our belt. As of last year, 61 per cent of internships undertaken by recent graduates in the UK were unpaid or underpaid. That alone says something.
For one, it’s incredibly dependent on your financial situation. While my unpaid work took very little of my week, for many, those extra five hours can genuinely make or break their uni experience. A part-time internship that pays a small stipend doesn’t quite cut it either. It’s motivating to get a monthly check, sure. But when you calculate how many hours actually went into it, the Excel crash outs and the “quick edits” on a Friday afternoon, you start wondering whether you’re effectively earning half of minimum wage.
‘Speaking to peers, it’s clear how warped our conception of what we’re worth has become. We normalise unpaid labour because we don’t know what the alternative looks like.’
So, is it worth it? Well… it’s something. I’ve learned more about Slack’s corporate lingo and organisational processes than I probably would have otherwise. And having something that goes beyond a society role on your CV is reassuring. But it’s also a commentary on what the job market looks like. We need experience for the entry-level job. We need interviews for our unpaid roles. We’re all getting squeezed. When I went abroad to the US, I was genuinely shocked to hear that working for the student paper came with a stipend, funded by the university. Speaking to peers, it’s clear how warped our conception of what we’re worth has become. We normalise unpaid labour because we don’t know what the alternative looks like.
Imagine how much ‘clout’ being the social sec for my Model United Nations society would have if it were paid. It starts there. But that’s a topic for another day. Unpaid work shouldn’t be unavailable if someone genuinely wants to pursue a side quest, especially in an area they’re passionate about. Fine. Let it happen. But it should definitely not be the norm.
Luke Grierson
And the truth is, this reflects something bigger that deserves more attention. It doesn’t have to be this way. There should be more links to paid work within your field locally. Say you’re working at your local pub, why isn’t somewhere like Wiper and True hiring University of Bristol students as paid PR interns? Why aren’t there more structured pathways that make going to this university feel like it comes with tangible professional advantages?
There should be. And don’t even get me started on the careers service.
Featured image: Epigram / Ellen Reynolds
Do you think unpaid internships should be the norm?
