Work Experience at…
a consumer fashion magazine
“My internship was for two months, and I worked long hours and weekends. During London Fashion Week and photo shoots we were expected to work from 7am11pm. Even when I got home there were still things to write up. “I spent a lot of time going around London collecting designers’ clothes, which was exhausting and all I was paid was my tube fare. It was hard work, but that’s what you have to do to get into the industry. I loved every second of it. Many of the places that offer these internships can’t afford to pay people, so cutting down on unpaid internships cuts down on the amount of experience there is to gain.”
The hirers and the firers XCity asked some industry insiders what they really think about interns
An internship in…fashion
“We have quite a formal work placement scheme because we got fed up with students sitting in the back reading newspapers and playing on the internet. The whole point of work experience is to find out what a real job is like.”
retail communication
Photograph: Gus Baker/Intern Aware
“My job was to ensure that all the clothes had pictures on the website. For the first couple of weeks I was just assisting, but then the content manager went on leave and I was asked to fill in until her replacement arrived a month later. I was responsible for sending images worldwide, and working to tight deadlines. “It was confusing for someone who had no experience in the role. I was doing a full-time, necessary job, but not getting paid for it. The head of my department didn’t even know my name. I gave it three weeks and then left. I later discovered that they were getting a paid temp in to replace me.” seven London-based internships before getting her current job at campaign group Intern Aware. She had to rely on “friends of friends of friends” and their limited hospitality. “I funded it with my student loan,” she says. “It’s ironic, the amount of money I’ve spent on working for free.” For many aspiring young journalists on work experience or an internship, the kudos of getting through the door of a company is enough to blind them to their rights. Girish Gupta, now a freelance correspondent working in Venezuela, was initially happy to be offered a placement at The Independent, until he realized that he was providing skilled labour for free. “I was producing page leads for the paper; heading out to events primarily because I was bored sat at a desk, and yet I wasn’t getting anything back except for the occasional byline. Initially it’s great exposure, but there comes a point where
bylines alone aren’t enough.” Gupta compares his experience at The Independent to time spent at Reuters. “The Reuters editors took a keen interest in me,” he says. “They also paid good expenses. I can see a clear correlation between those traits and the quality of their journalism.” If this intern culture is to become sustainable, a change of attitude is needed on both sides. Loraine Davies says that graduates must stop pricing themselves out of the market by working so much for free. “It doesn’t make sense to invest in education and then throw all those skills away for free,” she says. “It’s dangerous that there are graduates out there who don’t value their skills and abilities enough.” But few interns are comfortable asserting themselves to such a degree. One graduate, who quit her placement on a national glossy after spending long days on the floor of the fashion cupboard sorting clothes, said she wanted to remain anonymous when talking to XCity. “I still work in the industry so I’m afraid to mention my name.” With any luck, this fear will not be long-lived and employers and interns will begin to form a sustainable relationship ‒ then perhaps Alan the Tatler dog will not have died in vain. X
Vicky Breakwell, group head of news, Orion Media
“Internships are a plague on our profession that has seeped in from American journalism.”
Martin Bright, political editor of The Jewish Chronicle
“My fairly brutal message is this: don’t underestimate the amount of work interns create for a publication. Some people think you should pay anyone who comes through the door. The distinction needs to be maintained. Work experience should not be a replacement for a paid job.” Helen Lewis, deputy editor of the New Statesman
“On work experience, be aware of what is going on around you and offer to help. All the time. The worst sort of work experience person is one who shows no initiative and just waits to be given the next thing to do.” Diane Kenwood, editor of Woman’s Weekly
“I did a work placement at The Financial Times and got bylines in the paper. Sometimes if people aren’t given enough responsibility, they are left in a corner, which is dispiriting and doesn’t really help you. It just depends on where you go.” Ken Ferris, Reuters sports correspondent
“I had a good time as an intern. I was happy to be exploited if it meant getting bylines.”
Ian Birrell, former deputy editor of The Independent
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