The Two Sides of Unpaid Internships

Many companies are reassessing their use of unpaid internships. While it can be tempting to view interns as free labor, the U.S. Department of Labor cautions against this treatment. The need to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act may cause some companies to shy away from bringing on interns, leaving the interns feeling as if they're stuck on the outside looking for a way to gain experience in their dream profession.

The Upside of Unpaid Internships

For the interns, unpaid internships are well worth the time. Studies show that most employers are eager to hire students with unpaid internships on their resume, and many consider it more important than the school the student came from or what he majored in. An internship lets a college student get an inside perspective on his chosen field and gives him valuable experiential knowledge he can't get inside a classroom.

The Negatives Regarding Unpaid Internships

One of the true negatives of unpaid internships is apparent when you look at the situation from a much larger perspective than that of your own company. A student who takes an unpaid internship, especially during the summer when he could have a summer job, is not earning money. Because of this, unpaid internships are, in general, only a possibility for students whose parents are well-to-do enough that their adult children can afford not to work. As a result, thousands of college students who would love to see internship doors open for them are barred from those opportunities, and companies miss out on all that talent hidden in young adults who simply can't afford to work for free.

When to Pay Your Intern

A true unpaid internship, according to the Department of Labor, is one in which the intern receives training or shadowing experiences that are of educational value and in which the intern does not perform free labor that the company would normally pay someone else to do. If your company has been asking interns to make coffee, answer phones, or do filing or copying, you may have strayed across that legal line. In this case, you should consider paying your interns minimum wage at least. In doing so, you might open a door for a talented student who might otherwise end up serving milkshakes or stocking shelves for minimum wage elsewhere, helping to change that student's life.

If paying interns simply isn't economically feasible, you may want to scale back your internship program, limiting it to shadowing opportunities that let students learn about the day-to-day operations of your company and making contacts with people in your field.

If you choose to offer internships at your company, keep in mind the incredible advantage you're offering to the students you bring in, and look for ways to offer those open doors to young people who might not have them available otherwise. While unpaid internships will likely continue in many fields, offering minimum wage to interns creates greater opportunities for them and allows you to choose from a richer field of talent.

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