Will work for food … not!

A study published by High Fliers Research (The UK Graduate Careers Survey) revealed that many University leavers will face stiff competition for graduate jobs this summer. Even though employers are set to take on 17.9 percent more graduates than last year, there are still 45 applicants on average chasing every graduate job and the field of PR is no exception.
Moreover, the study suggests that many organisations have already filled their graduate positions for 2010. No wonder that many grads this summer will be hunting for internships in order to take their first steps towards a professional career path.
A well known fact is that many PR agencies offer unpaid work placements which usually cover just travel and lunch expenses. I’m a recent University leaver, very keen and enthusiastic about getting stuck into my first work experience. However, I’m held back by thousands of pounds of student debt, and having no financial resources I simply cannot take advantage of a full-time internship if it’s unpaid.
Can employers really expect loyalty and hard work for a train ticket and a sandwich? Sue Rizzello believes that if interns contribute towards the agency’s overall success and work productively there is no reason why they shouldn’t be paid – and she’s not the only one. SourceThatJob.com recently made a decision to reject advertising from companies that recruit for unpaid internships and raised an important question about unpaid labour during this economic downturn.
Changes need to be made and Potion PR is glad to be supporting young people wanting to get into the employment market — it hopes other agencies will follow.