Interns Anonymous » Documentary

Social Mobility Doc

internsanonymous — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:17:09 +0000

We’ve been contacted by Tiger Aspect, who are making a documentary for BBC2 about access to the professions. As part of this they are exploring how people get their first job. This is what the lovely Anna has to say to readers of this site:

I’d love to speak to any people who are interning right now, about their experiences. All conversations are confidential, and for research only.

I’m on 020 7529 9410 or email me on annallewellyn@tigeraspect.co.uk

Thanks, Anna

So please do get in touch.

Young, talented and working for free

internsanonymous — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:05:48 +0000

Behold! Interns Anonymous and Judgement Productions present a short but sweet documentary on internships.

NB: We are keeping this post at the top of the page for now – but please scroll down to see new posts as they arrive.

In a series of interviews, interns talk about their highs and lows, how they afford to work for free, the ways in which internships restrict social mobility and alternative systems to those that operate in the UK.

The pub quiz saved my life

internsanonymous — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:07:03 +0000

My advice to anyone reading this- do your damn internships during your university holidays. The financial support you have from your loan at least gives you the guarantee of some money when you start term again. Doing an internship after university is more of a lottery. There is no guarantee that it will lead to a job, and little chance of income if you don’t work like the devil on evenings and weekends or have family to support you.

I’ve spent the last 6 months doing two internships, one for a charity and one for an MP and I’ve really enjoyed both of them. They have boosted my confidence, given me the chance to meet lots of interesting people and I have genuinely learnt a lot. They also represent my commitment- hopefully someone looking at my CV will think, ‘yes he knows what he wants to do – he’s spent 6 months trying to prove it with internships’. But financing them has been tough.

For my MP I worked from 9:30 or 10 in the morning till often 7 at night. Then I would tube around London to any one of innumerable pub quizzes I host each night to make ends meat. I would often be home after 12. This isn’t to make a stoke broker’s wage – this is just to scrape by.

pub quiz winners looking happy

There needs to be a redefinition of the status of the intern. The state needs to recognise that we are doing a useful activity which will, if all goes to plan, lead to a job, but that we are not getting paid. Interns cannot claim the dole unless they have been unemployed for 6 months, this is ridiculous, an internship is concrete evidence of a desire to be employed. It is active job seeking.

I was doing exactly what I wanted to be doing during my internships- writing press releases, meeting interesting people, thinking about things that matter- and I don’t regret making the effort to move to London and work long hours. But I am glad that there has been press about this issue because it needs attention. I worked at least 42 hours a week for no money – something’s not right with that sentence…

Survey for unpaid parliamentary interns

internsanonymous — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:23:16 +0000

Are you an unpaid parliamentary intern?

CLICK HERE TO TAKE PART IN OUR ANONYMOUS SURVEY ON THE EXPERIENCES OF UNPAID PARLIAMENTARY INTERNS

We’d really appreciate the feedback.

Interns Anonymous needs YOU!

internsanonymous — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:11:48 +0000

We are making a documentary and we want people to speak about their experiences of unpaid work.

Whether you interned for an MP, for a newspaper, a PR company, a charity… we want to hear from you.

We are going to make a short documentary, around 5-10 minutes long- with a view to developing a longer piece. We aim to combine research on internships, employment law and the current economic situation and make it all seem more real with interviews from interns and employers.

We have access to filming and editing equipment as well as experienced directors and documentary makers- we won’t waste your time and we will get your voice heard if you are willing to stick your head above the parapit.

If you feel uncomfortable with the idea of being filmed then we can record your voice, or have an actor read your answers to our questions.

With a new batch of graduates soon to be spat out into the working world, this issue is only going to become more relevant and we want to get people to hear about it in as many ways as possible. To do this, we need your help!

If you are interested in helping us, or have any suggestions EMAIL US at internsanonymous@gmail.com