A hullabaloo arose this week over news that Elle magazine has hired a homeless blogger as an intern, paying her less than minimum wage.
Brianna Karp was hired this week by Elle to blog about being homeless and her future, reportedly making $150 a month for 24 hours of work. The amount is less than California’s minimum wage, which made some people accuse Elle of getting good publicity on the cheap. (Karp lives in Orange County.)
But, in email comments to columnist Tommy Christopher, Karp said she doesn’t feel exploited.
“This is an internship. Most internships, as I’m sure you know, are unpaid,” she said. “The whole point of an internship is that it is unpaid and opens doors for the intern which would not have previously been a possibility, and I accepted the internship offer assuming that it would be unpaid, before any sort of money was even mentioned, because I know how much this could help me down the line.”
Internships certainly do open doors. I expect Karp has a promising future, provided that she maximizes the benefit of this assignment. Some key tips for interns for getting the most benefits out of their gigs:
Ask for a recommendation. Get your boss or other leaders to agree to be a reference for you. Perhaps one would write you a recommendation on your LinkedIn profile.
Keep in touch with coworkers. Send cards periodically or have lunch every few months. These people could be great sources for career advice and job leads.
Keep good notes on all you learned and achieved. Use these to update and tailor your resumes sooner rather than later, when you might have forgotten some of what you accomplished.
For more, watch this clip from “ABC News Now,” featuring my discussion with Tory Johnson about internships.
