The Cost of Experience: What's the Reality of Unpaid Internships?

NEWS | INTERVIEW | WHENUA | TOUCHING GRASS

Written by Nabeelah Khan (she/her) | @nabeelahkhann | Contributing Writer

Edited by Evie Richardson (she/her) | @evi3m4y | News Editor

You don’t need yet another reminder that the job market is bleak, but here’s one anyway. Employment rates for recent graduates have plummeted so dramatically that even retail and hospitality jobs, once reliable safety nets, are now hard to come by.

Like many of my peers, I naively believed that after years of late-night study sessions, skyrocketing tuition fees, and the coveted cap-and-gown moment, I’d seamlessly transition into a stable 9-to-5 job. Instead, I found myself sifting through job listings that demanded ‘at least three years of experience’ for entry-level roles. So, like many graduates, I turned to internships because, supposedly, that’s how you get your foot in the door.

Internships have long been marketed as an invaluable stepping stone into an industry, a chance to gain hands-on experience, build networks, and sharpen skills. In theory, they’re meant to be rewarding, inspiring, and informative. What they’re not meant to be is free labour. And yet, that’s exactly what they’ve become.

Across Aotearoa, youngsters are finding themselves in a cycle of unpaid work, often juggling multiple jobs just to afford the ‘opportunity’ of gaining experience. Many are expected to perform the same tasks as paid employees—sometimes even more—without receiving compensation. Others have been completely ignored once their internship ends, left with no job offer and little to show for their time.

So, what’s the reality of unpaid internships? Here’s what some of Tāmaki Makaurau’s rangatahi had to say about working for free:

Note: Most respondents in this survey have chosen to remain anonymous, so pseudonyms have been used. Any resemblance to real individuals working in this industry is purely coincidental.

What industry were you interning in?

Photography (Emma)
Fashion (Naomi)
Marketing (Claire)
Fashion Magazine (Natasha)
Print Journalism (Celine)
Fashion (Gemma)
Public Relations (India)
Marketing (Jules)

Why did you apply for it?

(Emma) - I wanted to gain experience working in a photography studio. The teacher of the photography class at my school recommended it to me.

(Naomi) - I met the designer via a mutual connection and was offered the position through them.

(Natasha) - The owner of the publication was looking for a copywriter, so I applied just to try my luck. She ended up taking me as an intern instead of giving me the copywriter job.

(Celine) - I thought it would get me a foot in the door of writing articles/blog posts. I was also very excited about the idea of working for print, it seemed cool and luxurious.

(Gemma) - My first internship was a part of a uni paper, and my second internship was to gain more industry experience with a company that I love.

How long was the internship?

(Emma) 4 months

(Claire) 5 months

(Natasha) Technically, almost a year, but it was quite inconsistent because I just wrote whatever I wanted whenever I could

(Celine) 3 months

(Gemma) 8 weeks & 5 weeks

Did you have hopes to join the workplace after the internship was over?

(Emma) Yes, I was hopeful to become a proper assistant.

(Claire) Initially, yes.

(Natasha) Yes, I was hopeful to work there, but my boss at the time hinted I wouldn't stay because she said something along the lines of, "What do you wanna do after interning for me?"

(Gemma) That would have been the ideal situation, but my view was realistic on the state of the industry.

(Jules) - Before joining, yes I thought it would be a cool company to be a part of.

How many hours per week were you working for them?

(Emma) Every Saturday from 7 am to 1 pm.

(Naomi) 3-5 hours per week, depending on how much work they had for me.

(Claire) 14 hours per week.

(Natasha) At the start, we agreed on 3 hours a week, but I was the one constantly chasing my boss when to meet up because she was always busy and didn't have a consistent routine.

(Celine) 15 hours per week.

What kind of work were you doing?

(Emma) Nothing photography-related. I did a lot of cleaning and tidying inside and outside of the studio area. I also did some client data entry.

(Naomi) Quality checks, organising fabric swatches, creating a digital dip lab library for overseas manufacturers, organising pattern storage

(Claire) I helped with campaigns and marketing, writing articles, and photoshoots, and creating concepts for clients.

(Natasha) Copywriting work. The owner would give me minimal feedback regarding my writing without teaching or upskilling me.

(Celine) Writing blog posts to promote different products, delivering packages to clients and sponsors, and writing articles for their magazine.

(India) I cleaned the kitchen, walked the owner’s dog, got their morning coffees, and went to New World to buy whatever they wanted.

How did the company/staff treat you?

(Emma) - The woman who ran the business didn't like me very much. She asked some personal questions about my religious beliefs (which I didn't feel comfortable answering), and after this, I noticed a change in her behaviour towards me. Once, she asked me if I could clean her house and her son's bedroom(??!!) It was in the same building, but it crossed a boundary for me.

(Naomi) - I was treated with respect, but I was often given tasks that weren’t included in the original internship description. Some days, I would come in on the agreed day, and I would work to then be sent home as they had no work for me.

(Claire) - They treated me pretty well and gave me some free stuff, which was cool. It was a bit isolating sometimes when they would talk about exclusive work events in front of me that didn’t include interns.

(Celine) - Decent at the start, but then much worse when they refused to compensate me for an article I had written that they had previously agreed to compensate me on.

(Gemma) - At my first internship, they were always kind to me but they seemed more focused on what they could get out of it rather than what I could. During the second one, they were constantly making sure I was learning things and asking what I wanted to get out of the internship.

(Jules) - It does feel like Devil Wears Prada but NZ tall poppy syndrome version? I soon learned my place as an intern, barely interacting with other people, even though it is a small team I would doubt anyone here besides my mentor would know my name.

What were your key takeaways from this experience?

(Emma) - I was taken advantage of, especially since I was so young and inexperienced in work environments. Unfortunately, this experience disengaged my passion for photography for years.

(Naomi) - For future reference, if I were to seek another internship, I would head into this with clear boundaries and personal goals to gain from this.

(Natasha) - That I could do the same job but get paid! After learning how much copywriters get paid, it’s honestly not worth doing it "for exposure". I think that mindset for artists is such a scam. It's much more fruitful to do genuine collaborations with people you believe in, like your friends.

(Celine) - Don't do an unpaid internship lol. Industries that take advantage of eager young people with no intention of hiring them or helping them upskill is so horrible.

(Gemma) - You learn a lot from observation so getting industry experience is valuable. But making sure that you are not being taken advantage of and actually learning things is important.

(Jules) - Unpaid internships and this industry can be a mixed bag. While they offer exposure and a foot in the door, they can also highlight how undervalued young talent is. I learned how to navigate professional spaces, observe industry dynamics, and understand that internships are sometimes more about what you take from them than what’s given to you.

Would you recommend unpaid internships to anyone?

(Emma) - I would not recommend them. The fact that creative work can go unpaid is unfair to those who need to support themselves financially and only allows a concentrated few who are privileged enough to succeed. In contrast, I have been working a paid internship over the summer in the corporate industry. Although I get paid in the corporate industry, I know this isn’t something I could do forever.

(Naomi) - Yes and no. I think it’s so important to intern for a company that aligns with your ethics, but I understand it’s difficult and not always realistic when you’re desperate for industry experience.

(Claire) - I would only recommend unpaid internships if it was short-term and the intern had a lot of say in what days they wanted to work.

(Natasha) - You have to understand when enough is enough, get paid for your work and not diminish yourself. Hold your head up high, be firm when negotiating and stand for your boundaries. Unfortunately, it's not up to students but up to the corporations/organisations/companies, etc to set up a system to pay interns. It's so unfair!

(Gemma) - Yes, but it is important to make sure they’re not too long and are at companies that have values similar to yours.

(India) - Not unless there is guaranteed employment at the end - or you are benefiting through experience/knowledge you could not obtain any other way.

As industries remain reluctant to provide opportunities for entry-level workers, let alone compensate them, the burden falls on young people to set boundaries and advocate for their worth. Until systemic changes are made, unpaid internships will continue to benefit companies far more than the interns who keep them running.