Hillary Clinton Is Hiring Interns For The Fall — But Won’t Pay Them A Cent

[Newman]

Hillary Clinton is hiring a batch of unpaid interns for the fall to work in her New York City office, according to documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Applications are currently being accepted on a rolling basis and will “run from September to mid-December.” The internship requires “a minimum of three days per week,” and undergrads “of all majors are encouraged to apply.”

While the amount of hours per day aren’t specified, the “internship is unpaid.”

“Interns will provide support to our staff, assisting our work on a wide range of projects. Work will include but will not be limited to: compiling press clips, monitoring social media, conducting research, drafting correspondence, and assisting with office management,” the job posting states.

Clinton’s office is looking for applicants who have “a high level of professionalism and discretion,” “strong research and writing skills,” “the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team,” “strong interpersonal communication skills,” “a diligent work ethic and a sense of conscientiousness,” as well as “enthusiasm, dedication, and a positive attitude.”

The job posting does not offer any alternative ways of compensation like school credit or a stipend.

Maybe they'll lick envelopes in her campaign for a Living Wage.

This Daily Caller piece is an easy target for ridicule. "I volunteered for Hillary in 2018" is a resume gem.

Meanwhile, the economy is booming, thanks of course to Hillary's nemesis, Barack Obama. Unemployment is under 4%, and none of the potential servants who fit the profile of the solicitation will have any problem find paid work to suit.

Curse you, Barack.

I'd be curious to know what sort of response she gets.

[Adam]

Well, in a lot of New York and the northeast in general, being able to say that you interned and got a chance to touch the robe pantsuit probably does enhance one's résumé. And it's hardly like unpaid internships are unusual. At least once upon a time, internships meant an opportunity to learn something valuable in exchange for some basic labor. Granted, I don't know that excuse-making is something valuable to learn, but maybe so.

[Norm dePlume]

Unpaid internships in cities with high living costs are a way for the wealthy to exercise privilege. Sarah Kendzior wrote an excellent piece on the effect of unpaid internships at the UN.

Meritocracy for sale

On April 24, 2013, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights announced it was having an auction to raise money to “carry forward Robert Kennedy's dream of a more just and peaceful world”. Through the auction website CharityBuzz, bidders could compete for a variety of prizes: a visit to the set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a personal meeting with Ryan Seacrest, a tour of Jay Leno’s car collection. Or a six-week unpaid internship at the United Nations, where the recipient will “gain inside knowledge of just how the UN really operates.” Current bid? $22,000.

...

One would suspect that a college student who can pay $22,000 to work 25 hours a week for free in one of the most expensive cities in the world needs little help making connections. But that misconstrues the goal of unpaid internships: transforming personal wealth into professional credentials. For students seeking jobs at certain policy organisations, the way to get one’s foot in the door is to walk the streets paved in gold. In the post-employment economy, jobs are privileges, and the privileged have jobs.

...

Unpaid internships lock out millions of talented young people based on class alone. They send the message that work is not labour to be compensated with a living wage, but an act of charity to the powerful, who reward the unpaid worker with “exposure” and “experience”. The promotion of unpaid labour has already eroded opportunity – and quality – in fields like journalism and politics. A false meritocracy breeds mediocrity.

Worst of all, unpaid internships in policy and human rights send the message that fighting poverty, inequality, and other issues of injustice is something that only rich people should do. Qualities that should be encouraged in society– like empathy and the willingness to stand up for others – are devalued when ordinary people are told that they literally cannot afford to care.

[Gingersnap]

I don't understand the point of unpaid internships nor why anybody would be dumb enough to do one. Surely, your time and effort is worth something even if you have no skills.

We always paid interns when we had them and we expected a successful learning curve so that students knew a lot more when they left than they did when they started.

It seems like it's just a prestige thing at this point (for the student) and unpaid labor for the organization. Answering phones and viewing the Celebrity as they pass through the lobby now and then doesn't seem like time well spent. I guess that in politics and a few other fields there's networking potential but it still seems wrong.

I know that unpaid internships are a big deal now for the high school and undergrad set but it's really just a scam for universities.

"We will demand that you deprive yourself of a real paying job (waiting tables, landscaping) so you can demonstrate your purity of devotion before accepting you into our rarefied institution/program."

Sad.

[Frostbit]

I'm offering internships on packing Moose meat from the field. No pay but I'll give you some of the liver.

[Newman]

More from the original article:

The job posting does not offer any alternative ways of compensation like school credit or a stipend.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Clinton was criticized for asking the Federal Election Commission to allow some campaign workers to accept college credit and a modest stipend for compensation.

Other candidates, like Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, paid his campaign interns $10.10 an hour for their work.

Norm's article is good food for thought.

And on the other hand, Bernie Sanders' payroll notwithstanding, I'm not sure any candidate could succeed without "campaign volunteers," even including union members working phone banks.

[80zephyr]

More from the original article:Norm's article is good food for thought.

And on the other hand, Bernie Sanders' payroll notwithstanding, I'm not sure any candidate could succeed without "campaign volunteers," even including union members working phone banks.

Our carpenters local worked damn hard to get our Democratic assemblyman elected. And when he remodeled his local office, he repaid us by hiring non union contractors for the job.

Mark

[Gingersnap]

More from the original article:Norm's article is good food for thought.

And on the other hand, Bernie Sanders' payroll notwithstanding, I'm not sure any candidate could succeed without "campaign volunteers," even including union members working phone banks.

Maybe not but in my mind an "intern" and a volunteer campaign worker should be different. Volunteers get some training but it's short and the skill set (if any) doesn't really do much except make you move into a more senior volunteer position as turnover happens (more of a 'last man standing' sort of thing in many cases).

Interns should learn more complex skills that are broadly applicable in career planning - for which they should get paid.

[phillygirl]

I did 2 unpaid internships in college, although I got college credit for them. One was at the district attorney's office and one at the attorney general's office. I found both of them very useful and informative. In law school I had one at the D.A.'s office my second year there because they already filled their appointments, but was able to swing it as work study, which paid 50% more than the regular pay was, so bonus there. I also did internships at Legal Aid in law school, but again, got credit for it. I couldn't afford an unpaid internship for summer work.

[Lady Marva]

Well, in a lot of New York and the northeast in general, being able to say that you interned and got a chance to touch the robe pantsuit probably does enhance one's résumé.

LLOLL...………. gollygillickers, one would think it has the opposite effect.
Any smart employer should be able to look and see...……….. OH, no need for money! No incentive to actually work...…….