Who doesn’t love getting brands on their CV and landing corporate internships throughout their college life?
But hey, what cost are you willing to pay for it? Your body, self respect, peace of mind or your entire social life?
This article is a bit personal and features some real life experiences so get ready for a bumpy ride. Haha.
So without further ado, let’s jump into the abyss and see what makes these corporate internships a soul-sucking journey:
#1. Love The Brand, Regardless Of The Work
BRANDS. LABELS. SOCIAL STATUS. BRAGGING RIGHTS. YOUR RESUME AIN’T GOT SHIT OVER MY RESUME.
Most college kids when applying for internships focus on the brand name and tend to work for it regardless of the terms and conditions offered by the organization in question, no matter how stupid or unfruitful their work experience might turn out to be.
And that’s where they go wrong and land up generally underpaid when they apply for a real job.
A lot of corporate internships might give you a handsome certificate with a flashy designation but the actual work which they ask you to do might be either minimal or totally unrelated and wasteful compared to your profile.
Basically, you get temporarily employed for being a f**king fruitcake and doing dirty or no work at all.
#2. Logistics; Terrible Work Hours With No Monetary Reimbursements And Minimal Pay
This makes me highlight the basic definition of an intern, which highlights that the person who is an intern basically works to learn and gain experience.
S/HE IS NOT AN EMPLOYEE. AND YOU SHOULDN’T TREAT HIM/HER LIKE ONE.
The experience shouldn’t come at a hefty monetary expense from his/her pocket as s/he has qualified by being eligible for a particular position.
Now let me explain why:
Sure, corporate internships at fancy brands come with the unsaid rule that it’s the student who needs the internship, not the other way round. And that’s where most college students are exploited.
Also Read: The Reality Behind (Unpaid) College Internships
A student, in the excitement of being associated to a big brand compromises on his/her physical self by being employed for terribly long work hours (9 to 11 hours per day) at drastically far locations from his/her residence just for a minor monthly stipend, which comes with 0 travel and any other reimbursements.
So if a student from West Delhi spends 250 bucks every day to travel to Gurgaon and back for 26 days in a month (BECAUSE F**K YOU FOR BEING A SLAVE AND WORKING FOR 6 DAYS A WEEK) and gets a stipend of Rs. 9,000, s/he basically spends more than 2/3rd of that in travel alone.
And lastly,
#3. Misleading Nature Of Corporate Brands And Internships
So after employing a student temporarily by luring him/her with
- a certificate
- offering them minimal monthly or no stipend,
- ZERO reimbursements,
- terrible work hours,
- 6 days a week with no adjustments and
- sometimes asking them to report early morning or even stay the night to work (No shit, I was offered a position with the same logistics at a reputed firm),
corporate brands make the interns work like slaves (or animals, rather) and pile unnecessary pressure on them.
This in turn gives them a highly unfruitful working and learning experience, where their executive abilities aren’t given a chance to be exhibited or to shine in business negotiations.
This makes them donkeys instead of future CEOs and the corporate hegemony happily grins at the birth of another slave, fresh out of college, waiting for exploitation.
The student doesn’t stand up for him/herself because they don’t want to risk their elusive certificate and an even more elusive LOR.
Instead, s/he does the odd jobs, S/HE MAKES SALES instead of learning and being guided about the job which they might be doing after college and they just becomes a mere part of a vicious circle which devours them and never spits them out.
Kids, learn to stand up for yourself and learn to say no to brands because your body and physical self shouldn’t be compromised at any cost and your life shouldn’t be defined by certificates.
Make demands, learn to work with respect, never take anybody’s shit and never be a slave.
Don’t act like a spoiled asshole while making monetary demands and be as reasonable as possible but don’t compromise your self respect for a paycheck.
Chin up, chest out, pride intact.
That’s the way to go. YOLO.
Image Credits: Google Images
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