At my company, MousePaw Media, virtually the only way into the company is via the year-long internship program. As a result, nearly all of our staff has gone through the internship. Thus, they are empathetic and helpful towards interns.
Also, interns always work on real projects, and are treated with the same respect and professional regard as any other employee. In a way, they "employees with training wheels." Certain processes and support structures are in place for interns, to help them learn and master the professional skills they need, and these same support structures can be "kicked loose" as they gain confidence and capability.
In regards to "company" vs "corporation", interns have pointed out that our processes and policies are very organized and polished. This is by design: we are a company of 8-12 people, but we run it so we can handle 80 or 800 under the same administrative bulwark. Yet, in all of this, we ensure everything is people-oriented. (I won't go into all of the unusual details about our management structure, but "people first" is the aim above all.)
As to compensation, we're a startup where everyone (including owners like me) get compensated in equity. Once we start up, interns will be paid competitively. I don't believe that "unpaid" internships are ethical.
The one exception to this rule is internships for credit: we cooperate with local universities to allow students to take part of their internship for college credit. As a rule, every hour worked in our internship program is compensated one way: either in equity (later, cash) or college credit. This setup is not unusual; in fact, some universities don't even allow "paid" internships to be taken for credit.
In the end, an internship should always be measurably compensated. None of this "you're gaining experience, be happy" crap.
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At my company, MousePaw Media, virtually the only way into the company is via the year-long internship program. As a result, nearly all of our staff has gone through the internship. Thus, they are empathetic and helpful towards interns.
Also, interns always work on real projects, and are treated with the same respect and professional regard as any other employee. In a way, they "employees with training wheels." Certain processes and support structures are in place for interns, to help them learn and master the professional skills they need, and these same support structures can be "kicked loose" as they gain confidence and capability.
In regards to "company" vs "corporation", interns have pointed out that our processes and policies are very organized and polished. This is by design: we are a company of 8-12 people, but we run it so we can handle 80 or 800 under the same administrative bulwark. Yet, in all of this, we ensure everything is people-oriented. (I won't go into all of the unusual details about our management structure, but "people first" is the aim above all.)
As to compensation, we're a startup where everyone (including owners like me) get compensated in equity. Once we start up, interns will be paid competitively. I don't believe that "unpaid" internships are ethical.
The one exception to this rule is internships for credit: we cooperate with local universities to allow students to take part of their internship for college credit. As a rule, every hour worked in our internship program is compensated one way: either in equity (later, cash) or college credit. This setup is not unusual; in fact, some universities don't even allow "paid" internships to be taken for credit.
In the end, an internship should always be measurably compensated. None of this "you're gaining experience, be happy" crap.