How to intern like a boss, from a podcast

Hamish began his editorial internship at The Herald Sun “very tired” on a New Year’s Day. His first task? To approach strangers on the street and ask them if they had already broken their New Year’s resolutions.

Surprisingly to some, he found this to be a “really, really fun experience”. Better yet, it eventuated in him landing a paid position.

It must be noted that he is one of the very lucky ones: though a third of 18 to 64-year-old Australians interned at least once between 2011 and 2016, only four per cent were offered a job afterwards. So, how, like Hamish, do you get the gig? Starting Somewhere, which interviewed him, attempts to answer this question.

The new University of Melbourne podcast’s 10 episodes cover everything from getting an internship and, once you’re there, wowing employers, to the seedier side of unpaid work experience: exploitation.

The audio series arose as internships are no longer really a matter of ‘if’, but ‘how’.

“Generation Y are the most educated generation, but the transition to full-time employment is becoming increasingly challenging,” Dan Woodman, the University of Melbourne’s TR Ashworth Associate Professor in Sociology, and Starting Somewhere contributor, said.

“Internships are a way to try and stand out from the pack, but they can be good and bad. Finding the right one could help set the foundation for your career, helping you cross that crucial bridge from the classroom to secure, meaningful work, but it’s important to remember that they can be exploitative as well.”

Naturally, Campus Review sought podcast producer Buffy Gorilla as well as Woodman’s detailed views on internships, and the show’s content, in podcast form.

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