The scourge of the Craigslist jobs board is those people and organizations looking to get something for nothing. It’s at once laughable, depressing and rage-inducing.
Listen up people: You can call it an “intership,” but it doesn’t change the fact that you want someone to give you something for free.
Here’s a great example from today:
Eco-Friendly Website Looking for Writers (Los Angeles)
Chosen by Time Magazine in 2009 as of the best designed green websites, EcoHomeResource.com provides inspiration and information to help people create and maintain healthy home environments. We are looking for talented and enthusiastic writers for our internship program. We are looking for a minimum 4 month commitment, contributing 2 articles per week, plus minimal data entry to continue to build the green products and services database. You will work primarily from home, so access to a computer and the internet is essential. We have in person meetings usually every 2 weeks or conference calls. There will be an initial orientation/training session. Please send a writing sample and why you think you would be a good fit for the team. This is a non-paying internship, but you will gain valuable experience, good job references and your work will be published and archived on a credible web resource, with author credit. Thank you for your interest!
Author credit!? Halleluah!! After all, as a narcissistic artist I do this solely for the recognition, anyway. And the archiving. Thank you EcoHomeResource.com!! I can’t wait to give you 4 months of work in exchange for “valuable experience” and “good job references.”
You know what? Real jobs offer those things, too, IN ADDITION to money.
Bottom line: There’s no excuse for asking a writer to contribute revenue-generating content to your website for nothing. Furthermore, there’s no excuse for writers — of any experience level — to give away their services for free.
Not to start a rant here, but creatives get taken advantage of in ways other professionals don’t. Can you imagine asking a young accountant to do 4 months of bookkeeping for free? Try posting an “intership” for a car salesman and tell him he doesn’t get any commission … just “valuable experience” and “good job references.” There’s no reason this should sound any less crazy than asking writers to contribute content for free.
