With the belief that:
- Internship experience is critical to preparing young talent for full-time positions at our Member agencies;
- Internships that are fairly compensated bring more accomplished and diverse talent into the industry;
The PR Council and its Member firms are committed to fair pay for interns.
Beginning January 1, 2020, all of our 110 Member firms will offer to pay interns at least minimum wage for the market, as well as overtime, when required.
Interns are typically defined as people in high school or college, or new college grads, but occasionally interns are persons seeking new careers.
Our Members regard hiring interns as a win-win. While interns are given the opportunity to improve their public relations knowledge, skills and abilities, the agencies benefit from the labor interns provide and opportunity to learn more about potential full-time employees than can be derived from a resume or interview.
Member firms agree, as a matter of principle, that paying interns is in the best interest of the intern and the firm, even if the student is receiving course credit. Unpaid, short-term “externships” (no more than two weeks) consisting of only shadowing are permitted.
Finally, the commitment to paying interns will be added to the PR Council’s code of ethics, which is annually reaffirmed and signed by a Member agency principal, for all renewing and new Members for 2020.