When I was studying in Uni, I had big dreams of making it in the corporate world.
I had all the right attitude and willingness to learn and I was eager to start my career. Little did I know, my internship would be nothing like I had imagined.
My boss hired me as an intern, but instead of giving me the chance to learn the ropes of corporate life, he made me do jobs that had nothing to do with my field of study.
He had me doing mundane tasks like filing, data entry and making coffee runs. I was frustrated and angry, but I knew that I had to take it in stride if I wanted to make a good impression and get a foot in the door.
It was then that I realized what my boss was doing. He was taking advantage of my eagerness to get started in the business world and using me as a source of cheap labour.
He knew that as an intern, I was desperate to make a good impression and would be willing to do whatever it took to get ahead.
I soon realized that I was not alone in this situation. There were others in my department who were in the same boat as me.
They were all poly/uni students with studying in various fields, but instead of being given the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills, they were being asked to do menial tasks with little to no pay.
I was appalled and outraged. Here we were, a group of educated and ambitious individuals, being used as cheap labour.
We had the potential to be great assets to the company, yet we were being treated like second-class citizens.