Triumvirate: Modern Day Eden for Unpaid Interns?
Posted on Wed, Jul 08, 2009 @ 02:04 PM
by Lindsey Swanson, Marketing Intern
When most people hear the words "unpaid" and internship" back to back, they usually picture a timid student juggling seven different orders of coffee and mindlessly filing stacks of folders while being either ignored, barked at, or repeatedly addressed by the wrong first name. To be honest, when I agreed to accept an unpaid internship at Triumvirate Environmental, that is more or less the fate I had mentally prepared myself for.
Considering this, you can imagine how surprised I was when my boss asked me--on the first day-- what I wanted to do. He asked me what I liked and didn't like, and what I wanted to get out of this experience. This was the first instance (of many) where Triumvirate thwarted my expectations by showing that I meant more to them than free labor. They treated my relationship with the company as if it were based on reciprocity and gave me a voice in this dialogue.
Soon after this conversation with my boss, Marketing Mark, I left to my cubicle feeling comforted and a little empowered. I began my first task of researching "hot environmental topics" when a man who I had never met before popped his head into my cubicle and said (not asked) "how many". When I failed to answer, he elaborated "how many followers" and proceeded to walk away chuckling to himself, leaving me to ponder whether the question was about Jesus or Scientology. I later learned that this man was the President and CEO of Triumvirate, and that by "followers" he meant people following him on twitter, since he had made it a personal goal to have more followers than Ashton Kutcher.
That brings me to the next reason Triumvirate is a great place to work: there is an impressive lack-of-caste in the workplace. The CEO will mingle with the unpaid marketing intern without condescension. Not only are all of the employees welcoming, but also, they are respectful-remembering my name, asking with genuine care about my life, and always offering help. Just add walls made of chocolate and a fountain, and you have every person's ideal place to work. I guess what I am trying to say is: thanks.