Unpaid internships spark debate, but in specific cases, they can be fair when prioritized as educational experiences.
This HR Spotlight article gathers insights from business leaders and HR professionals across industries like tech, law, and manufacturing, exploring when unpaid internships are justified.
From short-term, mentorship-driven programs in startups to observational roles in niche fields like military justice, these experts highlight scenarios where learning trumps labor.
Emphasizing transparency, structured training, and tangible skill-building, they reveal how to design internships that benefit interns without exploitation, ensuring mutual value in competitive sectors.
Discover when unpaid internships can ethically bridge education and career growth.
Read on!
Margaret Buj
Principal Recruiter, Mixmax
Unpaid Internships Must Offer Tangible Learning
In tech and SaaS specifically, I believe unpaid internships should be the exception, not the rule – but there are a few niche situations where they can be fair and mutually beneficial.
One example is when an early-stage startup genuinely lacks funding but can offer tangible, structured learning in exchange for the intern’s time. For instance, if the internship provides mentorship, exposure to real-world projects, and measurable deliverables that the intern can showcase later — and the duration is short and clearly defined (e.g., 4–6 weeks) – it can be appropriate.
However, in my 20 years hiring across Europe, LATAM, and the U.S., I’ve seen too many unpaid internships that exploit candidates without giving them meaningful skills or experience.
My rule of thumb: if the company benefits from the intern’s work, the intern should be compensated — but when the primary value flows to the intern’s learning and portfolio-building, a short unpaid placement can make sense.
Belle Florendo
Marketing coordinator, Sunny Glen Children’s Home
Unpaid Internships Work When Education Trumps Labor
An unpaid internship can be appropriate when it is structured as a short-term, skills-focused experience that directly benefits the student rather than the organization.
For example, a social work or child development student might participate in a summer program where they shadow case managers, attend training workshops, and observe family support services without being asked to shoulder essential responsibilities. In this case, the purpose is not to replace staff but to give the intern exposure to real-world practices in a supervised, educational setting.
Fairness comes from transparency and boundaries.
The internship must be clearly presented as a learning opportunity with defined outcomes, limited hours, and mentorship built in.
If the arrangement is designed around the student’s academic growth and offers access to training or professional connections that would otherwise be difficult to obtain, then it can serve as a valuable bridge into the field. Anything beyond that—particularly if the organization relies on the intern for ongoing work—should be paid.
Josh Qian
COO & Co-Founder, LINQ Kitchen formerly BestOnlineCabinets
Learning-Focused Design Internships Create Mutual Benefits
As I see it, an unpaid internship is a good experience if considered an opportunity to learn, rather than work.
If a prospective designer wanted to witness a luxury cabinetry and closet program, a period of unpaid internship could be a positive initiative for both parties.
The intern would receive real experience, hands-on exposure to design software, customers, and project management. At the same time, the firm could mentor and educate candidates without putting them into a position with an obligation of production.
It is a mutually beneficial relationship that emphasizes skill development over direct financial contributions.
Internship goals would include specific learning objectives and direction roles for mentoring.
We aim to avoid turning the internship into a role-filling exercise and instead foster the development of the next generation of professionals in the industry.
By allowing students to work in a framework that is facilitated but flexible, we can help the intern to develop their portfolio work, and the company gets to experience their energy and outlook.
Peter Shogun Trnka
Founder & CEO, Mr. & Mrs. Shogun
Personal Growth Becomes Valid Currency in Fair Internships
Fair internships are those where the experience itself becomes a form of meaningful compensation
At Mr. & Mrs. Shogun, we work in the field of personal growth and conscious living, where people don’t only learn by gathering information—they grow through experience, reflection, and transformation.
That is why an internship with us is not about filling a role cheaply, but about creating space where someone can immerse themselves in this process while contributing to our mission.
Our interns receive full access to our tools, guidance sessions, and the same safe environment we use within our team to explore sensitive issues and personal growth.
This creates a unique exchange: while they support us with their skills, they also benefit from deep, structured learning and a chance to understand themselves on a much more conscious level.
We believe payment comes in many forms. Financial reward is one, but equally valuable is the exchange of energy, presence, and growth.
An unpaid internship can be fair when it is clearly built as a transformative learning experience—one where the intern leaves not only with new skills, but with deeper clarity, self-understanding, and inner resources that will serve them far beyond the time spent with us.
James Shaffer
Managing Director, Insurance Panda
Shadow-Only Roles Define Ethical Unpaid Insurance Internships
Here’s the only case I think unpaid internships are fair in: when the role is explicitly shadow-only, short-term, and framed as education, not labor.
I’ve had college students ask to shadow me for two weeks just to see how the auto insurance quoting business works. They sat in on calls, watched how we build campaigns, and asked blunt questions about commissions, compliance, and lead buying. They didn’t handle client accounts, they didn’t generate billable work. It was exposure, nothing more.
That’s the line. If the intern is producing assets that make the company money, pay them. If they’re literally observing, taking notes, and getting an inside look into an industry most schools never teach, then I see unpaid as acceptable, provided it’s brief, clearly defined, and the value exchange is obvious.
In my shop, the shadow interns left with something tangible: access to raw performance dashboards, a peek at how quote funnels are tested, and time with staff across departments. They weren’t fetching coffee, they were pulling back the curtain on a business model.
Anything beyond that, and “unpaid” becomes exploitation dressed as opportunity.
Mark Hirsch
Co-founder & Personal Injury Attorney, Templer & Hirsch
Law Externships Offer Real Experience Through School Credit
When a law student seeks to earn school credit through an externship program, it may be fair and proper to offer them an unpaid internship.
I’ve helped dozens of these interns over the past 30 years. They’re not doing office work; instead, they’re watching depositions, helping get ready for trial, and watching real talks. Their law schools and the ABA have strict rules about these jobs.
One of my interns went on to work for a top plaintiff’s firm in Miami. He still thanks me for giving him the chance to “see the trenches.” The essential things are being open, teaching others, and not letting paid workers go. It’s not free work; it’s legal schooling.
Always follow the rules set by the federal and state governments about work to stay honest and legal.
Steven Rodemer
Owner & Attorney for Law Office of Rodemer & Kane DUI & Criminal Defense Attorney
Military Justice Internships Offer Unique Value
For law students interested in military justice, an unpaid internship in this setting can be uniquely valuable. Many defense attorneys in Colorado handle cases involving service members facing courts-martial or administrative actions.
An intern can observe these proceedings, learn the differences between civilian and military courts, and study how legal strategy adapts in this environment. The internship’s fairness comes from the rare opportunity to access a niche field that students often cannot see firsthand.
Because military cases involve sensitive issues, these internships remain observational and educational.
Wendy Makinson
HR manager, Joloda Hydraroll
Fair Internships Provide Insight, Not Just Labor
Unpaid internships can be more than fair if the businesses are providing insight and experience into relevant job roles, departments and real-life scenarios for those who have an interest in working within that sector.
Whether they are performing work experience through their high school, a longer internship as part of a university degree or an unpaid work agreement for a career change – if the person gains knowledge and confidence in the area, it is advantageous for them.
When a company is demanding free labour from an intern, and not doing their part of educating, training and enabling them to flourish it – becomes unfair.
Within our specific industry of manufacturing, we see that a fair internship will enable the person to be exposed to multiple processes of the chain – from planning and procurement, engineering and development, marketing and sales, the factory floor and warehouse and logistics.
Their internship is fair if they are provided with the opportunities to experience and learn the full journey and process and leave with an understanding of the whole business.
Michał Bieńko
Recruiter & HR Generalist, Omni Calculator
Internships: A Smart Hiring Funnel
Unpaid internships can only be fair when they work like a boot camp or mentorship program, where interns gain skills directly relevant to today’s job market. In that case, as an intern, you get great value in exchange for your time.
However, the employer has to generously invest in developing skills that an intern can, and most likely will, use in another company. In the short term, that might seem like wasting money. Yet an employer who uses this as a recruiting tool has enormous leverage in finding the most promising performers.
Using an internship for this purpose reveals interns’ learning agility, openness to feedback, and culture fit for the company. With this knowledge, it’s easy to make an excellent long-term hire.
The HR Spotlight team thanks these industry leaders for offering their expertise and experience and sharing these insights.
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