RJW Collective NY is Hiring Interns!

Hey everyone!

Hopefully some of you will remember me from months prior. TFL allowed me to hone my skills helped to excel my career as a designer. I'm now Creative Director of a small boutique agency in NY. I'd like to try and give back to the community and open up the possibility of finding a design intern for the Summer. This could become a full time position at the end of your time here if you excel at it.

Anyways, I'll just get straight to the point.

Some information about us: We are a boutique full service agency that handles accounts for some of the most notable clients in the world. We pride ourselves in our creative execution and strategic thinking. We are based in NY with an office in LA. We have about 20 people nation wide. We are young (the median age is probably about 26) and exciting. We handle everything from social media, to full on branding, to microsites and digital advertising campaigns.

That said, we're also a very fast paced agency where everyone is hands on. Pressure is high, but we play hard and work hard. You'll have an opportunity to wear different hats and hone your skills on real clients allowing you to build a very strong portfolio. We're looking for someone who has got a lot of potential... we'll help you learn the ropes in an elite agency atmosphere and have the chance to work in a real environment with real deadlines.

You:

• Have an online portfolio available
• You demonstrate fluent understanding of Photoshop (and preferably the rest of the Adobe creative suite)
• You have a true passion for design
• You are at least 17+
• You must work in house. We are located in New York and do not offer relocation packages. We can offer a small stipend, but this is an unpaid internship. We will work with your school/college to give you credit if applicable.

You'll work directly for me, report to me, and become my apprentice. You will develop a close working relationship understanding how to work in a team environment that requires social skills and expert execution. This is a great learning opportunity for anyone looking to make a career in design. You will shadow me in appropriate meetings and new business opportunities and see the inner workings of the agency world.

With that said, please reply to this thread, but send an additional email to me at bryan [at] rjwcollective.com with the subject header: TFL Internship: FILL IN THE BLANKS.

Thanks guys and I look forward to working with any of you!

B

I would absolutely love to do this. However I have conflicting dates etc. and won't be able to do it.

If anyone is on the fence about this; definitely at least inquire for more information. Bryan is a top designer and I can only imagine what it would be like to work underneath him.

wish i lived in new york!!!

What a great opportunity for young designers. Bryan, that's great of you to give back to TF. You young designers should think seriously about this opportunity, they come few and far between.

All I can say is congratulations on the expansion and I hope you can find a proper fit for your company.

Bryan, your generous spirit is appreciated. People sometimes forget where and how they started and try to ignore their past. Not you. If anything, you are an inspiration story to many.

Best of luck with the search. To thank you, I will sticky your post until further notice.

I should note for anyone interested, an unpaid internship must mean that the work you're doing does not financially benefit the company (eg: you're printing copies of stuff, fetching coffee for people, doing mediocre tasks around the office.)

They're legally obligated to pay you if they benefit financially from your actions otherwise an unpaid internship will end up with the firm being investigated into by the Department of Labor.

The Labor Department says it is cracking down on firms that fail to pay interns properly and expanding efforts to educate companies, colleges and students on the law regarding internships. “If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” said Nancy J. Leppink, the acting director of the department’s wage and hour division.

Among those criteria are that the internship should be similar to the training given in a vocational school or academic institution, that the intern does not displace regular paid workers and that the employer “derives no immediate advantage” from the intern’s activities — in other words, it’s largely a benevolent contribution to the intern.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/bu.../03intern.html
http://blogmaverick.com/2009/09/05/w...nce-screw-you/
http://www.nylaborandemploymentlawre...idden-dangers/

If you need more information on unpaid interns, you can easily search for it. What I included was a meager sample and also based on individuals currently in NY, where this intern position is being offered.

Sorry Bryan if it seems I'm putting a damper on your thread but people need to be made aware of unpaid internships.

Originally Posted by Jordan I should note for anyone interested, an unpaid internship must mean that the work you're doing does not financially benefit the company (eg: you're printing copies of stuff, fetching coffee for people, doing mediocre tasks around the office.) [...] Sorry Bryan if it seems I'm putting a damper on your thread but people need to be made aware of unpaid internships.

Originally Posted by Bryan Le You'll have an opportunity to wear different hats and hone your skills on real clients allowing you to build a very strong portfolio. [...] we'll help you learn the ropes in an elite agency atmosphere and have the chance to work in a real environment with real deadlines. [...] We can offer a small stipend, but this is an unpaid internship. We will work with your school/college to give you credit if applicable. [...] You will shadow me in appropriate meetings and new business opportunities and see the inner workings of the agency world.

Sounds like a far stretch from printing copies and fetching coffee, and frankly, a very fair opportunity.

I am also sure people know what an internship is, especially that, as I understand, a small stipend is available.

Originally Posted by Artashes Sounds like a far stretch from printing copies and fetching coffee, and frankly, a very fair opportunity. I am also sure people know what an internship is, especially that, as I understand, a small stipend is available.

I'd recommend rereading my post as well as the links I provided. He does in fact notate a small stipend but if the "unpaid internship" involves work that benefits the company and/or is akin to what a paid employee performs, that that intern is legally obligated to a wage if there is no stipend given at all.

Internships must comply with six federal legal criteria that must be satisfied in order to be unpaid. http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/att...GL12-09acc.pdf

Among those criteria are that the internship should be similar to the training given in a vocational school or academic institution, that the intern does not displace regular paid workers and that the employer “derives no immediate advantage” from the intern’s activities — in other words, it’s largely a benevolent contribution to the intern.

The fact I bring this up is to ensure that if anyone is interested in this internship, they are well aware of the fact that if they are not paid and their work benefits the company, they are entitled to file a complaint to be owed wages.

Also, my example of what an UNPAID internship was of basic tasks that do not financially benefit the company. Those examples are legal tasks that an unpaid intern can perform. Items, that Bryan lists, such as designing a client's website, or helping to code a client's website.. those are both examples of what an unpaid intern cannot do. If they do perform those while they're unpaid, they're legally entitled to file a claim against the company to be given wages due for work.

Originally Posted by Jordan I'd recommend rereading my post as well as the links I provided. He does in fact notate a small stipend but if the "unpaid internship" involves work that benefits the company and/or is akin to what a paid employee performs, that that intern is legally obligated to a wage if there is no stipend given at all.

A stipend is money. Money is pay. Not as ideal as in the real world, but such is the nature of internships.

Originally Posted by Jordan Also, my example of what an UNPAID internship was of basic tasks that do not financially benefit the company. Those examples are legal tasks that an unpaid intern can perform. Items, that Bryan lists, such as designing a client's website, or helping to code a client's website.. those are both examples of what an unpaid intern cannot do. If they do perform those while they're unpaid, they're legally entitled to file a claim against the company to be given wages due for work.

Let's just forget for a minute that there is a small stipend to begin with.

A young designer has a real chance to prove herself/himself and potentially land a full time job. Even if it was an unpaid position, it sounds like a great opportunity for any creative individual looking to enter this field professionally to go through this practical experience.

Why would anyone even try to willingly get this position... and then what - file a claim? It sounds like an oxymoron. So its very simple - if you, or anyone, don't find it interesting, don't apply.

What Jordan is just pointing out is that if anyone is expecting to gain design / skills used for profit from Bryan this may not be the case. You are more likely to do examples she stated. I had no idea of any of her points, so thank you, Jordan

While this is the case, it still is a huge opportunity. I would still rather do less meaningful tasks and stand the chance of gaining tidbits of information from Bryan than not going at all. I would still go :P