A dedication to all interns, past, present and future

Dillon Khan, author of new YA novel The Intern, tells us about what made him decide to write about internships - and gives us a few tips on how to survive them

 For me, the aspiration to write began when I was an 8 year old addicted to Roald Dahl, and as the years went by, I collected lots of thoughts and themes in a notepad. By the time I actually sat down to write my first book, I was bursting at the seams with ideas. The question was, which one to start with? 

As I sat at my laptop, it was 2009 and the world economy was crumbling. Seeing that the future was about to get a whole lot harder for young people, I wanted to write something that would entertain but also prove useful to a generation that would come up against a tough jobs market. Whilst working at MTV, I was constantly asked about the world of media & music, whether at seminars or at my old school, where I mentored students trying to choose their careers. Mixing the themes together, the words soon began to flow and the finished work is a dedication to all interns - past, present and future.

The main character, Jay, could be any student or recent graduate trying to get their foot on the employment ladder, hence the front cover of the book. With a degree in hand and a mountain of debt, Jay has been trying for months to find suitable employment. Just as things are getting desperate, he finally lands an internship at the world's biggest music television company, The Beat. He has 6 months to turn his intern dream into a real job.  However, at what cost?

The Intern took 6 months to research, as it is set in 2000 and I wanted to ensure that it was layered like a trifle with references to popular culture, music, economics and the current affairs of the time. It's full of tips for younger readers and will also be a nostalgic jaunt for older ones. 

Being an intern once myself, I could empathise with the hard slog students and graduates today are going through. I spoke to many to get an insight of how things were for them today, and it turned out that most had experiences that were not unlike my own. I began my career as a freelance journalist trying to get a staff job. When the door remained shut for a while, I began to think laterally and knocked elsewhere till an opportunity arose at MTV. I'm not going to lie to you, it was the best job in the world alongside sportsman, actor, musician and the President of the USA. It was a job that allowed me to have my finger on the pulse of youth culture and report on it. I learnt and experienced a lot in 8 years, moving from intern to Head of Production for MTV Africa.

Once The Intern was complete, I felt I needed to supplement it with a website www.theintern.co.uk, which is a tool for students to get advice on CVs, covering letters but more importantly video clips with leaders of industry giving anecdotes and top tips on 'how to make it'.  The response from them has been hugely positive, each wanting to inspire a new generation. I hope to keep adding to the variety of contributors on show,currently ranging from Francesca Dow (MD, Penguin Children's) on how to get into Children's publishing to Ben Cooper (Controller, Radio 1, 1Xtra) with pearls of wisdom on how to make it in broadcasting.

Here's a taster of the site - Francesca's Top 5 tips for getting into publishing:

1. You have to be passionate - you have to love stories and storytelling and want to communicate with your audience.
2. You have to be informed - you have to know about the industry
3. Experience - any kind of experience you can get. This will help you get a foot in the door and find out if you do like the industry.
4. Presentation - with such competition, you have got to seem really smart, really passionate, really well informed, so present your CV well.
5. This is really important...don't give up! If you're sure this is the profession you want to work in, this is really important.

What I've found in the interviews I've conducted is that work experience and internships aren't just important to the employee but are hugely vital to the businesses that host them. When meaningfully constructed, they allow for an exchange of information and thinking that is mutually beneficial. There is a future Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) or Richard Branson (Virgin) out there who is sitting on the next big thing that businesses should be looking to find.

 If we can create a fair work environment, the world would be looking at us in 2012 for more than just the Olympics.  Responsible job creators shouldn't be perturbed by the recent media coverage about work experience & interns but instead use this as an opportunity to highlight how they are getting it right and bringing through the future business leaders of this country. This isn't the time to cut costs but to invest in the future. Who knows, there could be an intern working his/her way up to be the future PM of this country.

So how does Dillon Khan's portrayal of internships compare with the reality?

We asked Booktrust's very own intern Iman Qureshi to review the book and tell us the truth about what it's really like to be an intern.

Dillon Khan's The Intern is like hopping on bus back to the year 2000. Jay Merchant, a recent graduate, has got an internship at the best music television company in town - The Beat. The hours are ludicrously long, the pay pitiful, the girls gorgeous, the booze free-flowing, and the parties a riot. There are six interns, and one promised job at the end of it all. Jay's love of music combined with his desire for fame and achievement makes him hungry for the job, and he throws himself into the life, thriving on a diet of caffeine, sugar, alcohol and sheer ambition.

Those who've lived through the year 2000, cue the nostalgia with artists like Sonique, Westlife, Craig David, Britney Spears and Nelly topping the charts. But more importantly, set before 9/11 and 7/7, before the Wall Street crash, and before music piracy and file-sharing became the issue it is today (Napster was shut down in mid-2001), the novel is a rollicking record of the last days of confidence. 

The scene Khan paints ­- unbridled misogyny, extravagance, drug use, exploitation, sycophancy, celebrity-worship - is grotesque.Yet, it's easy to see how, to a young ambitious boy, it can be dangerously seductive. Significantly, Khan's portrayal of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll isn't gratuitous, but honest - and honesty is all I ask from any book, whether it's targeted at teens, adults or children.Censorship and sugary coats are lies as far as I'm concerned, and both offensive and patronising for the reader. The Intern is neither. What's more is that Khan tells his story without judgement - he doesn't have to tell you how horrible the misogyny of the industry is; he shows it. Khan refrains from didacticism and lets readers - and Jay - draw their own conclusions and decide whether the sacrifices Jay makes for the job are worth it in the end.

So how does an internship at Booktrust compare with The Beat?
(Disclaimer: The following may or may not have been swayed by standard intern sycophancy) 

Top 5 similarities:

• Interviewing Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson is pretty much the same as interviewing Madonna
• The skills you learn are invaluable - a wise man once said: 'Don't think of internships as working for free; it's learning for free'
• Free stuff­ ­- paperback books, signed guitars; potato, potah-to
• Surrounded by good-looking people
• Wandsworth is the new Notting Hill

Top 5 differences:

• A Booktrust badge surprisingly can't get you into the hottest clubs in town
• Working hours are human not vampire
• Most internships these days tend to be unpaid; The Beat is paid, albeit poorly
• At Booktrust the girls call the shots
• Alas, there are no transatlantic flights to claim as expenses