Menu: Sylvia's seeks unpaid intern

DNAInfo, the online news source that reports on seemingly every-little-thing-even-as-small-as-your-DNA (is that where the name comes from? and how do they do it?), writes that Sylvia's is seeking an unpaid intern for the summer:

While unpaid internships are standard practice in publishing, journalism and other industries, restaurant internships are relatively rare.

[Breanna Williams, who posted the ad for Sylvia's] said she hadn't heard of any other restaurants in the city that are currently doing the same.

But she said her staff is stretched, and instead of hiring a paid employee, “I thought it would probably be best to hire an intern who could learn and go on to make something of their own one day.”

Williams said she hopes the internship will prove valuable for students looking to break into the business. "They can really see what it takes," she said.

Hey, God bless 'em.  If they can find somebody to work for free to see  how a restaurant works, they've either found somebody who is so smart to see an opportunity that most wouldn't see or somebody who is a little slow on the uptake.  Then again, a lot of folks in the restaurant industry argue that they almost work for free anyway, so what's the difference?

And what about the folks that say unpaid internships shouldn't exist?  Well, I don't know.  Nobody's forcing anyone to take such a position.  Some people do take unpaid or low-paying internships and leverage it into their own success.  And if somebody does take the Sylvia's position - if - they must see some value to it other than hourly pay.