Full-time intern for 5 months - being taken advantage of?
First job out of school, I was hired at a boutique HFF/Eastdil as an an intern at $15/hr, 45hr/week. I was hired explicitly with potential to become "full-time" once our office hires another producer (which was slated for that quarter) but we've been focused on opening offices elsewhere.
But here's the problem.... they've unofficially given me the title of analyst. They refer to me as an analyst in meetings and when they tell prospective clients how many analysts we have. I'm also in the CRM as an analyst, and another office brought on summer interns who are explicitly "interns" and don't work Fridays. ...but I'm still being paid 30K before taxes, no benefits...
At first I was proud they considered me part of the team (and they've told me they're impressed with my output when I've asked how things are going) but now I feel like they're just avoiding paying for me.
Yeah you're being taken advantage of. I would immediately schedule a meeting with an appropriate superior to discuss the situation and work out a defined plan for your future if you want to stay at the company. That's pretty poor behavior on the firm's part in my opinion.
I second others opinions on the thread, it certainly seems like you've been stored in the shoe box and given just enough sunlight so you don't crash into the walls too much. Like others I recommend speaking to your manager / superior.
There are many ways to approach this topic with your manager, a couple avenues to travel down are: 1.) The soft approach - Ask you manager when you can expect to become a fulltime analyst with FT pay, and keep them to the deadline (in my opinion, this option leaves you open to being strung along further) 2.) The hard approach - You have "the talk" with your manager. Start by saying how much you've enjoyed the role and would like to stay, but under the current circumstances you would have to consider other opporutnities if they arose as the current pay is not enough to live on. If there is anyone in the world that respects a hard and honest conversation, it is typically a career banker.
I wouldn't recommend the "hard approach" unless you're mentally, and financially prepared to leave. However, I have honestly walked a mile in your shoes, and can say with confidence you owe the firm nothing.
One final point to consider with Boutiques is that oftentimes they keep overhead increadibly slim until the firm produces big commision $'s. This seems like it could be the case with your firm, meaning that it doesn't matter how much you kick and scream for FT pay, you're still not going to get it until money flows in. Overhead is still overhead.
Piggy Backing off what most are saying...You are being taken advantage of. It's gonna be ok, however there are some things you need to do.
Give it more time, a few more months till the end of the summer or so and wait until the new batch of interns go back to the uni's that they crawled out from.
While you're patiently waiting, focus on what @InVinoVeritas and start quarterbacking more deal packages and production. Take more roles, if you see something needs to be done...do it. Kick ass and take names and don't wait for someone to ask you to do something.
While you're also patiently waiting, start networking after hours. Look for other opportunities that you could potentially jump into. Maybe interview if you get a chance? Either way, it won't hurt to put out feelers for the market. You'll need experience, which goes back to quarterbacking the deal packages. Do as much as you can and use that to sell yourself.
Research comps for salary and compensation in your market. Look at the compensation thread we have. Here is the 2018 CEL Associates (Here is the link to 2018 CEL Associates for Real Estate Professionals). Get an idea of what you're worth and what you want to get paid, but be reasonable!
Wait until the end of the summer, maybe a bit sooner, and have a discussion with your superiors. Below is a link to a thread regarding analyst pay raise expectations. There are some good discussions inside talking about how to talk about it. There is a really good line that says ""I really like my job, I like what we are doing, I dont want to go anywhere else, but I am getting some significant offers, could we talk about compensation?" Add value or show competition, if I was an employer that is what I would be looking at to adjust compensation. Also, I try to build my brand a little bit when I can (of coarse, this only works when you have a work product in line with the image you are trying to build)". You don't have to say that word for word, but it gives you a good idea of how to broach that subject.
Link to Raises for Analysts.
Overall, your goal is to go out there and maximize your value. That starts with getting more experience and then talking to not only your company but other companies as well so that you can create an opportunity to either grow in your current job or find a new job.
Wisest words I've ever heard from a boss were "Learn as much as you can, as fast as you can and never stop learning". But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be paid fair value for what you bring to the table. Know the ins and outs of a deal, try to accomplish before asked and show enthusiasm to learn and get better. Either way it'll pay off with a raise or an opportunity elsewhere. Good luck!