Definition

A person working for experience instead of money, which is definitely a fair trade according to your employer. Often found fetching coffee and mastering the art of looking busy while learning that their degree taught them nothing about the actual job. The term technically means someone imprisoned, which feels surprisingly accurate around month three.

Example Usage

The intern spent six months building our entire social media strategy and got paid in 'exposure' and free bagels.

Source: Common HR terminology

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job enlargement

The practice of expanding an employee's role to include more tasks at the same level of responsibility. It's giving someone more work without calling it a promotion or raising their pay.

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assistant

The perpetually overworked position that serves as someone else's extra brain, hands, and coffee-fetcher, depending on the dignity of the workplace. Can range from executive assistant (basically running the company) to teaching assistant (grading papers until 3 AM) to retail sales assistant (customer service warrior). The title that precedes 'professor' or 'manager' to indicate you're doing the work without the full authority or pay.

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competency framework

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