“You don’t have enough experience”. No fresh graduate wants to hear those dreaded words. Employers today are not only looking at your educational background but also how much practical work experience you can bring to the table. Do I think that it’s fair to expect someone who just received their diploma to know the ins and outs of the workforce? No. But the market is competitive and flooded with new graduates that landing a great first job has become a serious challenge.
When I started high school I was told that I should start looking into internships in my junior year. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in the future and choosing a company that would both interest me (and would want an inexperienced teen) wasn’t an easy task. I was naive and wanted to choose a company that looked good, sounded good, and let me do things that I was genuinely interested in. Hindsight is always 20/20 and looking back, I wish I would have taken the time to train in different industries and learn from multiple leaders.
While dining at one of my favorite restaurants in Beijing I was surprised to learn that the beautiful waitress who spoke both English and Chinese fluently was the daughter of the restaurant owner. Everyone in the F&B industry in this city knows who Ignace Lecleir is. The owner/founder of the TRB Group that owns TRB Hutong, TRB Forbidden City, Copper, Hulu, and Merci is known for his attention to detail and his staff is known for their impeccable service.
I found it interesting that his daughter Paris Lecleir happily waiting tables, without any sense of special privilege at her family business. I sat down for a chat with Lecleir. He built a successful restaurant group here in Beijing and I definitely wanted to hear his thoughts on teen internships.
Is this Paris’ first internship?
IL: Definitely not. Paris has been working in TRB since she was 11 years old. It wasn’t a full-time job since she was so young but she’d work 4 hours a day during the summer. Her younger brothers have also worked in the restaurants. Last summer the boys worked at Hulu washing dishes. It’s important to me that they start from the bottom.
Did you intern when you were a teen?
IL: I didn’t intern as a teen. I started working in a restaurant when I was 14 years old. I enjoyed learning the value of money and having the financial freedom. I was lucky enough to have discovered my passion at a young age.
How old do you think kids need to be before they intern?
IL: I think as long as you feel comfortable with it, why not? Back in Europe I knew people whose kids started working on simple things as young as seven.
What do you think having an internship teaches?
IL: Internships teach kids to respect money. When we first moved to Beijing from New York, Paris wanted to buy a new iPhone. Back then the latest model was an iPhone 6 or 7, I can’t remember. She wasn’t asking to have her first phone. By then she had already broken two brand new iPhones so my wife and I decided that we would buy her a regular phone so that we can keep in touch, but if she wanted to have an iPhone she would need to work and pay for it herself. She was 11 at the time and I gave her a job working at TRB for RMB 10 an hour. She worked for four hours and asked me to take her to buy an iPhone. Of course it wasn’t anywhere close to enough for one, but it was then that she began to understand the value of money.
Take a scroll through any job search website and you’re bound to see an ad looking for “qualified interns” offering nothing but experience in return. While it is important to gain some real work experience, unfortunately experience doesn’t pay the bills.
Should interns be paid?
IL: Yes. The purpose of an internship isn’t only about making money. It’s about learning real life experience, but real life experience also involves being paid for your work. I don’t believe in forcing my kids to behave a certain way. I want them to express themselves however they want. By working, they gain an appreciation for the value of money and their time. They enjoy working.
The idea of interning at your own family’s business may seem like a breeze. If your dad is the boss you automatically get special treatment, right? Not in this case. Lecleir firmly believes in keeping work and family separate. It gives his kids an authentic internship experience with no special treatment, and it gives his staff the privacy and respect they deserve. No one wants to feel like the boss’s kid is there to spy on them.
Do you think your staff treated her differently?
IL: For Paris the staff treated her the same as any other employee and I made a point to remind the managers of this. I try to be hands off. With my sons who are 10 and 11 years old, they need to learn that if they get in trouble they need to take responsibility for it.
Did she bring home any interesting work stories to share with the family?
IL: We really don’t talk about her work. I don’t want to talk about work with Paris so my staff feels confident that what happens at work stays here.
Is it important to intern even if she chooses to work in another industry in the future?
IL: One of the things about working in the restaurant business is that you learn teamwork and how to interact with different personalities. This is a kind of skill set that is important regardless of what industry you work. When my kids were little they worked in the back of house because back of house is very structured, like a military. It’s good for them to see that kind of hierarchy and discipline. I have no desire for them to take over the business. Their internship is more about them learning implant life and people skills.
Photo: Mina Yan, Hulu
