By NYU Staff

Kalvin Leveille Intern, ABC Daytime

Kalvin Leveille is no stranger to the tough nature of the television business, but he admits times are harder than ever, as fierce competition blocks interns from traditional entry-level positions.  Internships were once easy to come by; but now young interns like Leveille are simply trying to survive.

Over the past two years, the 22 year-old first generation Haitian-American finished his communications degree at St. John’s University and held a host of internships at MTV and ABC Networks, before landing his current position as a casting intern for ABC Daytime Television in New York.   In his current role, Leveille assists casting coordinators and executives with booking talent for auditions, liaises with talent agencies in New York and Los Angeles,  and does administrative work.  So far, it’s closer than he’s ever been to his dream job, he says.

“I rank this internship a nine because I have an actual role and responsibilities,” says Leveille.  “What I do is important for other people to do their jobs and if I take a day off, they will care. Plus, I get paid.”

But finding paid internships and entry-level positions has gotten tougher, as more seasoned employees flood the job market and boost the minimum requirements for these jobs.  For example, a recent job posting for an entry-level role at ABC’s Good Morning America, the number two ranked morning news program behind NBC’s Today Show, saw at least 25 internal applicants, excluding interns.

And the trend is building across the industry.  According to people familiar with hiring at Reuters, Dow Jones, and Wall Street Journal, the average journalism posting is seeing hundreds of qualified applicants with several years of professional experience.

This has left Leveille and his peers, frustrated with their search for jobs appropriate for their experience level.  “I have one and a half years of internship experience, but no one will hire me because I don’t have enough experience,” says Leveille. “If this is entry-level, how the hell am I going to have 5 years experience?”

Still, once in the door, passion is often not enough to get out of doing grunt work and, at times, being dissatisfied with the career choice.  Tasks include anything from answering phones and making copies and deliveries to the more exploitive—being asked to stay on call in the off chance that one is needed—all in exchange for the occasional run-in with celebrities and zero pay.

Brian Burnsed, a 24 year-old intern at BusinessWeek agrees.  “It’s hard because companies can string you along because they realize they have the upper hand in the situation,” he said. “At times you feel you deserve more respect than you get.”

After two years as an intern at the 80 year-old financial magazine, Burnsed, who lives with roommates and relies on his parents for health insurance, will lose his position because of the Bloomberg News takeover. Contractors and interns aren’t being taken over, he says.

Some insiders say the problem for interns is that people rarely leave the industry after they’ve reached a certain level.  “These are good jobs,” said Gary Montanus, senior vice president of sales for ABC. “People would have to be dragged out of here.”

And with continued budget cuts and hiring freezes, the media industry is expected to lag the recovery in the general economy.  But Leveille and Burnsed say that doing your best, and trying to ignore the chaos around you, is the best way to battle the firestorm.

“I’m giving 110% because in this economy, you want them to remember you as an intern,” he said. A sign that Leveille’s hard work and extensive networking is paying off, Disney/ABC TV Group recently asked him to continue as a full-time casting intern this spring.

As for Burnsed, who has begun to look for new positions, the internship experience at BusinessWeek was an invaluable one, akin to “graduate school training.”  Though travel and covering a variety of business stories propelled him in his career, positivity is now his primary driving force. “It was tough to watch everyone around me getting laid off,” he said. “But, there’s no use being jaded; it won’t get you anywhere.”