DS has been offered an engineering internship. Company is great, major defense and tech conglomerate, but the duties are not exactly what he really wants. He would love to work with aerospace or satellite communication, etc, but this job would be working with trucks and land vehicles. Doesn’t seem to excite him. He’s a current junior in EE with a 4.0 GPA and good EC’s. He has applied for many positions, this is the only bite so far. Should he pass up a good company, or considering the tough market these days, take the bird in the hand?
I generally tend to err on the “bird in the hand” side, but it depends on a ton of factors. How many companies is he waiting to hear back from? Would he prefer all of them above this current offer or are there only one or two that he would really love to have over this one? How long has he waited to hear from them? Has he tried reaching out to them to express continued interest and ask for an update on when he can expect to hear from them (he could even mention that he has had other offers but would really like to hear from them before making a decision)?
Internships in college do not have to be exactly what he wants to do in the future. All experience is good experience, and some experience is always better than no experience. There may be many skills that he learns in this position that are applicable to other areas that he wants to work in, and this experience could make him a much better candidate when he’s looking for a new position or internship.
He has applied to dozens of companies, and has only received one reply. There are no other offers. Several of the ones he applied for would be more appealing, including a different one at this very company.
How long ago did he apply? Is it looking like those are likely rejections, or has there just not been enough time yet to get a response back? If it seems unlikely that he would get something else, I would take this offer. If it’s that there hasn’t been enough time and he’s trying to stall, I would reach out to the other companies to see where he stands.
One thing he could do is contact the other opportunity within the company and let them know he has an offer in hand. That may push them to decide (but they could decide to give an opportunity to someone else since he is ‘set’, so it could backfire).
The other thing he could do is ask when they need a response, and set a date, so it is not ambiguous. He can be straight up that he needs to wait for a few more of his possibilities to materialize before he lets them know. I doubt they are in any rush, and they should be understanding- they likely have been in similar situations.
When it comes to timing like this, a bird in the hand is definitely worth two in the bush. If he had had an interview and was waiting on an offer from somewhere else, that would be different, but since that has not happened, the safe assumption is that if he declines the offer he has, he will not get a comparable one for this year. I would accept.
To be honest, since it’s an internship, the fact that it isn’t exactly what he wants to do is a GOOD thing - this summer may confirm his feelings, but it may also broaden his horizons. It’s a win-win situation!
Update, he accepted the offer. HR said he can still be considered for the other positions. He can always back out if his dream job comes along. Worst case, he has a foot in the door at a great company and a big line on his resume. It’s all good.
New wrinkle. He’s all set for the better internship with that company, which is a great fit for him. Now he was just contacted for an interview by his dream company. When it rains it pours. Should he take the interview and see where it leads?
When is the deadline to reply for the current offer? If there’s still some time before a decision must be made, it could be worth waiting it out in hopes of a better offer. If nothing comes before the deadline, then a decision must be made. This internship may not be in the exact field that interests him, but it is still relevant in many respects. A college internship doesn’t have to be in the exact field that one wishes to pursue. Ideally it should be, but the important part that comes from an internship is the experience with technical projects related to the fields one is studying. The actual experience of working with a research team or engineering team is what counts.
He already accepted - reneging an acceptance could be fine for him this year but cause problems in future years. Once you accept, you’re committed unless there is an explicit agreement that it is OK to seek out other offers, either internally or externally, and in this case the agreement only seems to apply to internal positions. The dream company will have to wait until next year unless he is willing to act unethically.
On advice of a friend in the HR field, he will take the interview with the dream company and see where it leads. If they ask, he will tell them he has an offer on the table and would like to move quickly if possible. After that interview, he might not even like the job as much as he thinks he will, or they might not like him. If it works out and they do offer the dream job, in this market it’s not a big deal reneging on the first offer this far in advance.
Whoops. I didn’t notice the comment saying that he’d already accepted. In that case, I retract all of my previous post…lol
If he’s already accepted the offer, then I’d consider it to be a done deal.
He decided to pass on the new interview, along with a third one he just got today. He’s keeping the original offer.