Delaying internship offer

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

Thank you for stumbling in on my thread.

I was given an offer today. On the one hand I’m grateful, especially since last year I was applying for internships like crazy with no results to show for it but this year I got an offer extremely early. The problem I have with the offer is that the recruiters want me to let them know my decision relatively soon (I haven’t asked them the specific date yet). I think this is far too early for me to make an informed decision that’s best for me but I think that due to the nature of the job (government and security clearance requirement) they want to start the paper work asap. Normally I would probably just accept the offer and I would renege on the offer if something better came along early the following year but in this particular case I would actually feel fairly bad because of the time and effort that it takes for them to clear me and do all the paper work. If I renege on the offer early next year they may have a hard time getting someone else cleared in time for the internship period.

Obviously my first action will be to try to postpone the time when I need to give them a response as much as possible but I don’t expect for them to be able to push the deadline very far. The problem with this approach is that I think it will make for an awkward conversation. I’m sure they could fill the vacancy quite easily and if I appear hesitant about accepting the position (and they might get that sense if I tell them I want them to extend the deadline so that I can keep my options open) they might just rescind their offer. It’s also entirely possible that I won’t get any other offers other than this one. However what should be my contingency plan if I do get a better offer?

Thank you

2

Also, to complicate the matter, at least one of the recruiters (possibly both) is one of my PhD advisor’s former students.

3

Normally, you should give them a decision within a week. If you like the job, go ahead and accept it. At this stage, you have no other offers, so nothing to compare it to. If another job comes along later, that is a separate decision which you can consider at that time.

4

This seems like a challenging situation. I would advise against accepting and then reneging if another offer comes along later - it’s unethical to do that, and it could hurt you down the line if word gets out. Ultimately, this decision comes down to a simple but difficult question: are you confident enough that you will get a better internship in the spring recruitment season that you would decline your offer now?

If the offer you have seems fair, then you should accept it and cease your search. “Fair” is, of course, a relative term, though. What you think is fair may be different than what someone else thinks is fair, which is why it is your decision to make.

5

I think for now I will try to postpone making an offer as much as possible (probably to little avail). I will accept the offer if they pressure me to accept before anything better comes along. If something better does come along I will ask them if they would be so understanding as to let me go on the different internship. If not then I will perhaps ask the other company if I can intern next year or perhaps I will renege on the offer (hopefully it won’t come to that).

Thank you for your advice.