I recently received a full-time offer from a company that has a start date of August. Before the fall semester, I was planning on earning my undergraduate degree in May but due to class scheduling circumstances, my graduation date will have to be delayed to the following fall 2015 semester. The classes that I need to graduation are not offered in the summer so I can not complete it then. The company also has a 3-month summer internship program that just began their hiring process.
Has anyone ever been in this situation and how did you handle it with the company you received an offer from? Should I ask about being considered for the summer internship program instead so I can stay engaged with the company?
Any information and help would be greatly appreciated!
Is the company hiring a class of employees that will go through a training program together, or is training done on a more individual basis? Would the company be willing to delay your start date until January or later? If not, what are your other options? Could you finish the class at night while working the full time position during the day? Obviously that is not possible if you are going to be working in a different place from where your university is, but if they are close enough, that is a possibility.
These things happen sometimes, so as long as you are up front with HR, you should still have a few options. With that said, it is possible that you would need your degree before your start date and that the start date is firm since the company has a recruiting class that goes through training together, in which case you would likely not be able to start work in August. You could ask them to hold your place for next year, but you may need to go through recruiting all over again.