<p>(I posted this in the internship section also.) My daughter, currently a college junior, has applied for a number of journalism summer internships, has interviewed for a couple in the last few weeks and will be interviewing for a few more in the next week or so. She was contacted today by one of her top choices and offered the position, but it's not her first choice and she still has an interview scheduled with a different one that she would prefer. I advised her to be honest and say that she is considering a couple of other potential offers and to ask if she could have a bit of time before deciding whether or not to accept the offer. Now I'm wondering if that was the proper approach? One is not expected to accept the first offer, is one? (The grandparents say she should have accepted the first offer since "a bird in the hand, etc.") Has anyone had experience with multiple internship applications and offers? Was it appropriate for my daughter to ask for a little time before accepting the offer? She felt that the person who offered her the position was a bit taken aback by the fact that she didn't accept immediately, but the person did give her two weeks to decide.</p>
<p>I'm familiar with journalism internships because I've been a journalism executive and also a journalism professor. What you told your D is correct in that it is appropriate for her to ask for more time to make up her mind since she is considering other offers. Of course, the person whom she told this to wasn't delighted because they'd like to finish their internship selection process, but your D has every right to work the system to her advantage. And, if she ends up going to the company that offered her the internship that she's delaying making a decision on, they'll probably appreciate her more than if she'd jumped at the offer as if that was her only option.</p>
<p>What's not acceptable is accepting an internship and then backing out for a better offer. The world of journalism is very small, and word gets around when emplyers are burned.</p>
<p>But it is also acceptable to not give the applicant more time...she was very lucky</p>
<p>As for maybe appreciating her more, it also delays their plans and decisions and put other applicants on hold</p>
<p>i think 2 weeks was generous...and I would almost bet you the person that agreed to that regrets it now, as she has to tell other interns, well maybe, and then other qualified people may leave</p>
<p>I wouldn't have given her two weeks, if she wanted to work there she would have taken the internship, or turned it down</p>
<p>It's also fine for your D to contact her first choice place, tell them that she has an offer, and ask them if they can quickly let her know their decision so she can give a decision to the other company.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies, citygirlsmom and Northstarmom. My D's other interviews will be finished by this Thursday, actually, so she will certainly tell them that she has an offer and ask if she can have a quick decision. On the one hand, knowing how tough it is to get a job in this field, she feels very lucky to have an offer at all, but even so, she felt that she didn't want to shut the door on all other possibilities before having had a chance to interview with them. These are all unpaid "academic credit" internships that require a pretty large outlay of money on her (and our part) for summer living expenses, but there is the hope of employment after graduation. She didn't want to annoy the person who made the first offer and cause the offer to be withdrawn, but she really wants to make sure she makes the right choice. Most college students looking for journalism internships apply for many, I would think, and some must get more than one offer. I hope that newspapers and magazines know this and don't automatically expect students to take offers on the spot.</p>
<p>It's a fine line of what works & what doesn't and you've received good advice. There's no one "right" answer; a lot depends on the relative preference of offers, relative odds, and just how reasonable the offering organization is. They don't have to be reasonable but it's nice when they are. D has four apps out for this summer and is anticipating she may get an offer from one this week or next. It's her #2 choice but if offered she will grab it because both it and her #1 are insanely competitive and it's not worth the risk to hold out. Weighing the pro's and con's, there are even some advantages to the #2 from a career building standpoint.</p>
<p>There's actually one application she's not turning in for a while yet because, though the clock is ticking, circumstances are such that if she were to apply and be accepted, she would be compelled to take it. (You don't get chits cashed on your behalf and then turn around and say "Maybe.")</p>
<p>Sorry...it's really not helpful. Just more grist for the mill. And to be honest, I'm on figurative pins and needles waiting to hear whether she gets #2 or not and it feels good just to vent. Reminds me of those pointless "but do you think she might like me" conversations from when I was 20.</p>
<p>TheDad, your D's situation is interesting and makes me realize how tricky this process can be. I guess I started this thread because though I felt it reasonable for my D to ask her first offer for more time, I also worry that she has taken a big risk in doing so. She was not given two weeks to decide (I was exaggerating a bit); she must get back to them in a little over a week. I just hope at this point that it all works out for the best! This application process is so much more ambiguous than the college application process: the "rules" are unclear and the stakes seem higher!</p>
<p>I agree its more ambiguous but don't think stakes as high as where students spend 4 years of their lives.</p>
<p>The Dad, what field is your D applying for?</p>
<p>My knowledge so limited. I know S has several offers, but still has interviews pending. I've often felt I wish there were many more summers to try out different options. I suspect deferring acceptances must depend on field.</p>
<p>In my field, we got official notice about internships on a certain day. That was easy. Ever since, when I've applied for jobs, the timing has been crucial. When an intership or job calls you, hoping you'll accept on the spot, it doesn't make them feel good about waiting for your decision. Kind of like a marriage proposal.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I agree its more ambiguous but don't think stakes as high as where students spend 4 years of their lives.
[/quote]
In general, I agree, but some 2-6 month internships, as a matter of luck, can be as life-changing as four years of college. Who you happen to meet can be important and timing of being in the right office at the right time can provide some breaks. No use trying to plan for anything like that, imo, but recognizing when opportunity knocks or is climbing in through the window is a good thing.</p>
<p>Bookworm, my daughter is in the government/political field. Ostensibly on the government and policy side but with interests and orientations that can't fail to have political ramifications and consequences. [If you assume she's not applying to the White House, you would be correct.] I'm watching her development with considerable interest...she may not have learned to ride a bike (see another thread on internship housing) but she has picked up some rudiments of how to play her cards. She's still young and a bit raw and probably not the flashiest tool in the shed but has some great instincts to go with the purely intellectual side of things. She relayed to me an interview question and her answer...it was more than a little unorthodox but one of the interviewers said it was a much more thoughtful answer, if harder to deal with practically, than the "standard" would have been. I have to agree.</p>
<p>Yes, holding a suitor off is a delicate bit of business and, imo, requires some constantly dynamic "scoring" to reach the "right" decision. You can try all the objective analysis in the world but it's often more akin to a gut check sitting at a poker table. There's also an element of luck, regardless of how an office looks on paper, of what the chemistry between individual student and supervisor(s) is...it can make or break the value of an internship. </p>
<p>None of D's current four options would be bad and many students would kill for each of them but given her long-range goals, two stood out. Heh, my #1 was her #3 and I had to agree with her reasoning after she walked me through it.</p>
<p>This is D's second summer interning, so in some ways the drill is easier. Only being abroad, which complicates phone conversations, is a major wrinkle.</p>
<p>My d was pretty fortunate. She is in a science field and has never done anything like applying for lab internships, so last Christmas she researched opportunities close to home, in NYC (where she attends school) and one other place that seemed great. Since she is relatively new to the notion of being a science major, we had no way to know what to expect. As it turns out she heard from her top choice first and was offered generous financial support....and she still has not heard anything from the others. That won't be difficult, though, as she has already accepted a spot.</p>
<p>I agree this process is more tenuous and a bit confusing! I hope grad school applications are more straightforward....</p>
<p>At least grad schools understand there are other applications out, offers to be made, fellowships to be considered, etc.</p>
<p>aarrrgghhh. D's top choice won't make decision until a couple of weeks after she has to let lower choice know. What a dilemma. I guess she'll have to take the sure thing, as it sounds as though there are several candidates for the top choice, but it's very frustrating.</p>
<p>Sorry, filo895. That is just exactly what I was afraid would happen to my d....I am so sorry yours is going through it. You just have to trust that the internship she already does have will be a wonderful experience. Perhaps she can re-apply for the other next year???</p>
<p>Too bad about the timing - - at least she got the ext; I'd be careful in the future. With some compet internhsips, employers are offended that they are not the candidates first choice and I know of seveal occasions where employers w/d the offer when the candidate req an ext.</p>
<p>I'm sorry, Filo. It's a tough game. I know that some people stagger submitting their apps, sending out the preferred one(s) first but that's no guarantee...most orgs consider the apps whenever they were going to consider them no matter what. And D's apps were in with, like, hours to spare. Though she subscribes to the "most recent on top" theory of applications.</p>
<p>Print journalism, in particular, is a tough field these days and it would be hard to turn down bird in hand. If, however, one is with the NYT/WaPo and the other is with the Ventura Press-Telegram, I understand the dilemma.</p>
<p>My daughter had two internship offers for the summer, the first one came from a corporation she worked for last summer too. Maybe they were more generous with the extension request because they knew her, but they gave her a one-month extension to the deadline. She did end up turning them down, I felt kind of bad--but I think she wants to have a different experience this year. Internship timings get so tricky!</p>