<p>She had worked there a week. She came in on a Monday morning and was told by management (she and several other interns) that they had hired too many interns, and that they were being let go.</p>
<p>She had a difficult time getting an internship to begin with and now she is scrambling to find another one. I was wondering if anyone else had had any similar experiences.</p>
<p>wow, what a horrible first experience. Before anyone can help, can you tell what field and geo area?</p>
<p>What a tough blow. I am so sorry that this happened to your daughter. Hopefully, after a few days she will be ready to look at other options.</p>
<p>I know of many many talented college students who could not find an internship this summer. S. was in that position a few weeks ago but, in early May he landed a great internship. Just a few weeks ago he wrote to a number of businesses (selected firms that we had some connection) and offered to take a paid or unpaid position for a few weeks of the summer- and stressed he was willing to do anything that would be helpful - just to gain experience in a business setting. He lucked out and was offered a paid position that he believes is better than the internships he initially pursued.</p>
<p>Definitely scratch that place off the list of potential employers. It’s an unethical thing to do on their part because by offering her that position and her accepting she’s foregone other possible opportunities. I hope your D is taking it as well as can be expected and realizes it wasn’t personal - just poor management. I know situations have changed for some companies but surely they knew a week or two ago (or well before) how many interns they could really support if they had bothered to give it the foresight and planning it should have received.</p>
<p>It never ceases to amaze me how dumb companies can be. I once was given a job and then laid off three weeks later when they realized they couldn’t afford me, and then hired back again part time when they realized they still wanted the work done. Despite the aggravation it all worked out for me the best in the end. Good luck to your daughter, I hope she can find something else.</p>
<p>That’s terrible. This management sounds incredibly stupid. What do they have to lose by hiring too many unpaid interns?</p>
<p>I need a college age student to work as an assistant manager for the summer. I actually need two. I have one on board. a second one was expected to start last Monday. I’ve been holding a job open for her, although I could have used her as early as May 1. I got an email on Saturday that she’d been offered an RA Orientation job at her college and would need the first week of June, plus the five weeks that my staff is taking vacations off. Told me that it was an “opportunity she couldn’t turn down” because “it would look really good on her resume.” Huh? She’s a business (accounting) major. Please explain how being a RA is better on the resume than being the assistant manager and Sunday manager – including the cash handling. And, doing the math, I was paying her more!</p>
<p>Well, there’s one kid that’s not only not getting her raise, but not getting the hours she expected outside the six weeks dedicated to playing RA. I had turned away several possible applicants although I was able to find another.</p>
<p>cnp…my daughter is very good with numbers (engineering but she is fastidious with numbers). She applied for TWELVE internships and none of the companies ended up hiring any interns this summer. She has a full time job working in undergrad admissions at her college, but she would have LOVED an engineering internship. Oh well.</p>
<p>I know it’s tough. </p>
<p>I am venting because I was holding a well-paid spot open for someone who stood me up. And … my son will be interning in the city (i.e. an expensive little internship) and the only compensation he gets is meals. We’ll be footing the bill for housing, clothing (he needs suits …), transportation and whatever else.</p>
<p>Last summer my D had lined up a part time internship with a pr firm through an alumni connection. It was just two days a week but she pursued it the winter before the summer began and was promised by this individual that “she would learn a ton” and would even be paid. She contacted him when her summer began and he put her off and put her off until finally at the beginning of June he told her b/c of the economy they couldn’t afford her. She offered to be unpaid, but got no response. She secured another internship which was to be for this summer well in advance and then a couple months ago was told that the internship program was cut — because of the economy. She spent most of her spring semester blanketing the field in three states and after sending dozens and dozens of emails and follow up letters etc she was offered two interviews. She had to take time off from school and spend money on travel to go to these interviews. She was offered one of them, and this summer will be living with her grandmother four hours from home so that she can take an unpaid full time internship. I hope it’s the right decision. It is so difficult to know if it will pay off in the end.</p>
<p>My S responded to several ads for internships and got no responses (he started back in January!). Finally in March, he decided to send letters to our local community college and the college where my H works introducing himself, explaining his background and education and offering to work as an unpaid intern for the summer as the experience was more valuable than the money at this point. The supervisor at H’s college said they could use him but felt he should be paid, so he was going to try to get funding for it. We waited and waited. Finally last week, he responded that he could not get any funding for it, but could still use S if he wanted to do it. So S will be starting there Monday and may also try to keep the manual labor job he was doing for pay. He may be able to do that one on weekends. At least now S will have some experience to put on his resume! </p>
<p>It is very tough out there. I have learned it seems to be all about networking now.</p>
<p>Condolences to those who have not been treated fairly. It is an important life lesson because that’s how modern business treats almost everyone.</p>
<p>It seems that having contacts with influence is critical to success and even survival in today’s economy.</p>
<p>When people are choosing between the high cost private institution vs. the cost effective state school, this should be a factor, but only as a consideration not as the determining factor.</p>
<p>It’s a really bad summer for internships, so I can see why employers might feel more willing than usual to treat their interns poorly.</p>
<p>The only kids I know who got internships they consider “good” (i.e., related to their majors and giving them the opportunity to learn something), are those in fields where there is a tradition of unpaid internships in nonprofits or government agencies. </p>
<p>Kids in more technical fields, where internships are always paid, are having trouble finding anything because there is no custom of unpaid internships. Some of them will be doing nothing or taking summer classes this year because they have nothing better to do.</p>
<p>Back in the day, when I was in grad school working on my MPA, I was required to work an internship to get my degree. So I landed a summer job at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Richland, WA. However, three weeks before I was to begin, the position vanished!</p>
<p>Since the internship was a graduation requirement, the UW grad school hopped on it and found a few possibilities left in the state capitol in Olympia. In some respects, this was better since I could commute from Tacoma and save more money but I didn’t hold out much hope it could be interesting.</p>
<p>I ended up being hustled down to Olympia with no time to research the agency I would be interviewing with or even who would be doing the interview. More foreboding.</p>
<p>The door opens, and out walks this guy I knew from the previous year, We’d worked on a campaign together. This was no job interview. It was like an old times conversation. At the end, he spent about two minutes talking about the job and said it was mine if I wanted it. I had a lot of freedom with it, too. I ended up analyzing employment statistics for the Dept of Labor.</p>
<p>2 weeks before my girlfriend was supposed to start an awesome internship at Porsche, they called her and said they can’t afford it anymore…no money for interns. Seems like this is happening a lot this year.</p>
<p>A. Business managers who try to give internships, but run out of money.</p>
<p>B. Students who don’t show up or sit on one internship/job while waiting for a better offer.</p>
<p>It is a tough world all round. </p>
<p>Let’s not beat up on the business that at least tried to offer students a chance. You don’t know what kinds of pressures they are under.</p>
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<p>Yep, that’s what my S is doing. He is in a computer field. I guess he is blazing new trails with the unpaid internship. But he took the initiative and suggested it to them, offering his services. I don’t know if they had thought about that before. But it was critical for him that he start getting experience.</p>
<p>I’m sorry this happened to OP’s daughter. It is unfortunately a fact of life. One of our close friends was offered a job, everything was all in place, and then the company reneged after he had put in his resignation at his current position. Fortunately, he was able to contact some other firms he knew and found another job, but it really put the fear in him. It does happen.</p>
<p>My husband’s firm has cancelled all student internships and is asking that all unnecessary junior employees to be put on a part time schedule this summer. Senior management is taking a pay cut hopefully just for the summer months. H will be working harder than ever to bring in work as he is a rainmaker, and it will be for less money. Sigh.</p>
<p>Friend’s daughter was told she could have the same job she had last summer – got home from college and was told the job no longer existed. She’s now scrambling. I’m afraid that given this economy, there are many more stories like this. While I feel sorry for the OP daughter, I feel even worse for people who have been at companies for years, with families to support and mortgages to pay, who are being laid off.</p>
<p>Son just told that he isn’t going to get the weekend night busing tables at a local restaurant where he has been working for three years, doing a great job. Manager has a relative that he is giving those preferred hours.</p>