Reneging on a internship offer

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi parents!</p>

<p>(also posted on Internship section)</p>

<p>I just finished sophomore year at Michigan in Computer Science. I spent the Fall Career Fair looking for internships, had a few interviews, but it didn't go so well, except for a company, Company A (a railroad company). They spoke with me for a few minutes and pretty much offered me an internship on the spot. I didn't really know what they did, but an internship is an internship, so I took it. Rejecting it would have been silly, because I can't possibly expect another one. </p>

<p>The only problem was that they wanted me to accept back in November, before many companies started internship recruiting. I was fine with it, and I pulled the internship applications that I had. In fact, I didn't show up for our Winter Career Fair. </p>

<p>However, around March (all the while I didn't hear from Company A, except for the occasional e-mail for a drug test), shortly before spring break ended, my dad told me that he knew a friend at Company B (Silicon Valley company) and that this friend would put in a good word for me. I wasn't willing to apply, because I know it's not ethically correct to apply to another internship after you've accepted. But my dad put enough pressure on me ("Why work for A when B is so much better?") that to shut him up I wrote a "decent" letter and submitted it. </p>

<p>To my surprise, Company B responded favorably and offered me a phone interview. The interviewer and I got along, but I didn't think it went too well, because their technical questions made me feel ... weak. Again, B beat my expectations, and they offered me a second phone interview. This time, this interview goes even worse than the first one, because I knew fewer questions than the first one (perhaps the first one wasn't THAT bad). By the end of the conversation, the interviewer seemed to have lost interest. </p>

<p>So I thought, that's good. Dilemma avoided. I can work for Company A without ramifications, even if I don't really want to live and work there and I STILL don't know what they do. (by now I know B much better than I know A, even though A has hired me for a very long time). Finally, my boss at A e-mails me and asks me about my qualifications and skills and what I'm interested in so that he can find a project for me to do. Er, possible mismatch here? I e-mail him, and he says, "Oh good I think I know what I want you to do." But still, no assignment in sight, and it troubles me still that he doesn't really know who I am. But after that e-mail, I get the sense that I'm going to be doing IT work for Company A.</p>

<p>Two days ago, B calls me (this is after more than a month of no communications -- in fact they ignore a follow-up e-mail) and asks me how I thought my interviews went. I said that I didn't know quite a few questions, but when I came to those questions, I said I didn't know it. B says, "You were hired because of your honesty. Welcome on board." </p>

<p>The offer? Double of what A offered in monthly salary (some peg to this in the neighborhood of a high school teacher salary ... REALLY good) and four times the relocation benefit. I was stunned. And I know what this company does and it's located in a better spot in the country than A is. AND I'm REALLY interested in what they do (Silicon Valley stuff .. edited because of various reasons). The internship at B is 12 weeks long, meaning I WILL learn, and the one at A is only 9 weeks long. B goes on to say that they had thousands of applicants and I was 1 out of the some one hundred accepted. He asks me about my other offer, and he says, I'm sure what you'll accept us but let us know in a few days. </p>

<p>Today, B calls again and asks me how I'm doing. He seems surprised that I'm not giving him a clear answer but he says he wants what is best for me (etc etc). But he says he fully expects me to accept them because "you know our numbers and what we do." </p>

<p>The problem is: I'm already committed to Company A, still a question mark in my head. I feel like Company A is a mismatch for me, because I still don't know what they do or expect from me, and the fact that I'm spending less time there makes me think that I won't get as much out of the summer as I would from Company B. But the potential ramifications ... </p>

<p>What would you do or recommend me to do in this situation? I'm so ambivalent, because reneging is ethically wrong but B's offer sounds too good to pass up. Another problem is that I'm a sophomore ... I've learned much this year, but not enough to handle this situation, and I knew even less at the beginning of the year to know what I liked in terms of a career path. </p>

<p>I've spoken to the career center at my school (thank god we're on summer break). They want me to stick with A, despite how GREAT B is, but they told me the decision is up to me and I'll be happy once I through with it. Still I want to be as well-informed as I can be. I've been flipping back and forth between A and B all day, but I have less than 12 hours to make a decision. And I STILL don't know what to do.</p>

2

<p>Could you possibly do both? A short time at A and the rest of the summer at B?</p>

3

<p>

</p>

<p>I wonder if someone reneged on his or her offer at Company B…now they have one more spot to fill…</p>

<p>Is there such a thing as “internship melt?”</p>

4

<p>I would tell my kids to accept Company B, and send Company A your regrets.</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes - at least at my school (I’m also a CS major, for reference), companies definitely focus on internship recruiting more and more as summer gets closer.</p>

6

<p>Taking a long time to get back to candidates doesn’t necessarily imply anything, especially at big companies. Our recruiting process typically takes about six months (lots of red tape and people are busy with projects) and many candidates lose interest or receive offers from companies that can move faster than we can.</p>

<p>This is a variant of the age-old problem of interviewing for multiple jobs, accepting one and then another makes you a much better offer. I’ve been in the position of where I accepted another job and then was offered a substantial raise by my then current employer. I said no - and they asked if I would do contract work for them (while working for the other company) and I said no because it was a conflict of interest. The contracting money was pretty big (it typically is).</p>

<p>I would consider these options in your case:</p>

<p>1) Contact A, explain your situation and ask them if they would be okay with you going with company B. In effect, you’re asking them to release you from your obligation even though they really couldn’t stop you from doing that. If they are an honorable company with honorable people, they will want what is best for you first and them. If they hold you to their company, they know that you will be somewhat unhappy that you missed a much bigger opportunity. Furthermore, it sounds like they don’t have anything in particular lined up so there would probably be some cost in getting you up to speed on their operations so you would tie up some of their resources so they might be okay with releasing you.</p>

<p>2) If 1 doesn’t work, then ask company B if they would take you the following summer - or consider a coop with them for the fall and/or spring semesters.</p>

<p>Congratulations on getting the offers and for considering the ethical issues in your position.</p>

7

<br>

<br>

<p>In my son’s last internship, they had an internship wait-list. He received an email that he barely missed the cut and they asked him if he was still interested as they expected that some that were accepted wouldn’t accept. I think that he heard back the next day that someone had declined so he took the position. That was relatively early in the season though. If they lost someone later, then I suppose that they could have gone back to their application list looking for others. The applicant list was fairly large and I believe that they would have found someone.</p>

8

<p>WOW… Thanks parents! You guys are so much more responsive than students are. I really appreciate it! I’ve been really having a hard time thinking this decision through. Since last night, I’ve been drifting more in the direction of B, but I’m at a loss of words to what to say to A. And since I don’t know A that well, I don’t know how A will react, which is scaring me, and I know I can’t stall for much longer (probably 4, maybe 6 hours left on the clock). </p>

<p>@Amesie:
Actually B tried to have it so that I could have my internship at B after my internship at A finished. However, A definitely wants a start date of May 23, and I can’t have it earlier since I haven’t finalized housing plans or relocation plans. I put those on hold when I got B’s offer. I was actually going to sign the contract and buy plane tickets on the day B extended an offer to me. If they were a day late, I would have rejected B outright, since the housing contract is legally binding. </p>

<p>A’s internship lasts 9 weeks, but B’s internship lasts 12 weeks. I think even given that fact, I can learn more from B and maybe even contribute to B a bit. 9 weeks isn’t enough in my book, though at the time I accepted, I thought it was better than nothing.</p>

<p>It would have also helped if I had a 5 month summer. But I’m lucky enough to have a 4 month one. </p>

<p>@Neonzeus:
I just don’t know what to say to A right now. I’m thinking about turning down A, but I can’t bring myself to do it because I see it as being so ethically wrong to do so. It’s so hard to do something that I see as so wrong. (My parents think I should go for B, actually) </p>

<p>@BCEagle91:
Thanks for your extended response. It’s highly appreciated! B is highly competitive, so they made the offer expire today — if I don’t take the position, they have plenty of other people who can fill the void. They will probably make me go through the process again next year, which might be a problem because my grades were fairly weak this term. (This process has been very draining) </p>

<p>As an employer, how would you see me though? My internship with A is only 18 days away. A gave me an offer in late October, and I accepted in late November. A had originally wanted me to reply within the same week, but I succeeded in making them push the deadline back by a month because I had another company C (financial software) to hear from. Since C rejected me in late November, A put the stop and told me that that was the latest deadline they were willing to have for me to give a response. So I said yes. </p>

<p>Though I’m not particularly interested in A right now (mainly because I don’t see how I can get much out of that internship there), A has a reputation for offering stable long-term/full-time positions, but B is a fast-paced Silicon Valley company. I’m not entirely willing to burn my bridges entirely with A, but part of me says that I can’t have it both ways. A is also a fairly large company even though it’s in railroad — it’s 5 times larger (if not more) than B is, so I’m not sure how they’ll impact my future if they take it negatively. </p>

<p>Though, I’m not pleased at all with A as to how they’ve handled me so far in the process. I understand that I’m only an intern and at the very bottom of the totem pole, but I think I deserve a full understanding of their expectations of what they want me to do at work by now. I actually asked my boss at A this, and he seemed to deflect this question by only telling me which languages they used at work. (it was literally a one-line response) The other information I have with A is rules at work, governing dress code and computer use. I know very little about their company culture too; however, A has a reputation for extending many offers to students at my school, but Michigan students have almost always declined offers from this company.</p>

9

<p>Where would want to be working, if this was a real job, not an internship? This happens a lot when you’re searching for a job: you have a favorite, but the $$$ or benefits aren’t as good, so you’re honest and tell them what else you’ve been offered. (Actually, this also happens when you’re accepting a college decision and you’re trying to get FA). Being honest with both of them will help, and it will also tell you where you belong.</p>

<p>It seems to me you’d like to be working for Company B. Longer # of weeks, more $$, internship program already in place. Now just explain this to Company A. It happens. It’s business.</p>

10

<p>The problem is that A DOES have an internship program in place. I get the feeling that either it’s not too organized or my boss isn’t terribly interested in having me as an intern. (The company itself seems interested in having me though)</p>

<p>But I don’t want to mention why I don’t like A’s program. The conversation would just be so awkward.</p>

11

<p>You are going to be going through this all of your work life if you are lucky. I got a solid job offer that I accepted once upon a time and then two days before the weekend before the start, I was offered a much better job. More pay, a stronger company, a more senior position…etc. Of course, I accepted, and reneged on the first company. Nicely, apologetically, of course. And they would not have expected otherwise. Not a soul there that likely would not have done the same. That’s business. </p>

<p>Every year at schools, there is a rush to hire teachers to replace those who got “better” last minute offers. No one expects anyone to do otherwise, unless there is some contract in place, and even then, there are usually things that need to be done when you do go elsewhere. Other than certain national security jobs or military, you are expected to go to the highest bidder.</p>

<p>This is hopefully not the first time this happens.</p>

12

<p>I would accept B and renege on A without any guilt. You’ll find out soon enough in the business that you are not doing anything wrong. Go where you get the best experience that would enhance your career. Rairoad company vs a chance to work in SV. Forget the money part, I would still go to work for a company in SV.</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>Then why would most career centers at universities around the country keep harping about ethics? Don’t ethics matter in this world?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I got this offer from A a LONG time ago (last October). Wouldn’t this change things a bit?</p>

<p>I’m not sure how to start this phone conversation yet. I have a letter written up, but the career center says that it’s weak and needs improvement. What are good reasons (presentable) for reneging on an internship offer? I don’t want to mention my new employer to the one that I’m reneging on.</p>

14

<p>There is such a thing about living up to one´s commitment, and it is important. I try to do that at work and I try to teach it to my kids. On the other hand, if B is clearly where you want to be and the money is a lot better, and you haven´t started at A yet, I would let A know now. </p>

<p>At D1´s school, their career center is quite strict about going back on an offer, both from a firm and a student. A student would be prevented from using the career center´s service again, and a firm may be banned from recruiting on campus again. You should definitely get your career center´s support on this. There is always a chance A would complain a great deal to the career center.</p>

<p>I have been on the other side often. I do understand when a candidate get a much better offer and if a job is a much better fit. I appreciate it when a candidate is honest with me, but if he/she waits too long (like a week before he/she is suppose to start) to tell me, I would get kind of PO. If you are going to turn A down, do it with grace and honesty.</p>

<p>Good luck. It´s not always easy.</p>

15

<p>Because even with all that harping there are a lot of unethical people in the business world. What can I say?</p>

16

<p>But it doesn´t mean we all need to be like that.</p>

17

<p>I know but tell that to all the Wall Street people.</p>

18

<p>Wall Street people != most people</p>

<p>What happens if A is run by highly honorable people? They obviously won’t be very happy with this news, and they would probably react more severely than the people on Wall Street.</p>

19

<p>I think I am ethical, most of my friends are in the same business, and I am pretty certain they are also. </p>

<p>No matter what business you are in, it is generally pretty small. It pays to have a good reputation, and it is good to build that reputation when you are young.</p>

<p>It is good OP is having a hard time with this.</p>

20

<p>If you are using resources such as your campus job center and there are rules of how you do things, makes sure you are going by their rules. Breaching any contract is a serious ethical issue. </p>

<p>But for most things, when a preferable offer comes, one takes it. It’s a fact of life. If you clear the waitlist for College X, you let College Y to whom you have already made your commitment know. It’s expected that these things happen. The same with most job situations UNLESS you are going through some agency that specifically has conditions addressing this very matter. In that case you have signed on to other conditions and they will prevail. Breaking the conditions risks using the agency again, and also puts your name and reputation on line. The world is pretty small when it comes to specialty fields and one does come upon the same folks again and again. Taking a better offer when you are a “free wo/man” is one thing, breaching a contract in doing so is a whole other.</p>