Reneging on an internship offer

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>Hey all, </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 24 hours to make a decision. And I STILL don't know what to do.</p>

2

<p>Though, going for A would make for a great answer to a “What was the most difficult decision you have ever made?” interview question … but I’m worried that this will be a decision I will end up regretting.</p>

3

<p>From the sounds of it, the company that gave you an offer in the fall put undue pressure on you, but at the same time, you didn’t push back or make any sacrifices to accept it, so you should technically stay with that one.</p>

<p>The thing is, however, if the offer you got recently is far and away better than your first one, it’s probably worth the risk to go for it. Realistically, think about your future job prospects. If you have two offers on the table, you are clearly qualified and on track for success. Do you see yourself with the Silicon Valley company? If so, it’s VERY possible that you will get rehired next summer and then full time when you graduate, and all of this is moot.</p>

<p>It also sounds like you have serious concerns about the company whose internship you accepted, and these concerns were impossible to discover before accepting that offer. Though it is on you to know what you’re getting yourself into before you accept, it is also companies’ responsibilities to inform their interviews about what they are going to be doing. You seem like you either want to minimize risk or maximize salary by taking the Silicon Valley offer.</p>

<p>If you don’t know very well what you want to do at all, your situation is more complicated.</p>

<p>You are clearly not taking the decision lightly, but it is probably not something that will affect your long term career aspirations if you renege on an acceptance. Very tough call, though.</p>

4

<p>I did actually try to and succeeded in letting Company A push the acceptance deadline back (I think) 3 times or around 4 weeks, because around the same time they offered the internship there was actually a Company C (financial) that was interviewing me, and that process took about a month, and after I was done with C, I simply accepted A because they weren’t willing to extend beyond Thanksgiving. (C had rejected me by then)</p>

<p>The Career Office told me at the time that Company A was kind of a low-tier company in the world of Computer Science and so they wanted to corner and catch people before other companies could. They advised me to take it since I was a sophomore, I was unlikely to get other offers, and since Company A was so insistent, I couldn’t push the deadline back too far. (One month is a pretty generous extension already)</p>

<p>I seriously can see myself at this company B in the future and for some strange reason, seem really interested in me, and if given the chance to, I do see myself coming back to them. Company B is much closer to the dream job than Company A is. </p>

<p>Company A, on the other hand, is in an industry that’s kind of unrelated to my field. Railroad company and computer science majors don’t really go hand in hand. </p>

<p>However, people talk about ethics and how reneging can impact future prospects, even to the point of the company that you turned down can call your new employer and “tattle tale,” which is something I’m even more concerned about, because that could lead to the loss of both jobs. But … do companies view people reneging on internship offers more lightly than on actual job offers (and the fact that I’m a sophomore who knows a bit less than the rest of the crowd)? </p>

<p>I’m more aware of what I’m interested in, and IT is not part of this. </p>

<p>However, I’m a person who tends to minimize risk before maximizing benefit. Ethical component of reneging an offer lends to the HUGE risk-taking.</p>

<p>It’s actually funny though, because 2 years ago, I was deciding on going to either Michigan or Chicago and it took me 2 weeks to decide. This time, I was given 48 hours to decide, and I have less than half of that time left to make a choice.</p>

<p>I guess going to Michigan wasn’t exactly the most terrible decision I made in my life, because I love it and the opportunities that come with it. :)</p>

5

<p>I would take offer B and explain why the offer is better when you let Company A know. They should understand, although they will be disappointed. If you have no interest working at that company in the future, I would go for it. You can also tell Company B that you had accepted another offer, but you would like to take Company B’s offer anyway, and see what they say.</p>

<p>My current boss has said he would love to keep me for the summer, but he knows his workplace cannot match the benefits that I am getting from another offer.</p>

6

<p>I’ve talked to people hired by Company A and they said though Company A is well-off financially, they would never match the offer (in terms of numbers) because if other interns found out at A, A would be in a mess with their interns. </p>

<p>However, my school is against me mentioning to A what B is and exactly what B is offering me. I also haven’t really told B that I accepted A (B brought it up so out of the blue that I really didn’t know how to react to their offer) except I’ve already given verbal indication that I’m going with A. (They do know A extended an offer before they did and they seem to know that A’s offer has been on the table for a while) </p>

<p>I don’t have much of an interest in A except that it seems to offer a more favorable environment for long-term employment positions. The company is stable (because it’s in transport) and it doesn’t have a reputation of burning through employees as Silicon Valley does, (much slower paced) so a benefit to have them on the table is that I can seek long-term employment there, but not if I leave on bad terms with them, as I would if I abandoned this summer internship. </p>

<p>However, A isn’t the best place to have a summer internship because the work that I will be doing there (as I see them doing or from what I’ve heard from my boss) won’t challenge me to the point that B will, because I know that B will be demanding and I had been looking for this “intellectual stimulus.” For me, B is this stimulus … they will challenge me this summer and I do want that challenge. A has come across as far too easygoing.</p>

7

<p>Woah woah woah wait a second, if you only verbally accepted an offer, that changes things a LOT. If you never signed an official offer letter, it is much more acceptable to renege, since both you and company accepted greater risk and less responsibility with regard to employment by not drawing up and signing a contract.</p>

<p>If you are to accept B, tell B the situation before you accept. If they tell you that they would not have extended the offer to someone who would have to renege on another offer, then you still have your first job; if they don’t care, you still have your second job. Win-win situation.</p>

8

<p>agree with chrisw… if nothing is in writing, then take the one you want. Nothing is official until it is in writing, they could just as easily say “well, we decided not to bring you on… sorry about that”</p>

9

<p>No … A’s offer came in an e-mail and I accepted via e-mail. My school said that is already an official form of acceptance.</p>

10

<p>Is Company B somewhere you’d be interested in working your junior summer? Have you asked whether you could defer the offer to next year, due to these extenuating circumstances?</p>

<p>If you can’t defer the offer, I’m leaning toward turning down A for B, but I would first check to make sure Careers Services wouldn’t ban you from on-campus recruiting next year, something they’re known to do at other schools when a student reneges on an offer. Once you’ve confirmed that you won’t be screwed next year, I would call A and explain the situation: that you’ve received an offer from company B, that company B aligns more with your interest and career pursuits, and that while you’re extremely grateful for the opportunity that A has offered you, you feel that B would be the better choice for the summer. So long as you’re polite and honest, A should respect your decision. </p>

<p>If this is the difference between Google and, say, the Ann Arbor Railroad Company, all the more reason to pick A.</p>

11

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<p>A is the railroad company. Are you suggesting that I go for the railroad company and ditch B?</p>

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<p>I’ve talked with them and they want me to stick with A (railroad), but as I talked more with them, they seem to be less “strict” about what they want.</p>

12

<p>I am going through a similar situation as you right now. I got a fellowship offer in February and had to accept right away, but then I received a conditional job offer from an internship (which is essentially my dream job) and barring any unforseen problems with my clearance, I will most likely be receiving an official job offer in the next couple weeks. </p>

<p>As a student, you have to look at it this way - this is the one time in your life where it is important to be selfish. You have to do what is best for you and your career, because you have no idea if company B will ever give you an offer like that in the future. Even while company A may still be a good experience, your heart is with company B. The most fair thing to do, in my opinion, is to take company B’s offer. Call up company A and apologize sincerely, telling them that you completely intended to follow through with their job opportunity but out of the blue, you unexpectedly heard back from your dream job and that you could not in good conscience miss out on that opportunity. Tell them that you immediately contacted them the second you found out and unfortunately, you will no longer be able to work for them this summer but that you sincerely appreciate the offer, are sorry for the inconvenience you have caused the company, and wish them the best of luck in finding another suitable candidate. The more gracious you are about it, if you ever happen to apply to them again or encounter them in the working world, they are a lot more likely to look upon you fondly than be seriously upset.</p>

13

<p>Yeah, at this stage, I think you should just get your ducks in a row.</p>

<ol>
<li>Be absolutely certain that reneging on your offer will not disqualify you from using campus recruiting for the next two years, since that would impact your job prospects more than anything else.</li>
<li>Call up company B and inform them that you already accepted an offer but would like far more to work for them; as long as they are comfortable bringing you on even though you’ve already accepted another offer, you’re in the clear. Get an official offer letter, including your wage/stipend/summer salary and fax a signed copy back to them, confirming your acceptance of their offer.</li>
<li>Call up company A and inform them of your decision, recognizing that you will likely burn a lot of bridges in the railroad industry regardless of how gracious you are for their offer (though you should certainly be very polite!)</li>
</ol>