<p>Upon completion of my summer internship I was extended an offer for full-time employment at said employer (Chevron). The offer was generous/competitive (by my understanding of industry comps), but carried with it a very early decision timeline (which cannot be extended). As such, I was wondering:</p>
<p>Is it common a company to extend internship offers so as to preclude the student from interviewing with other companies (timeline is too tight for other companies to make a decision)? This has personally left me with a bad taste in my mouth.</p>
<p>Also, for those that have an understanding of the field of Petroleum Engineering, how does Chevron compare to EOG and Exxon with regard to street crud? I have previously received internship offers from each and I was hoping to compare full-time offers from each (and possibly others) before ultimately making a decision. Ironically, my experience at Chevron and my knowledge of comps would have made me likely select them for full time employment (before the bad taste associated with the tight timeline offer).</p>
<p>If anyone has any thoughts regarding offer timeline convention or general industry positioning (ex Chevron vs Exxon), they would be greatly appreciated. The one thing that I do not want to do is reneg on an accepted offer-- a few thousand isn't really worth the ethical issues.</p>
<p>If you have the ability to wrap up a job BEFORE you actually graduate from school, TAKE IT!</p>
<p>The job market is the worst its been since the Great Depression. Don’t underestimate the value of ANY job, especially one in your desired field.</p>
<p>Work the job for a few years and gain valuable experience. If you don’t like the company you can always pursue new opportunities in the future.</p>
I don’t understand why it left the bad taste in your mouth.
Look at it from their perspective. If you accept, they may not have to spend money/time recruiting for an entry-level position for this particular year. It makes it easier for them.</p>
<p>Totally legit to have a deadline like this.</p>
<p>On a similar note, my summer company offered the other intern a full time job (I was offered as well, but she’s graduating a full semester ahead of me so mine was verbal while hers was written). Because she accepted, they no longer have to keep posted the job vacancy that they had, reducing wasted time searching for someone.</p>
<p>Other note, this is the case for a lot of my friends, and they jumped and accepted the offer.</p>
<p>No reason for bad taste. While you’re looking for the best possible situation, so is your company. Don’t forget it’s a two way street. You want to get the best possible offer. They want to get the best possible candidate while having their staff spend the least amount of time (and money). It’s all a strategy game.</p>
<p>Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this has created bad feelings for you rather than elation. I think you are taking for granted something that most would envy. Seriously. Its your first job- you don’t have to find the 'BEST EMPLOYER FOR LIFE" just a place to get your career started. You can always move on if you find the fit isn’t ideal.</p>
<p>I appreciate the comments from those above. I was not sure what convention was regarding job offers (although our career center indicated some irritation with the offer timeline). I would like to say that from a business perspective I do appreciate the company leveraging their position. I would like also to say that I am very excited to begin my career in the industry. My quandary is attributed to my professional side and wanting to weigh all possible options before making a decision. </p>
<p>Also, regarding the exact school that I attended, I would like to avoid disclosing this email. However, I would like to say that most of my peers (interns) from this summer attended one of 5 schools (MIT, Stanford, A&M, UT-Austin, and Mines). There were a sprinkling of other schools (especially in other locations), but most/all were from those 5 schools. Being a US citizen from one of these schools (top 30-50% of your class) appears to be the ticket. Many other students got positions at comparable institutions (ex Marathon, Petrobras, etc).</p>