<p>And tell A quickly so that they can give an internship to someone else who would be pleased as punch to have it.</p>
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<p>Hmm… very interesting. No one’s ever put it like that before. It makes me feel a tiny bit better. </p>
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<p>Monday. Monday. Monday. </p>
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<p>It’s hard to when half of me thinks that I’ve committed a crime … kind of along the lines of cheating … but with companies :(</p>
<p>AB – it’s business – this stuff happens all the time and no one takes it personally. While the call will be a bit awkward, it won’t take long; this isn’t a boss who you’ve worked for for years who will try and stop you. Just be polite and say that you’re sorry to do this but you’ve decided that you will be pursuing another opportunity this summer; while you think job A would be a great experience with a great company, you have secured a position, which you feel right now matches your career interests better and puts you in the location and financial position you need to be in. Then apologize for the inconvenience and say thank you again for the offer. You will then be done with the call. I don’t think a boss who hasn’t even thought through what you’ll be working on will care that deeply – i.e. it doesn’t sound like they have a huge project for which they were waiting for you to arrive; they may just go without a summer intern at this point, or if there’s a need, they’ll find someone else.</p>
<p>I think the “right now” part of the conversation is really important. You’re only a soph and you have no idea how things will work out in the next 2 yrs. You may need/want to be in that city in a few years; or maybe company A will be hiring a ton of people by the time you’re a senior or paying more money or whatever, and you’ll want to throw your hat in the ring again. If you treat this professionally now, you won’t be closing a door down the road; they may not even remember that you turned them down and if they do, you’ll be able to say that you really thought your professional interest was x 2 years ago but now with more experience you’ve realized you’re better suited for whatever this co. offers. Also, I think mentioning geography and financial position are very important. Most people really don’t argue with college students on those points; if you need to live somewhere for personal reasons, then you need to. Likewise, if you need to earn more money this summer, people get that. You don’t run the risk that they will pay you more just to keep you – esp if they have a huge intern program bc they won’t pay one person 3x more just to keep them; if he hints at it, just stand firm on the location aspect.</p>
<p>Not all internship programs are set up the same way. In some companies, it’s really HR and some higher level person that says, hey, we should get some interns. The departments that are on the receiving end haven’t really bought into it, and then when the intern arrives, the boss thinks, ‘oh geesh, now I’ve got to come up with some things for this kid to do.’ I’ve seen this happen time and again. It’s not the industry, it’s just those particular people at that company. That’s probably why you aren’t getting much detail as to what you’d be doing at Co A, it’s why they usually don’t get interns, and why your school isn’t concerned about letting them wait until you have something in writing from Co B. The boss at Co A would most likely be relieved that you turned them down.</p>
<p>Other places have much better run internship programs and have a much better idea what each intern would do. They are actually trying to fit each kid in like pieces of a puzzle, so reneging is a bigger deal for them.</p>
<p>I’d say follow your school’s advice and wait for something in writing from Co B before letting Co A know.</p>
<p>FWIW, I don’t think it’s stringing A along in any way for the student to wait to decline the internship at A until he has some sort of written offer from B (presuming that will be done shortly). That seems rational and (I had thought) like standard practice. No?</p>
<p>A written offer is no more secure than a verbal offer, the flip side is verbal offer is just as good as a written offer.</p>
<p>Just want to second Bonnie’s post. </p>
<p>I spent the last year doing internships (2). The first one, in the fall, was uncomfortable, because they had not organized the position. Some days, I just had to make things up to do, or stretch out something they gave me. I would sit at the desk hoping for more work!</p>
<p>The second one was very organized, paced the work perfectly, helped me increase my skills, and generally was so much better than the first.</p>
<p>As a college student, the companies you work with may also be looking at you as a future employee.</p>
<p>By the way, I worked hard all year and have not received a cent. Many interns in the arts, social service and other areas are not paid at all!</p>
<p>p.s. I am hoping that you find relief for your conscience when you talk with A. If your conscience is still bothering you, after speaking with them, and/or they tell you that your reneging would cause them problems, then you will perhaps reconsider. You are only a sophomore, so you have the following summer to do an internship as well. But I am hoping and expecting that a conversation with A will be reassuring.</p>
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<p>The main issue I have is that there is no recording on the written offer, so I am concerned that B may not honor the offer. I want to see it in writing still, as my career office wants me to do so. This will involve having A wait until Tuesday or Wednesday. </p>
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<p>This is what the Career Center wants me to do.</p>
<p>Ditto the advice to get a written offer from B.</p>
<p>ab2013 - you gave your written commitment to company A, what did it get them? Nothing. What make you think a written offer from company B is going to be worth anything? Their commitment should be worth more than yours? As much as you would like to appear you have a lot of ethics, you are self serving.</p>
<p>If your commitment was worth anything, company A should be able to take you court to sue you for damages. </p>
<p>When it comes to contract law, verbal agreement is the same as written agreement. It is th reason why my HR forbids me to quote any specific bonus amount to my staff becaus it could regarded as contractual.</p>
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Ok, this really got to me.</p>
<p>I used to have a lot of loyalty and commitment to the companies I worked for - working nights and weekends skipping vacations, giving 110%.</p>
<p>Around the 5th time I got laid off or my job was outsourced to India, I finally woke up to the fact that the commitment and loyalty was totally one way. Almost every company I’ve worked for has not hesitated to cut my throat when it meant they could make a few or save a few pennies.</p>
<p>It is foolish not to take the same attitude towards a company these days, because they really don’t care about you except for what they can get from you. Most companies are the epitome of self-serving.</p>
<p>There is no crime, or shame, in taking a better offer that has come along. It doesn’t matter if it is after you’ve been there for 5 years, 1 day, or before you even start.</p>
<p>Do what is best for <em>your</em>self and <em>your</em> career. Work hard and earn your pay, but always remember in their mind you are expendable.</p>
<p>ab2013 is probably under 21. Would his written commitment hold up in court?</p>
<p>18 is considered an adult, not 21.</p>
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<p>This doesn’t sound right to me at all. Isn’t this an at-will employment situation? And what would their damages be, anyway?</p>
<p>Just as most jobs are ‘at will’, meaning the company can let the employee go at any time, non-military jobs can’t require by law that a person work there (form of slavery), and employees are free to quit at any time - or choose not to show up on day one if that’s their choice. </p>
<p>I doubt this company fronted any money to the OP or even made much of any investment (as can happen when security clearances are involved) so the company doesn’t really have much to lose by the OP not showing up.</p>
<p>This is just an low level internship at a regular company for a college student who’s only completed 2 years (meaning - who the company probably wasn’t counting on to be super productive or in a highly responsible position) - I doubt they’ll have much angst over an intern changing their mind before ever starting based on a decision that was made 6 months ago. </p>
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As are most people who work for most companies and as are most companies themselves.</p>
<p>SodiumFree - that was my point. If a company couldn’t go after a person with a written commitment, a person couldn’t really go after a company either with a written commitment. Therefore by waiting for a written letter from company B is not going to give OP additional protection.</p>
<p>I don’t think at this point company B is going to go back on its offer. By letting company A know earlier would give them more time to make an offer to someone else.</p>
<p>Oldfort, I also don’t think that company B is going to go back on its offer, but I can understand the OP and the OP’s Career Office wanting to wait to see something in writing from company B, for the certainty that there was no miscommunication or some other unforeseen problem.</p>
<p>OP–</p>
<p>Just do what your Career Office wants you to do, at this point. You can’t take advice on this from 10 different people, and the only person who is working for you is the Career Office.</p>
<p>As for your conscience, it is good that you have one, but in the workforce, as long as you do your best job when you are doing your job, never lose sight of the fact that the company will always look out for the company and you need to look out for you. It’s cynical, sure, but the truth in the business world is simply about the bottom line. So, you have to look after your own.</p>
<p>Good luck. Make the most of your summer.</p>
<p>An example in support of my last post: I had a job once where the person who was to be my boss made the offer, and when I accepted, my future boss absolutely insisted that it was a done deal. I was required to also meet with Human Resources, but Future Boss said that was just a formality, and the job was mine.</p>
<p>When I subsequently met with Human Resources, however, they made it equally clear that I was just another applicant, and that I did not, in fact, have a binding offer. Clearly, there seemed to be a miscommunication or misunderstanding between Future Boss and Human Resources.</p>
<p>In my case, everything worked out. I did get the job, and I believe the Human Recources people were just flexing their muscles; I don’t think they had the power to veto my boss’s choice. </p>
<p>But in this case, who knows? Maybe some additional clearance is needed. I don’t think that is likely the case, but again, I can understand the OP wanting the certainty that the paperwork will provide.</p>
<p>Edited to add: Totally agree with poetgrl.</p>
<p>SodiumFree - something like your situation also happened to me with my current company. HR said my boss didn’t have proper sign off in making the offer to me yet (they were quite upset with him). But because he did, and I had to turn down another offer, they did make me an offer with all terms I agreed with my boss. </p>
<p>This whole thread is because OP is struggling with ethics and what’s best for him. Most of us have at one time or another being screwed by our employer, and because of that we know we need to look after number 1. The question is how far will we go to look after #1 and still feel good about ourselves. I don’t think there is a right answer because we all have our own moral compass.</p>
<p>OP has received many advice from people:</p>
<p>1) He should never have accepted Company A’s offer even though he didn’t have another offer.</p>
<p>2) He shouldn’t have applied to another company once he accepted Company A’s offer.</p>
<p>3) It is ok for him to accept a better offer, as long as he turned down Comapny A first.</p>
<p>4) It is ok for him to accept a better offer, he could accept Company B first, but tell Company A right away.</p>
<p>5) It is ok for him to accept a better offer, wait to tell Comapny A until he has a written offer from Company B.</p>
<p>I personally can’t fault anyone for the choice they would make. But as I stated earlier, longer OP waits, more upset Company A could be. He is going to have to balance out what he perceives as “better protection” for him vs Company A’s reaction (3 days delay is not so bad, but what if it drags out to a week or even 2 weeks. Company A is expecting him to show up soon.).</p>