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(Update 3/25: Accept with Company C) Internship Offer Etiquette

Ask if they usually hire or have openings for their interns after the internship ends. That's the most important thing.
 
Ricemarine said:
So, I am wondering what is okay to do when deciding between internship offers. Here's my dilemma:

- Company A wants to give me an interview in May
- Company B has already interviewed me and sent me an offer
- Company C is going give me an interview on Thursday
- I applied to Company D (dream company, just applied) but no response yet

Right now I would like to hold out until say towards the middle of April to see the responses from the other companies. Therefore, I have the following questions:

- Is it okay to ask to defer my decision until that time? How long and how should I word it?
- Should I let Company A know I received an offer? Should I ask them for an earlier interview?
- How long should I wait until I give up receiving a response from Company D?
- Are there any other things I should know when communicating between companies?
- What should be the major deciding factors when choosing an internship? What I want to do? Pay? Where should the focus be?

Thanks!
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Well given the timeline you're just going to have to be upfront with Company B... it's not like you will be able to drag your feet about a decision until mid April.

I think it'd be reasonable to wait ask company B to wait around for company C's potential offer since you do already have an interview scheduled.

For company A -- I would most definitely push for an earlier interview... just tell them how it is and if they really want you, they'll make room for you. Another thing to keep in mind is that things at company A might not end up working out -- maybe your position doesnt get funded, etc.

Company D -- I'd give them a week... did you have a real contact within the company? or did you just apply through an online portal? if it's just an online portal, it's very much hit or miss and there's no solid way to gauge that. If you have an internal contact, then I'd apply... then just explain your situation to him and push for a position.
 
Farang said:
Accept any offers you want. Should one come later, accept it also. Don't be afraid of hurt feelings.
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Is this ethical though? Not so much on a personal level, but business ethical. Id imagine recruiters are well networked and id hate to gain the reputation of being a flake among recruiters
 
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A large company will most likely provide a better internship experience than a small company.

I have watched a friend receive an early offer then ask that company to wait two months to properly interview and evaluate the competition. The company waited patiently and was happy when my friend accepted after interviewing with and turning down the competition.
 
DanDaManJC said:
Well given the timeline you're just going to have to be upfront with Company B... it's not like you will be able to drag your feet about a decision until mid April.

I think it'd be reasonable to wait ask company B to wait around for company C's potential offer since you do already have an interview scheduled.

For company A -- I would most definitely push for an earlier interview... just tell them how it is and if they really want you, they'll make room for you. Another thing to keep in mind is that things at company A might not end up working out -- maybe your position doesnt get funded, etc.

Company D -- I'd give them a week... did you have a real contact within the company? or did you just apply through an online portal? if it's just an online portal, it's very much hit or miss and there's no solid way to gauge that. If you have an internal contact, then I'd apply... then just explain your situation to him and push for a position.
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I see. Yeah, Company D was through an online portal, so chances of them responding are slim. Company A's protocol seems to be that they interview one month before their earliest availability. Therefore, I'm slightly hesitant in asking but I know it's necessary. I also read reviews about Company B, and most interns stated they hated the ego and management but the company is filled with smart minds working at a cheap price.

HacP did bring up a good point though. Company B seems to have the slimmest chance of a potential job offer. The others are pretty unknown. With Company A, I didn't even apply as an intern (full time actually), so I think they were testing me first.

Anyhow, thanks everyone for the tips thus far. If anyone else can chime in too, that would be great.
 
DanDaManJC said:
Is this ethical though? Not so much on a personal level, but business ethical. Id imagine recruiters are well networked and id hate to gain the reputation of being a flake among recruiters
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I've applied to ConAgra for IT internships in 2008 and 2011, both times I turned down offers. LOL.
 
Call up company A, say you have an offer from another company already, but that you really want to interview with them and was wondering if you could schedule your interview earlier.

Tell company B that you would like to wait until April (or whenever) to get back to them. Say you have already committed to an interview process with another company and you would like to see it through so that you can make the best decision possible.

Interview with company C and wait for an answer.

If you don't hear from company D before you hear from company A, then forget about D and proceed with your results from A, B, and C.

I had a partner from a big firm talk to me about interviewing and recruiting and he said he hates to get a call from someone they want to interview who is calling to drop out of the process because they have an offer on the table that they have to take before their scheduled interview date with his firm. "I wish they would have called me earlier and asked for an earlier interview date. We would have made it happen."

Also, employers don't mind waiting for you to interview with other firms. If they hire you and you accept, they want to know it is because YOU want to be with THEM as much as they want you. The last thing that the company wants is to hire you and have you be left wondering "what if?" about that interview you had scheduled.
 
Farang said:
Accept any offers you want. Should one come later, accept it also. Don't be afraid of hurt feelings.
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Terrible advice. Accept one offer. Accept any and all invitations to interview and go through the process with everyone, but only accept one job.

Phone the company you have decided on and accept the job, then phone the other companies right after and thank them but inform them that you have decided to accept another offer.
 
Just keep them hanging while you make up your mind. You're too important to the companies for them NOT to wait for you.
 
Many good options mentioned, with the exception of accepting one offer then bailing out for another one. Be upfront.

When a student bails out on me after accepting, I call the school's intern coordinator and express my unhappiness. The school hates it also, it makes their students look bad and hurts the relationship with my company.

Don't accept until you are sure. When do you accept, stick to it.
 
Ricemarine said:
Do companies really expect students to be near their computers and respond within 3 days while they're on spring break? I could be on vacation!
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Absolutely. They expect you to put your professional career in front of your personal life. If you don't respond then you didn't care enough about the job.
 
Ricemarine said:
Do companies really expect students to be near their computers and respond within 3 days while they're on spring break? I could be on vacation!
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Worker or partier? If you were a hiring manager, which would YOU rather have working for you?
 
SunnyD said:
Worker or partier? If you were a hiring manager, which would YOU rather have working for you?
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I don't think that question counts. A person on vacation does not necessarily equal a party goer. Anyhow, I see that we're now veering off track from the original dilemma.
 
Ricemarine said:
I don't think that question counts. A person on vacation does not necessarily equal a party goer. Anyhow, I see that we're now veering off track from the original dilemma.
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The point is, companies don't give a shit about your personal life. They only care about <gasp> getting their business done...and making money.
 
BoomerD said:
The point is, companies don't give a shit about your personal life. They only care about <gasp> getting their business done...and making money.
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this. and if you know you have outstanding job offers, you need to make sure you can and WILL be able to communicate with those companies in some form

holy shit, its 2011, at the very least email access should be a possibility if you vacation in any civilized area
 
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