Well, look at you.
I’m impressed! Jealous, yes, but really, really impressed! You—you fabulous collegiette have somehow managed to do the absolute impossible and snag not just one coveted, highly sought-after and generally dream-fulfilling internship, but two! Maybe you’ve snagged even more than two, but let’s not get into that. To be honest, I don’t think I could handle it. I’d turn neon green with envy first. And anyone who knows me knows I look terrible in lime.
But in all seriousness, congratulations.
After all the trying, tedious hours of research, applications, interviews and restless anticipation to rival the outcome of the Season 13 Dancing with the Stars finale itself, you have done it! You’ve succeeded in nabbing the internship—make that internships—you so desired! But now you have to choose which one to accept—and you have no idea what to do.
Fear not! A truly great intern knows that the key to success is being prepared for anything—and fortunately for you, Her Campus is here to be your guide.
Read on to learn the three key points a tactful collegiette must keep in mind when faced with the impressive but vexing reality of turning down an internship.
1. Be Professional
You’ve entered a professional world and with great opportunity, comes great responsibility. If you want to be taken as a professional, you must be professional. You know all the obvious professionalism tips like, “don’t make that photo of you double-fisting pints your profile pic” and “don’t list your 9th grade e-mail address—cute_babygrl_xox17—as the official contact account on your résumé” but you’re waaaay beyond these tips.
Career Expert and CEO of Intern Queen Inc, Lauren Berger advises, “When declining an internship… always call so the employer can hear the sincerity in your voice. Always note in the conversation that you understand their time is valuable.”
Unless the entirety of your correspondence with an employer has been via e-mail, an online decline may be mistaken in tone or perceived as flippant. A phone call is considerably more genuine. Just remember to write down what you want to say in advance, so you don’t digress!
Employers know that you are a student and have likely applied to multiple internships. However, they will also assume that in applying for multiple internships, you’ve prepared yourself for the possibility of multiple offers, and won’t just leave their offer hanging with no response should you choose to take your skills elsewhere.
2. Be Concise
Picture this scenario: after carefully and scrupulously ruling out every other boy in your Introductory Italian class, you have finally settled upon the single most glorious of them all to bestow your semester-long crush. The way he rolls those “r”s, the ease with which he pronounces “fettucini primavera,” the rise and fall of that accent! You want him. Then one day he walks up to you after class, pulls you aside and!… proceeds to detail all of the myriad reasons you can’t be together from “I just don’t see myself being with you long-term” to “I kind of have a preference for blondes…”
Okay, shake it off. That would never actually happen. But in a way, when you over-explain your reasoning for declining an internship to the person offering it, you’re essentially doing this very thing! Remember to be concise and keep part of your reasoning to yourself. It’s not conducive to you or the employer you’re turning down to say, “I like your company, but the one that I want to accept is more international.” It will only come across as an insult.
Don’t be curt, but do be concise. Alex Braun of Internships.com explains you should cut to the chase, first, then give a few sentences of explanation—not the epically-long tale of how you reached that decision.
Consider opening with something like:
“First and foremost, I want to thank you for the incredible opportunity to intern with your company. Unfortunately, after much consideration, I must respectfully decline the offer.”
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3. Be Appreciative
In a time when people learn about break-ups via their partner’s Facebook relationship status, a little graciousness goes a long way. All it takes is an, “I really want to thank you for this great opportunity” to show your appreciation. It may be easier to slug off the chore of turning an internship down because you don’t want it anyway—but remember that someone else wanted you, and for that, you owe them at least a kind let-down.
In the career climate of today, it’s impossible to know where you may end up years down the line, and the last thing you want to do is burn a bridge over a river you’ll end up crossing later. It’s impossible to tell who knows who in the industry of your pursuits. Believe it or not, the quote “It’s a Small World” has a real-life application far beyond the name of the ride with the most crying babies at Disney World.
If you’ve ever been subject to a nasty rumor, you know that word—especially a bad word—gets around much faster and far farther than you think. Joan Jett may have said, “I don’t give a damn ‘bout my reputation” but if you want to be hired, you should. Be smart and make the last word in turning down an internship a kind one. Hell hath no fury like an employer scorned.
It’s true that at the end of the day, you’ve got to do what’s best for your career, but the question of turning down an internship for another offer gets much trickier when you’ve already accepted the first. If your dream internship is only offered to you after you’ve confirmed another employer or worse, actually begun work with them, backing out could do much more harm then good.
Asked how to handle turning down an internship for another one more suited to your goals, Berger says, “If you can handle them both—great! If not, call the employer from the internship you accepted first and politely decline the offer. If you’ve already started your internship, you need to think very carefully about leaving because this can burn a bridge.”
Before leaving the internship you’ve already begun, borrow a process from the business world and conduct a careful cost-benefit analysis of your situation. This entails assessing the benefit of accepting a new internship, (a paid position, an job more suited to your goals, etc), against the cost of leaving the first, (gaining an unreliable reputation, appearing unaccountable, severing ties to the company and its affiliates, etc).
If you do decide to leave the first, a face-to-face conversation with your employer is essential. Find time to meet with your superior and explain the situation, (keeping in mind the three key tips!), while keeping mention of the other internship to a minimum.
Erin, a junior at George Mason University knows all too well of this difficult reality. “I had to decline an internship over the summer when I found out I had been accepted to a specific program my school was offering during that time. I dreaded making the phone call to the employer to let them know since I felt as if I would be letting them down. They were a little disappointed I couldn’t begin working with them, but they understood the situation and encouraged me to do well in the future, and even asked me to apply with them again next year!”
Like Erin, if you play your cards right, the employer you decline may just consider you again during their next application period. Ultimately, they just want the best intern for the job, and if they chose you once, who says they won’t ever again?
Navigating the world of internships is notoriously difficult but in the grand scheme of things, remember that getting multiple offers is actually a pretty prestigious dilemma to find yourself in!
Securing multiple internships has catapulted you into the realm of the big leagues, babe, but a finely executed follow-through will make certain that you’re never struck back down to the minors.