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Topic: Quitting an internship...etiquette?
| Author | Message |
| TravelPRGirl | Posted – 3/2/2008 6:23:43 PM | show profile So I find myself in a bit of a dilemma. I am currently doing an unpaid internship. It is work at home for the most part, doing events and marketing for a company. I pretty much just come up with different contacts each week, although we earlier sent in ideas for different events that we want to hold in the future. We are supposed to get paid once we start doing events, and we receive a percentage of whatever the events bring in (I don't know how much...I know, not a good thing to not know that). This past week I set up interviews to meet with different venues and my boss is coming. However, I really don't have the time for this internship anymore. The commute is costly and I have one paying internship set up and I may be getting another. My problem is, firstly, I know that this whole operation sounds really sketchy, but it's a start-up company and the guy (my boss) is really young and actually very nice. I don't want to leave things on bad terms with him, but I really can't afford the time or money to do this internship anymore. However, I feel that since I contacted the venues, came up with event ideas, and created contact lists, that I'm in too deep and if I quit now, it will be difficult for him to find another intern and bring them up to speed. Pretty much, I am afraid of screwing him over. How should I handle this? I know I may sound young and naive, but I have quit jobs/internships before and left on a good note. This one just feels different because it's so atypical. I guess what I'm asking is: a. Should I quit? b. How do I go about doing this? Give 2 weeks notice, etc? Thanks for your help! |
| InsomniacNOT | Posted – 3/2/2008 8:35:17 PM | show profile Take a few hours, write up a document explaining where everything is at, and quit. Tell your boss that you simply can't afford to work for free anymore. If you want, you can say that in case of an emergency, they can reach you by phone. As nice a guy as your boss may be, he needs to learn that this kind of situation will arise all the time if he chooses not to pay people for their work. It's really that simple. You get what you pay for and when you pay nothing, this is what you get. |
| Marie | Posted – 3/2/2008 10:14:14 PM | show profile Exactly. I don't know why you're so worried about "screwing this guy over." He's not very worried about what not paying you for your very good work is doing to you. This is business. It's nothing personal. So what if he's nice? He can't afford not to be! Do what the above person said about bringing a new intern up to speed, you can make yourself available to answer questions by phone, and if your boss is so nice, maybe he'll pay to keep you and not have to go through this with another intern. And the above poster is right: He'd better get used to this happening -- often -- until he decides it's worth it to pay someone, even if the money comes out of his pocket. He had enough money to start this business ... |
| TravelPRGirl | Posted – 3/3/2008 11:52:50 AM | show profile Thank you so much for the advice. I actually Google'd the guy out of curiosity and apparently he used to work for a scam company and was a real smooth talker. Guess I really misjudged this guy and definitely don't feel bad about quitting anymore. |
| InsomniacNOT | Posted – 3/3/2008 12:12:50 PM | show profile Good luck! And next time, google before you take the job. After all, a smart employer will be googling you. Style experts: Do you capitalize when using google as a verb? |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 3/3/2008 2:20:08 PM | show profile Insomniac- AP style is to capitalize Google when using it as a verb. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 3/3/2008 3:53:57 PM | show profile You're over-worrying this. People quit jobs everyday and their companies survive just fine. If an unpaid intern leaving without notice really hurts this business, then the business is doomed anyway. Or, more accurately, if the tasks you are performing are that crucial, they should be paying you. I'd just quit and send the guy a memo detailing where things stand. |
| WritingEd | Posted – 3/3/2008 4:44:27 PM | show profile TravelPRGirl, just curious whether you are getting school credit for this "internship." If they're letting you work on your own it sure does not seem like an experience where you'll learn from others in the field. Sorry to hear this worked out in this way. But at least you do have the experience and can use that to get future work. |
| TravelPRGirl | Posted – 3/3/2008 8:22:53 PM | show profile Again, thanks everyone for your help. You've all helped to soothe my nerves and given me insight on how best to handle this situation. I do not receive any credit (I'm actually a grad, but I don't think credit would be available anyway). You are right, in that working at home there is little, if any, supervision which unpaid internships are supposed to provide. Although, I must say, I have learned a bit about event planning by being thrown into this, such as learning how to make contacts, which is always a valuable skill, as well as the basics of actually putting on an event. But, not really anything supremely valuable. Unfortunately, this isn't my first unpaid internship, but it's certainly my last. I worked for a PR firm where half the work was done by unpaid interns (a staff of 9, 4 were interns). Once I found out that one of my co-workers charged clients for work I did, I was outta there. I guess with each unfortunate experience I've learned more about the business world and what is and isn't right, and what to look for when applying for jobs. |
| TravelPRGirl | Posted – 3/3/2008 8:33:40 PM | show profile Again, thanks everyone for your help. You've all helped to soothe my nerves and given me insight on how best to handle this situation. I do not receive any credit (I'm actually a grad, but I don't think credit would be available anyway). You are right, in that working at home there is little, if any, supervision which unpaid internships are supposed to provide. Although, I must say, I have learned a bit about event planning by being thrown into this, such as learning how to make contacts, which is always a valuable skill, as well as the basics of actually putting on an event. But, not really anything supremely valuable. Unfortunately, this isn't my first unpaid internship, but it's certainly my last. I worked for a PR firm where half the work was done by unpaid interns (a staff of 9, 4 were interns). Once I found out that one of my co-workers charged clients for work I did, I was outta there. I guess with each unfortunate experience I've learned more about the business world and what is and isn't right, and what to look for when applying for jobs. |
| TravelPRGirl | Posted – 3/3/2008 8:40:02 PM | show profile Sorry for posting that twice...dang error messages! Although, I must clarify what I said about being "thrown into" this. That makes it seem like I had absolutely no idea what was expected of me and this position, which really isn't accurate. My boss DID explain what this position was about upfront, and I guess I thought it seemed OK at first, but things kind of got shadier and shadier. |
