my intern asked if my pregnancy was planned by Alison Green on September 27, 2023 A reader writes: I’m pregnant with my first child. I’m just finishing my first trimester and have been sharing the news with colleagues. I’m wondering what, if anything, I should do in response to my intern’s reaction. Like everyone else I manage, I told her one-on-one behind closed doors. Her response was really odd — […] Read the full article →
can I turn down business lunches as an intern? by Alison Green on September 18, 2023 A reader writes: I’m in the last semester of my junior year at college and just started an internship this month that I’m really enjoying. For context, I applied for a different internship that was not customer-facing, and after my Zoom call with HR was asked to interview for an internship on the team who […] Read the full article →
I saw a private text about my intern having sex on her desk by Alison Green on September 12, 2023 A reader writes: I have a question about something that happened to me earlier in my career and what I should have done. I worked in a very small office: the executive director, myself, and an intern (who I managed). Often people would be in the office alone if others were out at meetings or […] Read the full article →
should I give feedback to our interns who come across as TOO peppy and enthusiastic? by Alison Green on August 1, 2023 A reader writes: Each year my workplace takes on summer legal interns. Most have finished one year of law school This is often their first exposure to a legal department, and sometimes their first job. I occasionally give them projects and am asked for my feedback by their supervisor, but have never have any direct […] Read the full article →
my intern is way too passive by Alison Green on March 22, 2023 A reader writes: I am currently supervising an intern, Lauren, who is completing a postgrad professional degree in my field. The placement with my organization is a mandatory part of her course, and she is here to learn high-level skills with an emphasis on critical thinking and creativity. My field is one that most people […] Read the full article →
can an intern refuse to do menial office tasks? by Alison Green on March 15, 2023 A reader writes: I work at a company with the general rule that any work you don’t want to do can be delegated to an intern. (Our interns are all paid and students.) Interns often find themselves assigned random menial tasks, like reformatting a PDF for a manager who can’t be bothered. On the reverse […] Read the full article →
is our intern just clueless and inexperienced — or a con artist? by Alison Green on January 10, 2022 A reader writes: I am a mid-level engineer at a small (70-80 employees) tech company. We frequently host undergrad interns from a local university. Some were during the summer, and some were during the school year. These were all paid, full-time internships that lasted for 12 weeks. The past interns all had a great attitude […] Read the full article →
the intern who set up a cot and other stories of internships gone wrong by Alison Green on September 8, 2021 With summer internships ending, here are 10 of the most intriguing intern stories that readers have shared in the past. But first, for the record, most interns are great! But when things go wrong, they tend to really go wrong. Read these with nostalgia for what it’s like to be new to the work world. […] Read the full article →
you should be giving your interns mock interviews by Alison Green on August 10, 2020 A reader writes; My husband and I were having a water cooler chat in our kitchen today (we’re working remotely on different floors) and he mentioned something he’d been doing this week that I thought was brilliant. He’s a software engineering manager at a medium-sized division of a huge international corporation that does many things […] Read the full article →
I’m not a recent grad — can I still intern? by Alison Green on July 2, 2020 A reader writes: I completed college about seven years ago and, after a few months of fruitless applying, I said “screw it” and moved to a major city to pursue a niche talent unrelated to my degree. I think it was worth the adventure and while the interest wasn’t well-paying, it did take me around […] Read the full article →