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 →
I have nothing to do at my internship by Alison Green on January 14, 2020 A reader writes: Three weeks ago, I started a new internship at a large design office, and so far I have not been assigned any real work. I have been asked to do small tasks like cleaning a shelf or compiling information that takes me less than an hour to complete. I’ve brought up that […] Read the full article →
our intern’s cube is covered in handwritten affirmations of her worth by Alison Green on July 30, 2019 A reader writes: We have an intern who recently started in our office who sits near me. We sit in cubes, so you can easily see everyone’s decorations and whatever they’ve put on their walls as you walk around the office. The intern has filled the most prominent cube wall with hand-written affirmations and inspirational […] Read the full article →
what to say to an intern who’s chronically late by Alison Green on July 17, 2019 A reader writes: I am currently managing an intern on my team. Interns at my organization are unpaid, which I do not agree with, but this does not seem to be changing any time soon. She has very poor timekeeping and is constantly late, often by a significant amount of time. The fact that the […] Read the full article →
an underage intern told me she got drunk at a staff event by Alison Green on July 1, 2019 A reader writes: Earlier this week I was chatting with our intern, Rachel, and another coworker about the staff team-building activity the previous week. (Once a quarter we plan a voluntary team outing. It’s pretty relaxed and in no way cringy or terrible, so it’s weird calling it team-building.) I happened to be sick and […] Read the full article →
how to deal with a rude intern by Alison Green on January 28, 2019 A reader writes: I am a relatively new manager who is having an odd issue with my intern. He has been with us for about two months, and in that time I have noticed that his basic professional manners are incredibly lacking-much more than I might reasonably expect for someone just out of college who […] Read the full article →
tell us your weird summer intern stories by Alison Green on September 13, 2018 There was the intern who gave another intern a tattoo in the office conference room; the intern who told a horribly offensive joke at an external meeting; the intern who set up a cot for himself, complete with pillow shams; the intern who was blown away by an electric stapler and thought dragons exist; the intern […] Read the full article →