Taking the Risk of Denying the Offer
This post was written by Peer Career Ambassador Gyda Sumadi
It is safe to say that many Babson students share the same goal to secure a summer internship well before the nice weather rolls around. AKA many of you already have offers. As ambitious as most of you are, I do not think you would disagree with me if I said it is still early to be securing job offers for the summer. Basically, if you have not already signed with a company, relax because you have a whole other semester to do so. However, for those of you who have secured an offer, think for a second and ask yourselves: Is this truly how I want to be spending my summer?
I strongly believe that so many of us are consumed with the idea of having plans for the summer that we overlook the fact that the plans we have made may not be what we wanted. Let me recap the scenario for you.
It is a rainy Friday afternoon, you have a lot of spare time, so you decide to go to career connections and browse around. You stumble upon an internship opportunity that sounds interesting. You decide to apply. You haven’t heard a lot about the company but spend a few minutes researching what they do. Over the next week, you check your email and see they have invited you for an interview. You accept and think to yourself, this will be good practice even if I do not want it. Before you know it, BOOM the next day you are signing an employment agreement. You are so happy in this very moment that you will not have to spend the next semester stressing over applications.
Does this sound familiar to you? I thought so. Well, let me continue the scenario for you.
One month later, you go back on career connections, just out of curiosity, to see who else is seeking an intern. You see that PepsiCo has posted their application. You also see some postings from Reebok, Dunkin’ Brands, and TJX Companies; all huge consumer product companies; which is what you really wanted to pursue. You think to yourself, can I still apply to these?
The answer to this question is, no. You have signed a contract to work for someone already. You cannot back out.
The moral of this story is to make smart, rational decisions while keeping in mind what your true passion is. Do not jump on the first internship opportunity you see just because a company is hiring- unless it is something you truly want to do and you think it would add value to your future career path. Do not stress over the idea of securing an offer first semester. Lots of cool companies hire even in May, so stop saying it’s too late! If you come across something and it fits into your interests, apply and accept the first offer you get! If it doesn’t, and you are hesitant, but don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to work, I say sit tight for a little bit and be patient. As long as you are keeping up with companies you would be interested in working for and know when deadlines are, then you will be fine.