Summer Dilemna - Opinions NEEDED Forum

[Mich_Guy]

Hi,

I am sure that you guys are all familiar with the expression: "when it rains, it pours". I am a 1L at a top 40 school in NC who just received an offer for a paid summer internship from a Fortune 500 Corporate Banking Institution HQ in the northeast. In addition to this opportunity, I also applied for summer legal internships with Fish & Richardson, Goodwin Procter, Vinson & Elkins, just to name a few. I also applied to the FDIC & SEC summer honors programs respectively.

I got dinged from all the above legal internships except for the Fish & Richardson (made final rounds, but have yet to hear), & the FDIC honors program (they called me yesterday asking if I'd be interested in interviewing). The dilemna is that I verbally accepted the offer from the Fortune 500 bank the other day, although the FDIC honors program was my DREAM job! (I was one of 5000 resumes that they pulled)....Needless to say that I felt ethically bound by the honor code to respectfully decline the offer to interview with e FDIC recruiter.

The question is what would you guys have done? What is the best way to leverage this situation going into next year (I'd very much re-apply next year as a 2L).

My credentials are as follows: BSEE (Electrical Engineering), MBA (Finance), 4 YRS WE in Engineering, 3 YRS WE in Big Banking. Below top 40% in my school's rankings

[IhateFoxHunting]

Hi,

I am sure that you guys are all familiar with the expression: "when it rains, it pours". I am a 1L at a top 40 school in NC who just received an offer for a paid summer internship from a Fortune 500 Corporate Banking Institution HQ in the northeast. In addition to this opportunity, I also applied for summer legal internships with Fish & Richardson, Goodwin Procter, Vinson & Elkins, just to name a few. I also applied to the FDIC & SEC summer honors programs respectively.

I got dinged from all the above legal internships except for the Fish & Richardson (made final rounds, but have yet to hear), & the FDIC honors program (they called me yesterday asking if I'd be interested in interviewing). The dilemna is that I verbally accepted the offer from the Fortune 500 bank the other day, although the FDIC honors program was my DREAM job! (I was one of 5000 resumes that they pulled)....Needless to say that I felt ethically bound by the honor code to respectfully decline the offer to interview with e FDIC recruiter.

The question is what would you guys have done? What is the best way to leverage this situation going into next year (I'd very much re-apply next year as a 2L).

My credentials are as follows: BSEE (Electrical Engineering), MBA (Finance), 4 YRS WE in Engineering, 3 YRS WE in Big Banking. Below top 40% in my school's rankings

Assuming WF then? I think you did the right thing. I had a similar experience, and I intend to reapply for the gig again next year.

[MrPapagiorgio]

Yes, you need to keep your word. You don't think an F500 and the FDIC program have some people who know each other who could possibly find out?
On another note, this is why I can't stand the employment process: they don't give you a chance to hold out for better offers. And ITE, we almost always have to take the first offer that comes because another one may never come along.

[McBean]

I'm not a big advocate of the "do the right thing" solely because it's the right thing to do philosophy.

No one can really answer this question but you. You may want to think of this in terms of how this will effect your career. Nothing else is really an equal consideration. The bank will survive, and probably find another intern, if you rescind. Chances are, if someone at the bank knows someone at the FDIC, they are not going to call them and talk shit like a 13 yr. old. How would they even know to call the FDIC in the first place? How would they even know who to call? The FDIC is a pretty big operation. Do you really think this bank is going to have its feelings hurt in the first place?

Anyways, my point is that if you think that it will help your career, do it. If you think there will be some blow-back, don't do it.

If it make it easier, here's the story from my 1L summer: I had a job lined up with a fairly large DA's office that I had accepted. About a week or two later, I got an offer from a boutique firm, in my area of interest. I called and rescinded the DA's office. It turned out to be the right thing for me. I came away with experience I just would not have gotten at the DA's office and made some great connections. Meanwhile, the DA's office had like 50 other interns, none of who could separate themselves from the pack. I am fairly confident that my 1L summer firm gig helped me get a 2L V10 SA that would not have been as attainable with the DA on my resume.

[Sup Kid]

My credentials are as follows: BSEE (Electrical Engineering), MBA (Finance), 4 YRS WE in Engineering, 3 YRS WE in Big Banking. Below top 40% in my school's rankings

With your background, if you can improve your GPA after this semester you'll have a MUCH better chance of getting a good 2L summer job -- the difference between being in the top-1/3 v. top-1/2 of your class is huge. You need to begin studying for finals this semester and stop thinking about your 1L summer job -- it's already April. Good luck.

[gwuorbust]

All the ppl who say "do the right thing" don't know what they are talking about IMO. Do you really think someone from the FDIC is going to email someone from a company and be like "hey Dave, I know we control the monetary system of the US but do you know what this 1L applicant did? He backed out on his $12/h job, can you believe it? Let's add him to our blacklist and when the black helicopters fly over they can triangulate his whereabouts and we can relay his info to all 500,000 other possible legal employers out there and then this kid will never have a job WHAHAHAHAHA"

oh wait, nobody will remember by next month if you are polite about it.

[Sandro]

All the ppl who say "do the right thing" don't know what they are talking about IMO. Do you really think someone from the FDIC is going to email someone from a company and be like "hey Dave, I know we control the monetary system of the US but do you know what this 1L applicant did? He backed out on his $12/h job, can you believe it? Let's add him to our blacklist and when the black helicopters fly over they can triangulate his whereabouts and we can relay his info to all 500,000 other possible legal employers out there and then this kid will never have a job WHAHAHAHAHA"

oh wait, nobody will remember by next month if you are polite about it.

LOL

[romothesavior]

All the ppl who say "do the right thing" don't know what they are talking about IMO. Do you really think someone from the FDIC is going to email someone from a company and be like "hey Dave, I know we control the monetary system of the US but do you know what this 1L applicant did? He backed out on his $12/h job, can you believe it? Let's add him to our blacklist and when the black helicopters fly over they can triangulate his whereabouts and we can relay his info to all 500,000 other possible legal employers out there and then this kid will never have a job WHAHAHAHAHA"

oh wait, nobody will remember by next month if you are polite about it.

+1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (and also lol, very funny)

Also, OP you probably should be careful about the information you post on here. Don't post outing info about possibly renegging on a job. Slim chance it is damaging, but why take the chance?

[Mich_Guy]

Yes, you need to keep your word. You don't think an F500 and the FDIC program have some people who know each other who could possibly find out?
On another note, this is why I can't stand the employment process: they don't give you a chance to hold out for better offers. And ITE, we almost always have to take the first offer that comes because another one may never come along.

I actually feel like I did the right thing by accepting the Bank offer. For one thing, the pay will be higher for the Bank summer internship: $30/hour(in Pittsburgh, PA) vs. about $900/week(in Washington DC)

Also, I have a banking background and could easily leverage my summer work experience in banking next year during the application cycle for the honors programs. Not to mention the fact that the recruiter at the FDIC told me that they typically don't many law school candidates who have real world banking backgrounds, so an additional bank summer work experience might actually be a net positive.

Plus, I hate to burn bridges...and if I would have rescinded my 1st offer, there's no question that I would have been buring bridges between this employer and my school as well.

Finally, this recession is the reason why so many people like me are afraid to decline or wait out offers (I pretty much accepted on the spot)