Reneging on summer internship Forum

[Anonymous User]

Looking for some advice...

I recently reneged on a summer internship at a government agency for a summer associate position. Given the tone of our conversation when I made the call to renege, I wouldn't be surprised if they contacted career services or tried to flame me in some way professionally. Should I be concerned for my reputation? Anything I can do to mitigate the situation?

Thanks.

[ATR]

Your CSO won't be happy, but there's nothing they can really do to you (as far as I know).

[A. Nony Mouse]

You've probably burned your bridges with that agency. Whether that matters depends on what you want to do.

[pastapplicant]

there is nothing you can do to mitigate the situation with the agency but it might be prudent to be ready to deal with career services if you really think the agency will call them. i know some schools are stricter than others and some are willing to ban law students from on campus activities but if you are a 2L it doesn't matter at this point. even if career services does confront you just apologize profusely just to not get them angrier but like the above poster said the most you should expect is a verbal scolding.

personally, i think reneging is not ideal nor is it very "professional" but i think employers and career services should understand that ESPECIALLY in this economy students should put their career and well-being above anyone else's. the double standard is ridiculous. it is laughable that employer's can rescind offers in a heartbeat or are employing you for UNPAID internships, yet students are expected to uphold acceptances at the expense of better opportunities.

did the agency sound super pissed in the call?

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thanks everyone for the replies so far.

Thankfully, CSO has been fairly understanding. As for the agency, they weren't really pissed off but were certainly not happy with me. The call was very brief, and I tried to be respectful as possible given the situation. They fully have the right to be pissed off, but I'm worried that they might blacklist me from every government agency. I just hope I'm not paying for this years down the line.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I think worrying that they can blacklist you with every government agency assumes a higher level of efficiency and inter-agency cooperation than is likely the case.

[Myself]

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[Anonymous User]

Looking for some advice...

I recently reneged on a summer internship at a government agency for a summer associate position. Given the tone of our conversation when I made the call to renege, I wouldn't be surprised if they contacted career services or tried to flame me in some way professionally. Should I be concerned for my reputation? Anything I can do to mitigate the situation?

Thanks.

I am a 2L and recently reneged to go and work in a firm. The tone of voice on the other side, I think if we were in front of each other, he would have punched me. Still hope it does not come back to me, and I sincerely do not understand why such agencies get so pissed when an intern is reneging. I mean come on, there are tons of people looking for jobs, and the work of an intern is not make or break for the organization, whereas getting a firm is make or break for the students career. I sincerely hoped for more understanding, I apologized profusely and offered to help in getting another student, and was disappointed by their "how dare you fuck us over" attitude.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Eh, I think it's perfectly reasonable for an agency to get pissed off when someone reneges (really, for any employer to get pissed off - you've ostensibly made a commitment to that job, and they've stopped hiring and so on). Not that I think someone should get blacklisted for it, but it's not unreasonable for an agency not to buy into the "firm job trumps everything else" hierarchy that tends to govern among most students here.

[Myself]

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[Myself]

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[Anonymous User]

Eh, I think it's perfectly reasonable for an agency to get pissed off when someone reneges (really, for any employer to get pissed off - you've ostensibly made a commitment to that job, and they've stopped hiring and so on). Not that I think someone should get blacklisted for it, but it's not unreasonable for an agency not to buy into the "firm job trumps everything else" hierarchy that tends to govern among most students here.

Maybe, but is the government agency really going to be that inconvenienced? There are lots of 2Ls out there who are still probably looking for summer work.

Any employer who thinks they've finished their hiring process because they've filled their slots is going to be annoyed when someone drops out. Any employer. Especially employers like agencies that are working under budget cuts and have lots of better things to do with their time. And especially now, when summer is right around the corner.

Again, I'm not saying you should never do it, or that you should get blacklisted for it. But you shouldn't think the agency really cares (or should care) about your employment priorities, either. (Especially since most of the time to get hired by the government you have to demonstrate your significant dedication to government work, then you turn around and say you're going to a firm? Come on.

[Myself]

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[A. Nony Mouse]

Sorry, I guess our opinions will just differ. I really don't feel bad for a budget-constrained government employee who has to put in a few extra hours hiring a new (mostly unpaid) intern (when there are many out there), but I do feel much worse for a law student who misses out on an SA (where there are so few out there).

Maybe I'm just very pro-law student after witnessing and experiencing the shafting of law students everyday by employers and law school administrators.

Sure, I get it. I'm not saying this to be pro-agencies - and I'm not asking you to feel bad for the government - I'm just saying that people shouldn't be surprised if they get some grief under these circumstances. People who have chosen to spend their career working for a government agency aren't going to be impressed by the argument, "But a firm job is so much better, you can't expect me to pass that up to work for you for free."

[pastapplicant]

Like I said above, I see that the agency has a right to be upset but if they take it a step above and actually call OP's CSO or something it is definitely a LOL at them being butt hurt. It is an UNPAID internship that probably has a very little chance at permanent employment. They would not hesitate to rescind OP's offer if they somehow "ran out of space" or "something came up". If you are not paying anyone shit, you don't have a right to be that butt hurt about it.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Like I said above, I see that the agency has a right to be upset but if they take it a step above and actually call OP's CSO or something it is definitely a LOL at them being butt hurt. It is an UNPAID internship that probably has a very little chance at permanent employment. They would not hesitate to rescind OP's offer if they somehow "ran out of space" or "something came up". If you are not paying anyone shit, you don't have a right to be that butt hurt about it.

Totally not saying they should call the CSO or blacklist anyone. Just saying why it's not unreasonable if someone on the phone is annoyed with you. Nothing more than that.

[Anonymous User]

I am the 2L non-op who reneged. I used to work at a legal agency prior to law school, and if a student reneged, most of us would never treat them in a mean way, except maybe the highest boss (but the phone call would never go to him), so maybe there is also some power tripping involved.
We knew the intern's job, we knew that most of the time their work did not bring much value to the agency, we could easily replace them if they backed out, and we also knew that it would not take us that much time to do their work. I mean, in the end it is an internship, a learning experience where the student is supposed to gain more than the employer! I understand the agency will have some inconvenience from the situation, but nothing to the extent that would justify such behavior.

[suzige]

Like I said above, I see that the agency has a right to be upset but if they take it a step above and actually call OP's CSO or something it is definitely a LOL at them being butt hurt. It is an UNPAID internship that probably has a very little chance at permanent employment. They would not hesitate to rescind OP's offer if they somehow "ran out of space" or "something came up". If you are not paying anyone shit, you don't have a right to be that butt hurt about it.

+1.

[Anonymous User]

You've probably burned your bridges with that agency. Whether that matters depends on what you want to do.

And if that agency is the state AG, that might mean for the whole agency, not just for the department. A friend had a bad interview at the state AG here (large state) and ended up unable to apply for openings through their system after that. Probably not for just a summer, but you never know.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah I didn't renege, but I've had a prospective employer angrily contact CSO after I delayed in getting back to them (while waiting to hear from another employer I preferred). It's no fun, but there were no hard feelings for long after apologizing profusely to the CSO, everyone moved on.