The Dark Side of Internships
Internships are great. They are great for gaining relevant experience, network with professionals, and learn more about company culture. Even if your internship experience was bad, internships are a great way to find out if this is the career path for you. Overall, they are a learning experience.
Last summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to intern for REI in their IT department. I was extremely excited to start, especially since I’ve read so many great things about REI and their culture. In 2014, REI was one of the top 25 “Most Enjoyable Companies to Work For.” According to Glassdoor, REI rates as 3.9 out of 5 stars, not really sure as what though. Most of the reviews are positive. One reviewer who has been working at REI as a full-time employee states that REI “[makes] it hard to leave.”
A good job isn't just about the paycheck and insurance benefits. Most people want to feel like their work is…www.businessinsider.com
I was also really excited to start because I had an opportunity to take what I’ve learned in a classroom and apply it to a real professional setting.
From my experience, the reviews and top honors or whatever, are pretty much true. REI invests on their employees and stresses the importance of work like balance. They have “YAY” days where employees can get day off to enjoy some sort of outside adventure, whether that is camping, or hiking, or community service. Not to mention employee discounts are amazing. I mean…50% off on REI products?
While REI might invest on its employees, I’m not totally sure about their interns.
While I had a great overall experience at REI in terms of learning and applying my skills, I’m not about how I was treated.
First, the work was unorganized. On my first week of interning, I barely did anything. There was hardly any work assigned for me, even though I was promised that I will be working on a couple of project soon. I was so bored.
I had so little work that I started asking other employees next to me for grunt work or research. Additionally, I had to reach out to my manager’s boss to ask for more work. While the work increased in the next week or so, I didn’t really get into my actual projects until week 3 or so.
I began to wonder if REI was even prepared to have an intern due to lack of work I received when I first started. Looking back, I now wonder if this is actually common with other interns. According to a Forbes article, Forbes interns were sometimes given no work. Susan Adams states that “this problem is alive and well.” Is it common? I’m not sure. Does it happen? It definitely does.
Think that lack of work was my worst nightmare? Think again.
As my internship drew to a close and school was starting in a week, I sat down with my manager asking if internship could be extended during the school year. I thought this would be a great opportunity to continue working for REI part-time since their office in Bellevue was just a bus ride away and going to school wouldn’t be an issue. My manager said that he would definitely look into it.
As the end of my internship drew closer and closer, my manager finally told me that my manager and his boss have approved my extension. YAY! I was definitely feeling excited.
There was a catch however. The Finance Office had to approve my extension.
A couple of days flew by and my internship with REI officially ended, even though my extension was still be approved. I was unable to come back to work until all the necessary steps have been made and my extension was approved by Finance. My manager emailed me telling me to wait as Finance Office is swamped with approving budgets for next year.
That was the last thing I heard from my manager for a week.
And then another week.
And another.
This was perhaps one of the most stressful times I’ve ever experienced. First, I didn’t have any job or income coming in. By this time, I was running low on money for food, rent, and for school. I didn’t know how long I would wait. Since I thought my extensions was going to be approved, I turned down an on-campus job. I didn’t know if I should be looking for other sources of employment or if I should wait it out.
By 3rd or 4th week, I was finally fed up and stopped waiting. For those past few weeks, I was under so much stress in trying to find a new job and managing my money to make sure I had enough money for food and rent. I was also very upset. You mean to tell me that the Finance Office couldn’t take a day to look over my extension? It’s not that I feel entitled about it or anything. I just thought that a company such as REI who invests in their employees and their well-being would have treated this situation with more care and respect. I felt like I was being treated poorly. My opinion about REI completely changed after this whole ordeal.
Fast forward to December, I received an email from my manager saying that my extension was finally approved. How wonderful…but unfortunately, I just accepted a TA position on campus for the next quarter. I kindly decline and offered that I would love to come back in the spring around March. My manager let me know to contact him in February about my availability.
Fast forward to the second week of February. I contacted my manager about my intent to return and my availability. I was excited about the prospects of returning despite my upsetting experience earlier. I was excited to get back to my projects and work with different teams. There were a couple of back and forth emails regarding my extension and how my manager will let me know. Then, out of nowhere, I received an email saying that REI is no longer pursuing an intern for 2016.
Wait. What?
Once again, I had so much hope about returning only to face disappointment. There were no apologies or acknowledgements, just an email saying that they want me to return, despite having my extension approved. I didn’t want to be a summer intern or anything. I just wanted to come back according to my agreement with my boss and my supervisor. I asked for my internship to be extended, not renewed.
What frustrates me is that I can’t find a way to do anything about how I was treated, except to share my story and hope that someone can learn from my mistake and from my experience.
Do I have a right to be angry? I think so. I’m not angry that my extension didn’t go through. I was more angry at how I was treated. Because interns are dispensable, I felt like I was treated as such. There was a lack of professionalism and fair treatment. I’m highly disappointed with REI. For a company that stresses work-like balance and invests on its employees, I can see that it might just be façade and all just smoke and mirrors.
If you are currently interning, looking for an internship, or just accepted one, make sure to always protect yourself. Look for any signs of unfair treatment or any sign of intern abuse. Most importantly, speak up about it.
Internships are great. I learned so many invaluable skills from interning at REI, but based on my experiences, I’m a little hesitant about returning, if the opportunity arises.