I canceled my internship last-minute. Can I expect bridges to be burnt?

Question

I had been talking to company A about doing an internship there. I had several concerns regarding the assignment but I needed it fast, so I applied anyway and got accepted. I agreed to start the internship but did not yet sign a contract. After a few weeks, it became clear that they refused to sign the university's contract, which I had explained to them before is a prerequisite for starting my internship. After e-mailing back and forth, We still did not manage to find a solution.

A few days later I received an offer from company B. I went for an interview and got informally accepted. Company B's assignment was better fitting and they agreed to sign the contract without any problems. At the beginning of the next week, I managed to settle the contract issues with company A but still decided on company B. However, I had already agreed to start my internship at company A.

Since I had not yet gotten formal confirmation from company B and did not want to risk ending up without an internship, I decided to only cancel company A when I received confirmation from company B. I only got the confirmation from company B on Friday and I was supposed to start at company A the next Monday. That Friday, I e-mailed company A, cancelling my internship. I received a heated reply for cancelling last-minute and they even e-mailed my university supervisor. Can I expect bridges to be burnt or do I still have a chance of ever applying at company A? How could I have handled this situation better?

Answer 1

I would say you reacted well to ensuring your job security and what's best for you.

You however have most likely burnt most bridges at Company A depending on what you meant by 'heated reply'. But would you want to reapply at company A anyway if you're at the place you'd prefer to be now?

Company A have already shown some major red flags and you haven't even started. You dodged a bullet.

Answer 2

You can expect your bridges to be extra crispy. You acted in bad faith and broke your word.

Now, the real question is "Will this follow me".

To some degree, yes. How long and how far is anybody's guess, but our actions do not exist in a vacuum. Many industries draw from a surprisingly small pool of people. I have seen the same people over and over and you wouldn't believe who knows who.

If they were sufficiently angry, someone may have put a note "Do not hire" in their systems that will make it fairly certain that for the next few year, your chances of working there are null.

Given that they contacted your university, yeah, I'm fairly certain they've documented it somewhere.

Now, over time, people will forget, but I would caution you not to make a habit of breaking your promises, because while people will forget ONE bad move, people will note a pattern.

How you could have handled it better

You should have done any of the following.

• Been up front with A that you were waiting to hear back from B
• Told B that you had an offer on the table from A and let them know you had to get back to A by [date]
• Held off accepting from A until you heard from B
• Gone to A once you agreed to.

Would some of these cost you an opportunity? Probably. But remember, you're building a career, and sometimes short-term gains need to be sacrificed for long term benefits.

Reputation is everything A good rep can open doors, a bad one can have them shut before you even approach.

Be honest, forthright, and honorable in all your dealings going forward.

• Do not make agreements or promises unless you intend to honor them.
• Once you make an agreement or promise, honor it until or unless the other party breaks their end or releases you from your obligation
• It's far easier to live up to a good reputation than to overcome a bad one.
• If you are known to be trustworthy, you will be trusted.

Answer 3

If Company A is a large company, it is possible that they have a legal department that handles all legal agreements, including standard internship paperwork. Hiring managers may not be allowed to sign any agreements. It could have been that your internship contract from the school was in process of being reviewed. Of course, it would have been nice of them to tell you exactly what was causing their delay.

Since their signing your school's agreement was a condition of your internship being acceptable to the school, it should not be surprising that you would have to pull out at the last minute if it was not signed. But it apparently was a surprise to them, based on the response you received.

So, yes, the bridge is burning. They're as much to blame as you are. But there might be a chance to salvage it. You can respond to them and indicate that since the internship agreement was required, and they would/could not sign it, you could not start your internship with them. In the meantime, you found a company that could sign the agreement, and so you chose to go there because the timing of your internship is important. It's up to you to decide whether you think a response is worth trying. I recommend a phone call, if possible, rather than email. People are different when there's direct interaction.

There is one thing you could have done earlier that might have helped the situation. You could have made it clear to them that without a signed internship agreement, you would not be able to start with them. That might have prepared them a little better for this eventuality.

People remember. You may never get a chance again with this hiring manager. But you might have a chance in a different department if they're a large company. If they're a small company, you just have to remember that there are lots of places you can work that will be just as good for you as this place might have been.

Good luck with Company B. Give them your best and learn all you can from them!

Answer 4

I think you acted unethically towards company A.

Yes, they delayed in getting you an official contract (which, no doubt, took effort on their part), but at the end of the day you signed it. Furthermore, you cancelled on very short notice when the offer from Company B came. By this point company A expended resources on interviewing you, getting you a contract and potentially notifying other applicants that they have been rejected. Company A has to restart their interview process and they will not have an intern to do the planned work (that you were going to do!) in time.

In the future, Company A may think twice about interviewing interns from your university, and they will certainly think twice about interviewing you. Although other answers say that big corporations have such a high turn-over rate that noone will remember - it depends on the company. The HR at mine is pretty static and I'm positive they remember everyone. Engineers come and go, but HR stays...

In the future, don't sign contracts you don't intend to honour. I don't recommend sending sassy replies to Company A either. Take this as a learning opportunity, and don't do this again.

Answer 5

Did you do anything wrong? - No, your interest in company A was genuine, and you worked together with them to make things work. You had every reason to withhold the information about company B coming into the picture, which happened at a time when your plans with company A appeared to fall through.

Could you have done some things better? - Maybe, it depends on whether you could have done more for the timing of things to end up being less awkward. I would generally not recommend sharing details of discussions you have with other companies, however. It's none of their business, and might even hurt your chances with them.

Have bridges been burned? - Not if they are reasonable, but maybe they aren't (as a "heated reply" seems to suggest), so who knows? Even in that case, you're unlikely to go on some sort of blacklist. The worst I would expect is some uncomfortable questions about this episode when you contact the same company again.

Is there anything you can do to minimize the fallout? - Contact them to reassure them that (1) your interest in them was genuine, (2) Company B came into the picture while it seemed things wouldn't work out, and (3) you sincerely regret any inconvenience caused to them. Since I don't think you did anything wrong, I would suggest being empathetic more than apologetic.

Answer 6

It’s a definite “maybe”! The fact that it’s a big company may work your favour in that they’ll be unlikely to have people in recruiting that take it personally, so I’d be surprised if you get any issues a couple of years down the road, particularly as it’ll be for an entirely different sort of position.

Don’t fret about it, as there’s nothing to be gained either way at this point.

Answer 7

Most likely, yes, you burned the bridge. Companies keep records of past hiring activity and most likely any notes entered will not endeavor to be fair to you. You might choose to not check "yes" on the "have you ever applied here" question in the future, which MIGHT lead to them not looking back, but then you'd be crossing an ethical boundary by lying. There is also the possibility that you can ask HR for your "hirablility" status and even attempt to contest it, but that's unlikely to be fruitful.

It sounds unfortunate how things turned out and that you really tried to do the right thing short of damaging yourself. Keep that concern for doing the right thing, but in the end remember it's ultimately a business deal. They are only trying to do what's best for them just as you should do for yourself. Hopefully you'll find a fit.

Answer 8

As the other answers say: Yes, you did burn that bridge. But do try and salvage it by sending them an extensive apology. In it, don't try to shift blame on them, even if it might be justified. Tell them how you mishandled the situation, that you're inexperienced in the world of employment, and that you're truly sorry for any inconvenience you have caused. In the end, this might even leave a positive impression.