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I received a summer internship offer from a financial firm (however, this was not my top choice) and signed the contract as it was my only possible offer and I have not been hearing back at all from any of the other places I interviewed with.

However, I just received a much better offer from another financial services firm that I know will be a better fit for me and has better pay. How do I properly renege on the initial summer internship offer (without damaging too many bridges/reputation) and should I mention a potential reason for it (i.e. family issues or situation, which would be pretty true as my situation has changed)? How much information should I reveal or provide?

P.S.: I am hoping, given the nature of recruiting this year and with the pandemic, the firm might be a little lenient about this than previous cycles.

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This is an internship. That doesn't start for quite a few months yet. In the middle of a very volatile global situation.

If you send them an email and just say "I'm very sorry, but I can't take up the summer internship anymore. Is there anything else you need from me for confirmation or is this email enough?" then you might get away with them forgetting all about you by the time summer rolls around.

They may press you on why. You should decide in advance if you plan to tell the truth, or a lie, or something vague and non-specific.

Finance being the small tightly-knit industry that it is, if you put the new internship on Linkedin they might notice, call up your new employer, and get your internship trashed. I wouldn't call it likely, but it definitely has happened in the past so bear that in mind.

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    Yeah I would give it at least 12 months before updating LinkedIn.
    – Geoff Griswald
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 17:16
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How do I properly renege on the initial summer internship offer (without damaging too many bridges/reputation) and should I mention a potential reason for it (i.e. family issues or situation, which would be pretty true as my situation has changed)? How much information should I reveal or provide?

You already signed the contract with the first company, so there is no way to renege that job without burning bridges or your reputation.

Doing so will definitely be perceived as unprofessional, and is something I would not suggest you do.

Handling multiple applications is not trivial, and it takes coordination, effort and a bit of luck to manage to perfectly navigate that scenario*. You got an offer, decided that you didn't want to wait for another offer, and played your cards and signed it... there is no way to undo that without fallout I'm afraid.

*Suggested reading on that: How do I coordinate the process of pursuing multiple job opportunities at the same time?

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  • FWIW, this being an internship, and quite a few months before it starts, the OP might get away with merely singeing some bridges and their reputation rather than burning them down. Assuming they don't tell the frim why they're suddenly pulling out.
    – Kaz
    Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 22:49
  • @Kaz yes, perhaps they might... even though, singeing is still a consequence/fallout, so the fact that there is no way to do this without fallout I fear remains true :/
    – DarkCygnus ♦
    Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 22:55
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  1. You probably didn't actually sing a legal contract. In the USA (if that's where you are) an offer letter, especially for an internship, is not a contract.

  2. While uncomfortable, this is probably not going to be the last time in your career that you'll need to make a difficult decision and risk upsetting or offending someone.

That being said, my guess is that most companies don't take internships seriously enough for you to burn any bridges by telling them you've decided to pursue other opportunities and interests. Unless this is a highly coveted internship, sought by many, at a very prestigious company, my guess is that you won't experience any long term fallout. My suggestion would be to send an email to the appropriate person and thank them for the opportunity but that after much thought and consideration you've decided to pursue other interests and opportunities.

At the end of the day, even if they take it badly, there are going to be innumerable other opportunities in your budding career. This company isn't the only game in town, as they say.

At any rate, this will be a good career lesson in how to gracefully and professionally deal with difficult decisions.

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