4 ms·

The manager's letter to the intern sounds a bit blunt for my liking. It is difficult to evaluate an intern's work when they are a member of a team with ongoing

The manager's letter to the intern sounds a bit blunt for my liking. It is difficult to evaluate an intern's work when they are a member of a team with ongoing requirements. Whether the intern in question produces good work or not, I would simply prefer to say that "we do not have the ability to extend an offer at this time for this role, and we thank you for your efforts this summer" as opposed to "the work delivered did not meet expectations, and for that reason we are not extending an offer. this isn't the result we wanted."

xvector 7y ago
> Whether the intern in question produces good work or not, I would simply prefer to say that "we do not have the ability to extend an offer at this time for this role, and we thank you for your efforts this summer" This would be incredibly infuriating and is absolutely the most frustrating part of the interview and internship experience today. I know you think you are lessening the blow but this kind of response is vague and doesn’t help anyone. What matters most after a rejection is understanding where you fell short. You will never improve if you do not know where you went wrong; as such, a response like that doesn’t help the career of the intern and doesn’t do justice to the effort the intern put in over the past N months, or the effort the interviewer put in to prepare for the interview. Even the letter she got was vague. An acceptable response would list specific points of potential improvement and offer to hold a meeting to elaborate on them.
- quaquaqua1 7y ago
  I understand where you are coming from, and I have been on the receiving end of very vague rejections as well (or being straight up ghosted of course). However, I don't think it's helpful to say "your work wasn't good". My natural inclination after hearing that is to say "ok, can you provide an example?" If they even have an example, you then jump into an analysis. They say you did x wrong, and you attempt to explain how x was influenced by y, or that actually you did x correctly just slowly and using a different methodology but ultimately the same result is achieved. I don't think I've ever met a corporate middle manager who has said "you know what, you're totally right. I'm going to cancel the firing process right now!"
  - draw_down 7y ago
    Right, it isn't a debate. The decision has been made. Not giving a reason also allows the person to form their own story about what happened, which I think can help some people protect their egos a bit.
dahdum 7y ago
I believe her manager's comments came after she received the news, and she was requesting a deeper explanation. At that point sugar coating is less necessary, if they are asking for genuine feedback you should give it to them. The way she handles it is positive, sounds like she's got a bright future.

xvector 7y ago

> Whether the intern in question produces good work or not, I would simply prefer to say that "we do not have the ability to extend an offer at this time for this role, and we thank you for your efforts this summer" This would be incredibly infuriating and is absolutely the most frustrating part of the interview and internship experience today. I know you think you are lessening the blow but this kind of response is vague and doesn’t help anyone. What matters most after a rejection is understanding where you fell short. You will never improve if you do not know where you went wrong; as such, a response like that doesn’t help the career of the intern and doesn’t do justice to the effort the intern put in over the past N months, or the effort the interviewer put in to prepare for the interview. Even the letter she got was vague. An acceptable response would list specific points of potential improvement and offer to hold a meeting to elaborate on them.

quaquaqua1 7y ago
I understand where you are coming from, and I have been on the receiving end of very vague rejections as well (or being straight up ghosted of course). However, I don't think it's helpful to say "your work wasn't good". My natural inclination after hearing that is to say "ok, can you provide an example?" If they even have an example, you then jump into an analysis. They say you did x wrong, and you attempt to explain how x was influenced by y, or that actually you did x correctly just slowly and using a different methodology but ultimately the same result is achieved. I don't think I've ever met a corporate middle manager who has said "you know what, you're totally right. I'm going to cancel the firing process right now!"
- draw_down 7y ago
  Right, it isn't a debate. The decision has been made. Not giving a reason also allows the person to form their own story about what happened, which I think can help some people protect their egos a bit.

dahdum 7y ago

I believe her manager's comments came after she received the news, and she was requesting a deeper explanation. At that point sugar coating is less necessary, if they are asking for genuine feedback you should give it to them. The way she handles it is positive, sounds like she's got a bright future.