Cutting Internship Short?

I'm a recent graduate on my 5th week of a 9 week internship but I recently found out that there is no scope for hiring for graduate recruitment this year. Although I was initially told that there was scope for hiring, I have now been told there isn't due to changes in needs.

This is quite disappointing as I feel that I've done well on this internship. I've received positive feedback from my team/manager, although my one complaint would be that whilst I'm doing a lot of work, I don't feel like I'm learning a lot.

My question is whether it's possible to cut the internship short or whether this would look very bad. The reason I ask is because applications start soon and with the hours I work, it gives me very little time to make applications. I don't feel like in the next 3-4 weeks I can really do much that would help my applications, but certainly having 3-4 weeks free would mean I could improve my CV, work on applications and all the rest.

Right now, a lot of the work I'm doing is rather repetitive. I learned a lot in the first few weeks, but since then it's really been the same thing over and over. It's for that reason I'm not sure how positive it is for me to stay on. A worry is just if it does look very bad and whether it would ruin relations with the team (for networking purposes).

 

I'd bring it up with the people you're working with and gauge their reaction. Say you need to apply for FT roles given there is no chance of conversion here, and you think the additional time would be beneficial etc etc. Better to have a discussion rather than quit outright.

One thing I will say is a 5-6 week internship is rather short, and it certainly can't hurt to have xx 2014 - Present on your resume when applying for other jobs.

 

Don't cut it short. Experience is experience. Work hard, keep going (its only 4 more weeks) and do your CV/applications in the spare time.

It's an internship and if you genuinely are doing well/are liked you can try to shadow another team or be assigned something 'CV worthy' (that way even if you don't get an offer you have more exposure/experience then some other candidates).

Personal note: I can't believe this thread is real. First you get an internship, that are mega hard to come by nowadays, and now because they are not hiring you are going to quit? What does that say about you as a person? Imo that's a poor attitude and imagine what future interviewers will think ("I quit my internship as soon as I knew there was no opportunity to convert to try and land something else vs I stayed on despite knowing there was no FT as I'm genuinely interested in the markets and wanted to use the opportunity to learn as much as possible - and was also invited back for another internship since they were not hiring for FT".

 
Best Response

I definitely take on board what you're saying.

My only issue is that, ultimately, we have to be a bit selfish with our career, no? Whilst it's admirable to go on working to "honour" your 10 week contract and learn more, I don't feel like that's the case. As I said, I don't feel like I'm going to learn much during this remaining time. Of course I can't predict the future, sure, but it seems to me like after learning a lot in the first few weeks, I'm now just repeating the process with different documents etc.

Equally, it doesn't seem like there is scope for extending the internship. I asked about this and because the graduates rotate, there wouldn't be any need of interns after we finish.

It's just that being on the internship and being more aware of what's going on, I'm fairly confident I won't learn much more and just keep doing small tasks that help the team, but don't really help me in my CV/application strength. That's ultimately the problem. It's working for another 4-5 weeks knowing nothing will come out of it and just doing small tasks here and there. Working long hours too, I feel like I'm hindering my chances.

 

Working long hours but not learning anything...? lol Surely there is downtime where you can do your CV etc. Are you in your final year? Instead of extending the internship, can they offer you to come back next summer? That gives you some leverage to find something else. In the end its up to you.

 

I'm a recent graduate.

Well when I say not learning anything, it's because I'm doing a lot of small tasks that are quite manual and therefore take a fair bit of time. So, sure, I'm getting a bit better/quicker at Excel by practicing/repetition and some other programs used, but I don't feel like I'm getting much depth passed the first few weeks of learning.

There's not much downtime because there's no real shortage of work. To them, I'm doing fairly well because I'm working hard, but if I can't extend the internship then the only purpose is networking. Because of where I live, I don't feel like the networking factor is a strong incentive either. It can help, but it seems like a long shot for it to help that much.

 

I did not like my internship, but I never thought about cutting it short. Quitting a 10-week internship looks REALLY bad. It shows laziness and a complete lack of work ethic and dedication. If you can't even honor a 10-week commitment, why would a company want to hire you for a full-time role? Just stop being a bitch, suck it up, and focus 110% on full-time recruiting once the internship ends.

 

Commodi unde dolores quod repudiandae perspiciatis beatae. Eligendi excepturi consequatur earum non cumque illo sint. Ut temporibus est voluptatem adipisci.

Temporibus dolorem cum rerum exercitationem delectus sed. Sapiente veritatis sit ut unde. Error id adipisci asperiores ex impedit natus iusto animi.

Dolores blanditiis quae nisi sit dolore voluptatem. Excepturi repudiandae maiores amet laboriosam itaque reprehenderit aut voluptate. Deserunt quia et animi ea et amet corrupti. Qui praesentium quibusdam rerum velit quis laborum earum. Tempora expedita maiores occaecati quos. Dolores aliquid veniam libero nulla explicabo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”