Reneging on an offer
Looking for advice on how to handle a potential internship renege as professionally as possible.
A couple of months ago I received a verbal offer for an internship at a growth equity / PE fund starting next year. I told them that I wanted to move forward with the process, but they have still not sent me the actual employment contract. The process went very well and I got the impression that the team was genuinely keen to have me join, so I’d particularly like to avoid burning that relationship
Since then, I’ve received a verbal offer for an M&A internship at a bank. They are currently finalising the team placement and should be sending me the contract soon.
Long term I’m aiming for BB/EB IB in London. Given that goal, I’ve decided that I will take the bank internship. Both internships are in continental Europe, but in different countries.
Ideally, I would still like to do both. Depending on the exact dates of the bank internship, I could potentially ask the PE/GE fund whether they would be willing to shorten my internship and push the start date back slightly. However, if they need me for the full originally discussed period, the internships will overlap and I would have to back out of the PE/GE role.
My questions are:
- Given that I told the fund I wanted to move forward but still haven’t received or signed a contract, how bad would it be to back out at this stage?
- Would you first ask whether they can shorten/change the dates, knowing that you will back out if they can’t accommodate it?
- What is the best way to handle the conversation without burning the relationship more than necessary?
- Would you call the person who gave you the offer first, or send an email?
- How much detail would you give about the reason? Would you explicitly say you received an IB opportunity that is more aligned with your long-term goals, or keep it vague?
I know backing out after telling them I wanted to move forward isn’t ideal, but since no contract has been signed yet and there are still several months before the planned start date, I’m trying to understand how people would handle this professionally.
Thank you for the help!
you never signed anything, backing out is fair game
Yeah, that’s what I thought as well. Just wondering how to do it as professionally as possible since I’d like to keep this contact for the future
Bump
Bump
Even if you have signed, don't be scared to renege. Most understand you are looking to set yourself up the best for future success. Lot of propaganda on the potential fallouts for doing so, but have done it myself (after having signed a written offer) and know others who have done it who have all been completely fine. Just be professional.
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