Can they rescind an internship offer?

Have a full-time IBD offer on the table from a summer internship at a top BB/elite boutique. I want to see what all my options are before accepting, so I want to take as much time as possible.

My boss wants to know asap what my decision is, but my offer letter states that I have till mid october (based on school policy) to decide.

Can they rescind my offer because I am taking too long to decide? Will my school's career services do anything if they do rescind?

 
goblan:

They can do whatever they want man. Doesn't really matter though because if you're taking a long time to decide, they know you're not 100% committed and are shopping around.

i can't imagine this going well if he goes to a target school. school would throw a massive bitch fit if they rescinded his offer and changed around his offer expiration date.
 
Best Response

^ This. If you go to a target and are protected by your school policy, then it's hard to imagine the firm rescinding the offer. All the BBs/elite boutiques need to have good relationships with their core recruiting schools and it would come off as extremely unprofessional and bitchy if they rescind your offer. In fact it's nearly impossible for me to contemplate an offer being rescinded even at a non target school, unless it's a tiny ass no name firm.

That being said there are some important issues to think about.

  1. Holding out for too long can burn bridges quickly, especially if the firm / group is expecting a prompt response
  2. You can lose your group if you wait till October. The offer is usually only group specific until a certain date (at most BBs it is mid September) and after that you get relegated to a generalist pool. You need to find out what the group deadline is.

I don't think they can or will rescind your offer, but the above two issues can lead to sticky situations. If however you didn't like your summer experience at all, then I think it is fair to explore other options. You don't want to go into an industry or field where you will be miserable. Now however if you are just shopping around for a 'better bank', then I would advise you against holding out.

Also get used to having to make decisions quickly. We college seniors are protected by our school's policies now, but one year down the road we are going to be on our own. In the real world, you typically have only a few days to decide offers (in PE I 've heard it's even shorter)

 

They won't rescind your offer - whatever the date printed on your offer letter is will stand. They may change your offer from a group specific offer to a generalist offer though to be placed wherever bodies are needed after a certain point - this is usually detailed in the offer letter. The only downside here is that you could piss off your group but honestly you'll be fine even if you wait until the last day.

 

You have three things to lose here:

  • cachet or 'brand' within the firm and group
  • signing bonus (it's often tiered, i.e. you lose $5k by delaying more than some defined period)
  • group-specific offer

It's important that you be well-liked within your group. Don't be known as the surly analyst, the analyst who is slow in his work, the one who produces poor work, or the one who shows up late every morning. One easy way to avoid that is to be well-regarded coming in the door. That's easy: be open and communicative with the firm before signing, do well in training, and work hard your first three months on the job. Look, it's fine to have some uncertainty about returning to your group, particularly if you think you have a shot at a better firm. At this point, however, it's time to be wise. Almost all the best shops have filled their analyst class: GS (done), MS (no more scheduled superdays), JPM, BAML, CS, Blackstone, and Centerview. Sure, Evercore, Lazard, and Moelis are still doing OCR at their core schools. Unless you have one of those interview scheduled (and can lean on the recruiters to rush the process if possible given your outstanding offer), you're probably returning to your group. Don't let your relationships fall into disrepair, any bridges burn, any reputation and goodwill you built over the summer dissipate simply because you are being indecisive.

Secondly, re-read your offer letter. You may run a risk of losing $2/$3/$5,000 if you wait longer than 2/3/4 weeks to sign. A lot of places do that, and a lot are fairly sneaky about how they communicate that in the formal letter.

Lastly, realize that you run the risk of being placed into a generalist pool if you wait too long. Very often the best groups will push for the best candidates, and if their summers have cold feet, they'll go out and poach candidates from elsewhere (either competitors or strong internal mobility candidates). The simple fact that you mentioned in your first sentence that you were at a top bank makes this all the more likely. They don't play around. They want the best talent; at the end of the summer, they included you in that categorization. The longer you dally, the more you make them think otherwise.

Best of luck in your decision, whatever it is. Just realize that time is not on your side here, you are a very easily replaceable commodity, and it never hurts to work someplace where people already know, like, and/or respect you.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 
kidflash:

Sorry side note, but are you sure CS is done recruiting?

I am sorry, I meant to include them in second category along with the boutiques. Blame it on these tired eyes. Unfortunately I can no longer edit my post since you've replied to it. CS is still recruiting at its core schools (and back when I was going through the process, there were only four).
I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

I am not sure if CS NY is recruiting either. Which schools have they been seen at? I was under the impression that they are filling up their entire class internally. Gave more offers than they had spots for to offset those who would lateral to other banks I think...

 

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