My Firm Is Forcing Me To Stay As An Intern
Hey everyone,
The title seems odd but sums up the whole situation pretty accurately.
I'm doing my end of study internship at a boutique that had a lot of trouble closing deals in the last year. In June (before I joined), the firm added a top notch Partner who's bringing in a lot of deals which we are currently working on. I also got word that they would be hiring an analyst around March given the workload.
In my mid-internship review, I've been told that I've been doing great work and would start being given analyst type tasks and that the team would rely on me as the sole analyst on a deal I've been working on since joining.
A week ago, the guy in charge of the hiring told me that I wouldn't be hired directly because they want me to take part in the whole selection process as if I was an external candidate and that I should stay as an intern until february to be included in the process.
Am I off for thinking their scheme is weird?
Thank you for the insights!
As long as I was getting paid, I’d keep working and keep looking for other opportunities. If they hire me great, if not, I’d find something else, getting a pay check the whole way.
if this is some Tobin shop, I’d bounce and work at Dairy Queen
Keep getting paid ok but it's only for 2 months...
Plus, my internship contract finishes by the end of December and they want me to stay for 2 more to help them (because they have cash pbs and can't hire analyst in Jan and I'm doing analyst work for intern pay).
Basically, I'm doing them a favor by staying but when it comes to FT hiring, they wanna include me in the process with external candidates..
you missed the 2021 recruiting season...but if you are effectively working as an analyst, then you can look for lateral moves to fill spots where 1st year analysts have left early (they should start appearing soon). Essentialy, constantly be looking for another gig...but if you can't get anything better, then stay and try to convert where you are as 2nd best option...which is still better than unemployment.
There's nothing to convert, they want me to stay two more months as an intern because they can't afford an analyst right now...
Some proceeds are coming in in March and that's the time where they said they'll open the process for an analyst and include me in it but they've already seen me work for a couple of months now, you already know if I'm good or whack by now and I had a perf review last week and they said that my work in great and I need to continue on this path...
nothing wrong with preserving optionality when you can (this is the firms position).
you should create your own optionality by interviewing elsewhere, and keeping that secret
assuming this firm is still paying you...the title between "intern" and "analyst" does not really matter. its also not that big a deal that they want you to compete with other potential analysts in the selection process...if you aren't better than your competition after working there for 6 months, then you don't deserve the spot.
Right now I am being paid like all the other interns which is fine because it's what I signed up for.
I agree that it's not that big of a deal but my point is: after working here for a couple of months you clearly know if I will do the job or not. Why insist on me staying for 2 more months, make me do analyst type stuff and pay me peanuts to tell me bye bye come recruiting time?
it means they are on the fence...you are "good enough", but not knocking their socks off
I was in a relatively similar situation this past summer. I was a SA at a relatively strong boutique (~5 MDs, 20 FTEs) deals ranging from $10MM - $100MM. I was a junior at the time and had the credits to graduate a full-year early, so with COVID-19, I decided to graduate at the end of the summer and not return for the fourth year. I expressed interest to my MD about staying on FT at the end of the internship and (similar to your situation) extended me the offer to continue my internship but on a month-to-month basis. The firm likely viewed it as a favor/gesture to keep me on but in reality, it was pretty shitty since I was doing the work of a FT analyst but was being paid at the intern rate with no guarantee of having a job at the end of each month. Furthermore, I couldn't commit to a long-term lease with no job security so I was living in stranger's infested sub-let basement.
Long story short, after two months the firm landed some engagements and I was brought on as a full-time analyst (officially). To answer your question if it's weird or not for this to happen: I would venture to say it's not uncommon for boutique firms to have a hybrid intern/ft position. Boutiques have to manage their cash flow much tighter and don't always have the resources to commit to an FT (as was the case in my situation and sounds like with yours). Nevertheless, I would use the next two months to prove to them that you deserve the job. When I was in the situation I just looked at my next best option. While slaving away at an intern rate was shitty, at least I was getting experience and some pay. My other option was moving back in with my parents and practically doing nothing until I found another job. If you do not have another option I would say continue doing what you are doing while actively applying/searching elsewhere. Either 1. the firm will land more engagements and bring you on FT in February (I struggle to see how an external candidate would beat an intern that has been working at the firm - endless they are an absolute IB stud and/or you are not performing) or 2. You will get an opportunity elsewhere and can use that to either leverage your current firm into a FT offer or hop ship to the other firm.
I get your points. The thing is that they already landed some big engagements since the new partner joined. There a lot of work already and I'm not talking about pitches, it's exec type work.
When I brought up the point a few months ago the person in charge told me they might hire someone (me or someone else) or nobody at all and that I shouldn't take it personnally if they cancel all plans.
You already have one foot in the door. Just wait it out. External candidates for the most part are just a "diligence" type process.
If you were a shit intern they probably wouldn't want you around another two months. Two months is not a big deal whatsoever at the end of the day.
As much as intern pay sucks, it's still better than unemployment. If you can find a gig elsewhere great, but definitely don't leave w/o anything else in hand,
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