Work Dilemma, need help. Standing up for myself?
Hey everyone, I just want your advice on my given situation at work.
So I joined an financial firm as the only intern, and then another intern came in a month after. However, he got through because of a friend/family connection, and he now works on a "team" with his connection. I'm on a different team, and my job is basically to underwrite deals and create offering memorandums.
However, all of a sudden my co-worker thinks he's a broker now (he's just an intern who just begun making calls) and he's making ME do some of his set ups. It has been the second consecutive day he asked me to do his OM. I don't want him to get the idea that I'm gonna be doing his bitchwork, when I already have my own things to do.
The problem here is a couple of things:
1) You're on a different own team now. Do your own OMs. I have my own OMs to do.
2) I'm working on a large project, you're not
3) Hop off because I have my own team, my own boss, and my own responsibilities.
Kids a nice guy, but shows 0 emotion, nor understanding that he's at fault here. I'm going to address this to my boss. Any thoughts or advice given the situation?
First things first, lose the combative attitude (do your own shit, I have my shit) before talking to anyone, especially him or anyone at the company.
Second, the more OMs you work on, the more deals you see, the more knowledge you have. I'm sure there is a breaking point in terms of workload - it sounds like you might be there - but I would ask myself if working on more OMs could be manageable and even possibly a blessing.
Third, be aware of your position and be humble.
This is a small hurdle you will overcome. Best of luck!
If you are both truly interns then you should tell him to piss off.
I would also make your team aware of it but don't look like a helpless little boy telling his daddy. I would say something like this "Intern 1 is telling me I have to do a bunch of work for him and his team, I am going to tell him to piss off but I just wanted to make you both aware in case you get/here any grief from his team."
Teams/people are extremely territorial in this business and most teams have their juniors/interns back's 100%. After all, the more work you do for other teams the less you do for your team.
In the end, the goal is to stand up for yourself without looking like a tattler or pissing off a bunch of senior brokers.
I would do your best to do as much work as possible and look like the leader of the two. If you've been there longer, care more, and are working harder than him, it should be easy to find spots where you're teaching him things/showing him the way, which others will inevitably see and look favorably upon. Clearly his connection is going to favor him, but everyone else can favor you if you play your cards right.
Wait what? He is an intern and already has a listing for an OM?
Thank you guys! I really appreciate the help. I talked to my boss and she said it was a clear problem that needed to be addressed.
I'm glad I posted since I learned how to better handle this situation next time, and also how to act in order to build trust and credibility from those around me.
Do not let another intern bitch you. You don't need to jump down his throat and yell at him, but I would pull him into a conference room and explain the situation. You definitely want to have a backbone and remember, the meek get nowhere.
Again, this. Use some restraint. The other guy is less likely doing this to you consciously than he has some sort of gung-ho hero mentality where "My top priority is the team's top priority".
Calmly explain to him that he can't expect others to be a resource to him as a matter of course when something has been delegated to him. Tell him you want to maintain goodwill and are happy to do a favor here and there, but that you are just as loaded as him, and "I'm on a call" isn't an excuse for pushing off your other stuff.
Another thing to look at, is he licensed and you're not? I personally would rank a licensed intern above an unlicensed every day just because they can actually broker deals.
Tell him you'll do the OM. Don't do the OM. When he doesn't have one and complains no senior guy will take the excuse the other intern didn't do it as an excuse. Cause it doesn't make sense, he will come off as lazy and entitled. He'll never ask you again.
Cold. Effective. I like it. That will also teach all the other interns not to fuck with you...
This is key.
Generally speaking you want to have goodwill with your colleagues and help out where it makes sense - but do not allow yourself to fall into the trap of doing other people's toiling in obscurity while they make a name for themselves. We've all got a weight to bear, there is no problem with advocating for yourself.
I would say to bring it up with the other intern before going to your boss or anything. Just say "look dude, I don't want to be unhelpful, but I have my own deadlines to meet and work to do. I can't do X for you with Y frequency. Of course if you're in a real bind and you need a team player I'm there."
If he doesn't get the message, just do the above. Accept the project with some CYA-ish "Sure I can help, I'll do this when I can" (be vague about when) and then don't do it. Let him learn his lesson about delegating without the power to enforce.
Probably your best option. Like you stated, the kids a nice guy. So he is just doing what his bosses tell him. I would first start out by saying something like "Sure, I can help. Get me a draft and I can help you revise it." This way you don't come off looking like his worker, in fact, you come off looking like a helpful guy, but also superior because you are reviewing his work.
While in theory this sounds awesome like some straight up Wall Street gangsta shyte, I think teddythebear is giving you the credited advice. Offer to assist him and revise his work product only after he has done his lion share of the OM to set the precedent you're not there to do his bidding. Without knowing the size of the organization and this kid's clout because of his friend/family connection, this move could make you an enemy for life and possibly cause other problems not because you necessarily did anything wrong, but because you don't know what this kid might start saying to people at the firm if he feels like he got thrown under the bus.
In past threads, I've seen a popular solution to work disputes which goes something like climbing up on the other person's desk and...
If another intern told me to do something I'd chuckle and walk away.
This isn't an especially complex situation. He's probably not going to bring a beef to one of your bosses because you aren't doing work for him. If he does, it's easy to explain to that boss that you don't work for the intern; you work for that boss and the salaried members of your team.
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