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Office politics - interns and graduates

post #1 of 13
4/3/10 at 6:24am
Thread Starter 
This summer, I began as an intern at a company which hired 15 other interns. They have made it very clear to us that only 3 of us will be chosen for a permanent position upon completing our 12 month internship.

I have found lately that it has started to get very competitive with a few of my colleagues (interns) beginning to do a few questionable things.

Has anybody been in a similar situation? I am afraid that if I do not do the same, then 'nice guys finish last' might be the story of my life by December.

Also, any general advice for how as an intern I can get myself into a better position to get one of those permanent roles?
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post #2 of 13
4/3/10 at 6:46am
Tough call. You have to go by the personalities of the ones doing the selecting. Only you know what they're like. As far the character question... it all depends on the company. Maybe they want to see you guys tear each other to shreds (Survival of the fittest). If people who lack integrity end up getting selected... you weren't going to fit in anyway, so you're better off. Just show respect and act like you belong there. Good luck.
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post #3 of 13
4/3/10 at 7:41am
Thread Starter 
The thing is, of the interns who are choosing to play dirty, they are doing a great job at putting on a show for the rest of the office while only the intern group know what is really going on - e.g. intern who pretends to love doing a particular job explicitly expresses this to the senior managers but turns around and talks badly about it/tell us he is sabotaging the tasks he is being assigned, when he is amongst the intern group, etc

I feel like I too should be playing this mind game with the rest of them but it's like selling my soul for a job.
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post #4 of 13
4/3/10 at 11:50am
are you an attractable female? if so start wearing knee high penskirts (never shorter unless you want to be in operations/marketing/legal which doesn't pay). if you're male find a closeted senior and give yourself to him. there's plenty, assuming you're in finance.
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post #5 of 13
4/3/10 at 11:54am
it goes against my nature and it was a rude awakening when i realised it but something i learned the hardway was this

in big companies, impressions are everything. self promoters go a long way. the best thing you can do is work like you've never worked before, and subtley let people know how hard you are working.

it might make you feel like a prick but its the only way unfortuantly. people just dont have the time to carefully monitor exactly what work everyone is producing and to what quality.
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post #6 of 13
4/3/10 at 12:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Herbert View Post
in big companies, impressions are everything. self promoters go a long way. the best thing you can do is work like you've never worked before, and subtley let people know how hard you are working.

Lots of truth in this post.
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post #7 of 13
4/3/10 at 1:45pm
It always pays to be a self-promoter (as long as you're not annoying about it). Think for a second about these scenarios: 1) Good worker and self-promoter 2) Bad worker and self-promoter 3) Good worker and quiet about it 4) Bad worker and quiet about it If you're a shitty worker, obviously you should try to spin things to appear to be as close to a good worker as possible, and if you're a good worker, you should self-promote, because if you don't another good worker who does self-promote will get noticed over you.
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post #8 of 13
4/3/10 at 2:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwcarter View Post
The thing is, of the interns who are choosing to play dirty, they are doing a great job at putting on a show for the rest of the office while only the intern group know what is really going on - e.g. intern who pretends to love doing a particular job explicitly expresses this to the senior managers but turns around and talks badly about it/tell us he is sabotaging the tasks he is being assigned, when he is amongst the intern group, etc

I feel like I too should be playing this mind game with the rest of them but it's like selling my soul for a job.

This post has me a bit confused - I don't understand how they're helping themselves if they're taking projects only to sabotage them later. I see how willingness to take any project would be a good thing, but it doesn't do any good to take a job only to screw it up.

My advice: If you have to sell your soul to get the job, you're not going to want the job anyway. Don't compromise your ethics just to get a job; doing so is likely to cause you a lot of grief down the line. You certainly want to do everything you can (within reason) to secure a position, but do you really want to take a job that requires you to do things that seem wrong to you? It seems to me that if you're already compromising your ethics in the internship, you're probably in for a lot more problems if you get the job.

This sounds like a tough situation. Best of luck with whatever strategy you choose.
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post #9 of 13
4/3/10 at 2:12pm
I think you should stop letting the other interns get in your head. Worrying about that will get you bumped from the position.

Speak with your managers to let them know that you're doing a good job (subtly) and to be friendly, maybe even have a real conversation about something interesting. Work hard and put in the extra effort that it requires.

Its up to you to decide whether you were the guy who did what it took to get the job or the guy who didnt.
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post #10 of 13
4/3/10 at 4:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwcarter View Post
The thing is, of the interns who are choosing to play dirty, they are doing a great job at putting on a show for the rest of the office while only the intern group know what is really going on - e.g. intern who pretends to love doing a particular job explicitly expresses this to the senior managers but turns around and talks badly about it/tell us he is sabotaging the tasks he is being assigned, when he is amongst the intern group, etc

This person is mindf***ing you. This is the same person that tells everyone they dont study and goes home and studies in the closet for 14 hours so no one sees and aces the exam, then acts like they were out partying all night. I bet you anything they are making sure each task is perfect. However, they hope that by spreading dissent among the interns and acting like this is all bullsh**t, you guys will manifest bad attitudes and your work will suffer accordingly. This person will be the first one to go to management and express concerns that morale may be slipping among the interns. Dont pay any attention to the other people. Try to find one manager who you get along with and volunteer to do anything they ask, even the most menial task. If you can get one manager who comes to you when they need something done right you will be far ahead of everyone else.
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post #11 of 13
4/3/10 at 4:33pm
This could be a drama on the WB.
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post #12 of 13
4/3/10 at 5:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry Off Eastenders View Post
This could be a drama on the WB.
or the backplot behind a mass murder horror movie
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post #13 of 13
4/3/10 at 10:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark it 8 View Post
This person is mindf***ing you. This is the same person that tells everyone they dont study and goes home and studies in the closet for 14 hours so no one sees and aces the exam, then acts like they were out partying all night. I bet you anything they are making sure each task is perfect. However, they hope that by spreading dissent among the interns and acting like this is all bullsh**t, you guys will manifest bad attitudes and your work will suffer accordingly. This person will be the first one to go to management and express concerns that morale may be slipping among the interns. Dont pay any attention to the other people. Try to find one manager who you get along with and volunteer to do anything they ask, even the most menial task. If you can get one manager who comes to you when they need something done right you will be far ahead of everyone else.

I never even thought of this but I definitely think you're onto it.

I've always been a quiet achiever so it's not in my comfort zone to let everyone know what I am doing and why they should hire me.

As of late, we've been having issues with interns stealing credit for other peoples work and getting away with it

story of my life
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