First, the good news: After sending out multiple applications over spring break and having what I thought was a positive interview a week later, (followed by some anxious waiting) I finally got a DC internship offer! I will be working in communications editing the website, writing press releases, and attending briefings and hearings on the hill. It’s very similar to what I was doing at my previous DC internship last semester, but in a completely different environment and a completely different company.
The offer was bittersweet: about two hours before I got the offer e-mail, I got a call from another company that wanted to interview me. This (super competitive, I discovered) internship also focused on communications, and I would be doing many similar things, but I would also be dabbling in event planning. Plus, unlike the first internship, this one was paid.
Here’s the real dilemma, and it’s one I had been in before: I had to reply to the first offer by Monday the 12th. My interview with the second company wasn’t until Thursday the 8th. It was incredibly unlikely that I would know if I had the second one before I had to either accept or turn down the first.
I wanted to handle this semester’s situation professionally. Unfortunately, there was not much I could do to change anyone’s mind. After my interview on Thursday, I asked the second company to try to let me know by Monday morning. They told me that I made the top three, but that they could not make a final decision and to not hold out. And so I happily accepted the first internship – with about an hour to spare. It was a tricky situation, but I somehow doubt that this will be the last time I have to go through it.
You speak truth. I went through the exact situation this last week, although I had the benefit of being notified on time. Your situation was way trickier. Nonetheless, sounds like the internship you accepted is right on par with what you want to do. A million congrats!!!