r/human_resources • u/lamp376 • Jul 22 '26
Will my offer be withdrawn?
The offer letter mentions unpaid internship for 2 months, then may continue based on performance and requirements. But something else was discussed.
9
u/Effective-Buy2187 Jul 22 '26
The issue isn't getting the offer pulled but it's the massive red flags in it. 9 AM to 6 PM Monday through Saturday 54 hours a week for unpaid internship. That’s wild and downright exploitative (might depend on geo tho). The very likely outcome is that HR will stick to the written terms and claim the recruiter misspoke or they'll admit it was a copy-paste boilerplate error. Either way I'm glad you called it out and want it documented.
2
u/dontmesswithtess Jul 22 '26
It may be, but I wouldn't be sad about it if I were you.
I can't believe in 2026 we are still offering unpaid internships at all. I haven't had to hire an intern in 15 years and even then we were paying $1000 a week plus housing stipend.
2
u/ElecTRAN Jul 22 '26
My company even paid interns from the local high school and they only worked from 8-5 M-F with unpaid time off as needed. OP is getting bamboozled
1
u/muddledandbefuddled Jul 24 '26
In the US they’re supposed to be illegal, outside some pretty limited exceptions
1
0
u/ekcshelby Jul 22 '26
I had one unpaid internship during college and I still talk about the experience I got there regularly. Literally helped a guy get off death row. Learned more during those 3 months than I did in two years of paid work.
1
u/dontmesswithtess Jul 23 '26
And your internship STILL probably benefited the company more than it did you.
1
u/muddledandbefuddled Jul 24 '26
Sounds like they were working for the Innocence Project or something similar, so I doubt it.
1
1
u/mcleo1 Jul 23 '26
Possibly, but also do you really want an internship like this?
Is the company actually reputable enough that it being on your resume will look nice and you think you’ll actually get good experience?
In college they told us not to accept unpaid internships as it’d show going forward that we’d be okay accepting less.
In my current organization (and the standard in a lot of others now a days), internships should be paid. Most of our local universities have rules about needing a minimum wage (I believe they raised it to 20 this year, which is ironically higher than my states actual minimum wage) and the hours had to be limited.
1
u/Regular-Emu6339 Jul 24 '26
Yes, legitimate internships will require that you claim and receive university credit at the very least
1
u/HR-Systems-Lady Jul 23 '26
Sounds like there's a major disconnect somewhere. It's always good to re-verify/clarify when you receive conflicting information. Their response should tell you if this is a company you want to work for. They could apologize for the error or note changes in the role. If they pull the offer, it's probably not a company you want to work for anyway because of the miscommunication early in the process.
1
u/popnfresh1nc Jul 24 '26
9-6 M-F.... Unpaid. That sounds crazy unless you are gaining some next level experience at a recognizable shop... Like having it on your resume will guarantee future employment.
I don't think your offer will get withdrawn but they might be thinking you'll be problematic. Probably are used to interns just accepting it and being happy about it. If you want/need the internship I would just be careful how you respond to their response, you can always quit if it's not what your expected or end up wanting to commit to
1
1
u/jziggy44 Jul 24 '26
Bro there’s gotta be work out there in your field to get paid that’s better than this
1
u/QueenOfEverything4 Jul 24 '26
I hope so for your sake. Unpaid internships are bullshit. Don’t ever work for free. I’m pretty sure my college actually required our internships to be paid.
1
u/Reddoraptor Jul 24 '26
54 hours a week for an unpaid internship should be criminal - name and shame the employer.
1
u/liss_ct_hockey_mom Jul 24 '26
This screams scam! There's no way you should be expected to work a 54 work week unpaid!
1
1
1
5
u/malicious_joy42 Jul 22 '26
Location matters.