Feeling Stuck in an Unfulfilling Internship: Should I Quit and Find a Better Fit?

I am a final semester MBA student. Unlike other MBA colleges that have a summer internship, I had a winter internship where I was supposed to do a project. I am interning in an organization where there's no mentor or scope for acquiring a project (research or analysis), but I am required to do cold calls and make sales pitches over the phone, even though it's an area that I certainly don't want to enter into. I was interested in market research or analysis, as required for my degree project, but the company owner does not believe in it.

The period of the internship is 2 months, January and February. Due to the above-stated points, I feel disinterested and demotivated all day long. Kindly suggest something. Should I leave the internship and find something else?

Dear Mediaboy,

Choosing the Organization for Your Project

What made you "choose" that organization for your project? Is "required to do cold calls and make sales pitches over the phone, even though it's the area which I certainly don't want to enter into," a part of the project? Why was the project not clearly defined and mutually agreed upon before you accepted it? Unless there is evidence or information to the contrary, I would just like to hint that this organization is simply exploiting your position as a needy MBA student to get the work required to be done by an employee whom they would have been required to pay a salary.

Warm regards.

Communicating Your Purpose and Project Goals

Simply share with your existing organization what your purpose is for joining them. Immediately decide on the project title, contents, etc. Politely inform them that you are not there as a telesalesperson, so if it is not related to your project, convey this to them politely. If they are not providing any specific project, convey politely that you will simply resign and seek a project at a new company.

One month is sufficient in any organization, whether new or existing. I have experienced a similar situation where, in three days, I communicated my concerns with the company. I made it clear that I am there to offer my services free of charge and not to waste time. The organization also needs my services equally.

The situation changed, and I received cooperation. I completed the project within the stipulated time in the same organization.

Regards,
Manoj Chaudhary
M.B.A. (HR)

Dear Boy, you are also committing the same mistake as many others; you didn't provide full particulars. You are pursuing an MBA, which is fine, but in what field? I have to presume it should be either Marketing or something else.

You have already consumed one month of January and are moving into February. With hardly one month gone, what can you accomplish in such a short time? Is it possible to restart with a fresh project at a new organization? If so, can you complete it in February? Consider finding answers to all these questions.

I would suggest that you first discuss with your Head of Department (HOD) or your Guide, and seek their advice on what is practically achievable at this point. Are they willing to reschedule this project for another month? Explore other possibilities like a new topic or a different organization. Where are you conducting your internship? Is it in Mumbai? I don't think it would be challenging to find an alternative organization there. If there seems to be no possibility, try to salvage this internship itself. Meet with the concerned officer, explain your difficulties, and request their assistance to successfully complete the project. If necessary, ask your guide to intervene and communicate with them as well.

All the best.

Regards,
Kumar S.

Advice on Internship Decisions

My free suggestion would be: if you think whatever work you are doing right now will help, then continue; otherwise, quit early and find another opportunity. Do not mess up with your projects, especially in a country like INDIA where the value we give for education is solely based on the marks card. If you only need a certificate, go ahead with the same internship. If you want to learn something new and that too as per your heart's advice, then you need a change.

Regards

Embrace Learning During Your Internship

My suggestion is to try to complete your work during your internship period. This is your learning phase, and even if you are not interested, whatever you learn will help you later, albeit not necessarily in the way you expect. For example, cold calls can teach you a smarter way of dealing with people over the phone, making you bolder and more prompt. The best thing is that you won't feel let down by failure, as facing failures in cold calls helps you learn to overcome them. Emotionally, it strengthens you to face the challenges of the corporate world. I was once an introvert who greatly benefited from making such cold calls. Therefore, my suggestion is to approach learning with an open mind, as I believe it may be too late to switch organizations now.

For every intern or fresher, an organization can be a wrong start because you might feel that the other side of the meadow is greener, whereas it is not! Think and introspect on the following:

- What career did you opt for when you joined them?
- What kind of career opportunity are you seeking?
- How different is what you are getting from what you opted for?
- What were your expectations when you joined?
- How and what expectations have not been fulfilled?

If you need further help, do get in touch.

Regards

As rightly stated, the problem is unclear. However, from your post, I'm trying to understand it, and please correct me if I am wrong somewhere. I am a final semester MBA student. Unlike other MBA colleges having a summer internship, I had a winter internship wherein I was supposed to do a project. I was interested in market research or analysis.

From the above two things, I believe your major subject in your MBA would be Marketing. I am sure people do not like to do sales, but I do not understand why you don't wish to do cold calling. Please understand there's a misconception that cold calling equals a sales job.

Careers Involving Cold Calling

Cold calling would be a part of so many careers - Sales is only obvious, and apart from it, other careers that have cold calling as a part are: Business Developer/Executive, Recruitment, Marketing (I hope you know how marketing is different than sales), and yes, even Market Research.

As far as my viewpoint is concerned, this is helping you achieve a base and a foundation for your dream role - Market Research Analysis. In order to analyze the data, the most important step is to collate data. You'd have to do surveys, you'd have to interact with people and ask them their ideas, and this would require cold calling, isn't it?

Or do you think that when you pass out finally with your degree and go to interviewers saying you'd love to do market research analysis, they'd give you data that was fetched by the hard work of someone else? Do not fancy such a liberal role at the beginning of your career.

I had to carry out a market survey for my MR subject as a part of the curriculum, and I know how much effort, cold calling, pitching, networking, etc., helps.

Though all think sales is of lower caliber and it won't help you, honestly speaking, 8-10 months of sales experience would change a person's attitude towards work.

Advice for Your Career Path

In my suggestion, don't quit. This is one essential step to reach your goal. Perhaps you'd understand its importance after you pass out and would understand how your cold calling and networking helped you.

Also, you're doing an MBA, so you are aspiring to be a manager one day. Eventually, you'd come across projects that don't interest you personally but are inevitable for the company's growth. Would you quit?

It's just a matter of a month now. Learn as much as you can, and trust me, you'd eventually be thankful and grateful to God that you got this opportunity.

All the best and may God bless you 

Continue with the existing internship in that organization. However, try to learn more about the workings of different departments as well; it will increase your knowledge. Don't get disappointed, as such situations do occur in everyone's life.

Regards

Like other members mentioned, please provide the following details as soon as possible if you are serious about getting accurate and realistic suggestions or advice from this forum.

1. What's your MBA major?
2. If not the name of the organization you are doing your project in, what field, domain, or area of expertise are they in? And what's the size of this company—both in terms of numbers and turnover?
3. What was the basis for selecting this company for the internship?
4. Does your HOD or guide at college know or give you clearance about doing the winter internship in this company?
5. Are there any other MBA interns in your group?
6. Have you discussed the current situation or scenario with your college guide? If yes, what was their opinion?

A lot of what can be suggested would depend on your answers to the above queries. However, going by the limited information you mentioned, "Should I leave the internship and find something else?" may not be an option you can exercise—given that the remaining time is too short for you to do anything worthwhile elsewhere.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Interest in Market Research or Analysis

The questions asked by Mr. Hansdah and TajSateesh are very valid, and you need to answer them first. Additionally, can you please define in your own words what "Market Research or Analysis" means to you?

Your statement about "having a summer internship and had a winter internship" is intriguing. Could you please share more about your winter session, what you learned, and your project work there?

Learning Opportunities in Internships

It's important to understand that you must not expect that in your internship or the opportunities provided, someone will teach you everything. You have to learn and seize the opportunities on your own. As a student, you need to demonstrate your learning skills and interest in the work. No one will voluntarily offer their services or come to you saying, "Let me teach you this and that."

Can you let us know about the work you have been assigned this month (during your current internship period), which is almost completed?

Taking Corrective Action

Lastly, since you have realized your mistakes and acknowledged that you do not want to continue with the current situation that does not meet your project requirements, you must not continue wasting your time there. You should report back to your university or the institute that provided you this opportunity, or to your mentor, with complete details. Subsequently, you need to work in the right direction and concentrate on your project report and the conditions that meet your requirements.

Now, you need to overcome the situation. As you mentioned, the area of work and conditions in your current internship do not align with your project demands and career path. You must take corrective action and quit immediately.

Regards.

Dear Seniors,

Thank you for your kind help. At that time, I was just in panic mode, hence things weren't made clear in my post. Yes, I am doing an MBA in Marketing. I was seeking a research-based role in the organization. I was told we had enough work in that area, but on my first day, I was informed that there was a new service to be launched for which I needed to pitch to people (via cold calls) and seek marketing alliances. Though I was briefed about this service by the head of the company, I was further made to learn of it by the earlier data that was saved by someone.

As a sport, I took up the challenge (not worrying about my main project) and tried for 20-22 days to give it some thought. Furthermore, there were two other BUs of the company, and soon the work flowing from that area as well was handed over to me. For example, an event was coming up for which I was told to get sponsorship, again by cold calling. I tried my best but got rejected by 3-4 places. Adding to it, I was asked to gain advertisements for our publication and gain subscriptions too. Suddenly, in a week, all this came pouring in.

Here I'd like to mention that I have had four internships and five industry-based projects earlier in the field of media & entertainment, where I seek to build my career. This is a print media group. On further investigation from other colleagues here, I came to know that I was filled into a place (or internship) where earlier two marketing persons had come and gone and tried for this service for almost a year and could not sell.

Even though I'd strongly mentioned my eagerness to search for a suitable project and asked to assign me a mentor, the head of the company does not show interest. He tells me to find something, collate, and do what you're required to submit at your college (read: he does not want any research or survey to be done by me which could help his organization). I even asked one day for his opinion on Market Research; he jokingly said he does not believe in it and said it's all flawed (citing some examples from the industry).

I was given two months to do a project from my university. At this juncture, I feel I should resign, but I am not very confident in seeking a project just in a week. Add to that I am in Mumbai, and I am not a resident of it (staying at some friend's place). I have been giving it a thought for a week now, and what I am gonna request here is an early leave, say by mid-February. I still have no mentor, no datasets, no guidance, and in the very first week itself, I mentioned to my head I am NOT interested in sales or BD.

I am still thinking about how to do a small survey or a project and file a report at my department. But sadly, I guess I lost an opportunity to do some great job while I had the time.

Thank you for all your support and suggestions. I would still seek your opinion on my case, dear seniors.

And yes, my university was not able to find an internship for me. Hence, I took the initiative and secured an internship on my own. Things would just go haywire if I report back, as I strongly believe that the department from where I come (i.e., Calcutta) would find it easy to put the blame on me since I found this internship on my own. They'd be worried about the image of the department, as I am the torchbearer here, etc. But in reality, no one gives a damn here about the place I come from or what university I belong to.

Answering to Tajsateesh:

1. What's your MBA Major?
- Marketing

2. If not the name of the Organization you are doing your Project in, what field/domain or area of expertise are they into?
- Print Media, Finance Magazine. And what's the size of this company -- BOTH in terms of numbers & turnover?
- 20 employees (including me), Turnover - Not Sure.

3. What was the basis for your selecting this company for the Internship?
- I wanted to get exposure in a print media group, hence...

4. Does your HOD/Guide @ college know or give you the clearance about you doing the Winter Internship in this company?
- The Placement Officers are assigned to get projects. They were unable to find me in a media group, hence I had to seek on my own.

5. Are there any other MBA Interns in your group?
- No. I am the only one here.

6. Have you discussed the current situation/scenario with your college guide? If yes, what was their opinion?
I haven't discussed it with my college guide yet, mainly because I feel all hell will break loose once I start telling them. Again, my college is in the east and I am interning in the west of the country - so on call it would be really difficult to explain my situation.

Hey, do not worry, it is all fine. It happens. I hope you're in a clearer state now than before.

Yes, I am doing an MBA in Marketing. I was seeking a research-based role in the organization. I was told we had enough work in that area, but on my first day, I was informed that there was a new service to be launched for which I needed to pitch to people (via cold calls) and seek marketing alliances. Though I was briefed about this service by the head of the company, I was further made to learn about it through earlier data saved by someone.

As a sport, I took up the challenge (not worrying about my main project) and tried for 20-22 days to give it some thought. Furthermore, there were two other BUs of the company, and soon the work flowing from that area was also handed over to me. For example, an event was coming up for which I was told to get sponsorship, again by cold calling. I tried my best but got rejections from 3-4 places. Adding to it, I was asked to gain advertisements for our publication and gain subscriptions too. Suddenly, in a week, all this came pouring in.

You mentioned that you were looking to do some market research. Can you quickly give what you wanted to research about? Like, say you wish to do an internal survey (survey the employees) or an external survey (survey the outsiders).

If an internal survey, what should be your topic or area of the survey?

If an external survey, what is it that you'd want to know? The company's image or its product and/or services, or what?

Even though I'd mentioned strongly my eagerness to search for a suitable project and asked to assign me a mentor, the head of the company does not show interest. He tells me to find something, collate, and do what you're required to submit at your college (read: he does not want any research or survey to be done by me which could help his organization). I even asked one day for his opinion on Market Research; he jokingly said he does not believe in it and said it's all flawed (citing some examples from the industry).

Put all the above-mentioned details in ink on paper and then put that forward to your manager there.

You can convince him by saying that you'd continue the task given to you, but would appreciate it if they would allow you to also carry out another project which would help you per se in your career molding.

Give all your facts and figures.

Honestly, they may be testing you. You're a marketing person. They've assigned you a task to bring in subscribers and sponsors. That's only to enhance your convincing skills.

Sell your idea to them. Convince them and get the approval and start your research ASAP.

If possible, try to make a rough draft of your questionnaire also before you go to convince him. That would show your seriousness. Do not expect someone to take you seriously unless you convince them you're dead serious about it.

Be confident. Don't argue, just convince. There's a lot of difference between the two...

What I am going to request here is an early leave, say by mid-February. I still have no mentor, no data sets, no guidance, and in the very first week itself, I mentioned to my head I am NOT interested in sales or BD.

Do not honestly leave early. It's only a learning opportunity. Moreover, leaving early means running away from the problem. Whereas all that managers ought to do is tackle problems. Take this as a learning path. More so, I also showed you how to proceed further. And do that ASAP in order to finish your survey and all your analysis well in time.

I am still thinking about how to do a small survey or a project and file a report at my department. But sadly, I guess, I lost an opportunity to do some great job while I had the time.

There is still time. If you look at it, you have 28 days still to your credit to finish your task. But you'll have to work a little overtime. I'm sure you'd be able to handle that. Good luck and God bless you 

Things are a bit clearer now. Firstly, Dinesh was spot on target when he said: "...this organization is simply exploiting your position as a needy MBA student to get the work required to be done by an employee whom they would have been required to pay a salary."

But now that you are neck-deep, so to say, into it and don't have a lot of time to make a switch-over or to go back to your college to report the factual situation, I guess you only need to MAKE THE BEST USE OF IT.

You mentioned that the tasks/activities given to you were already tried out earlier and didn't succeed. Can you get into the details and link them up to your Core Topic? The idea is to bring about or generate the Report you need to submit to your college [from factual data]. My 'feeling' is that it can be done—maybe you can take the help of the marketing members in this Forum.

Whether to give a copy of the Report to this company can be thought of later—given your comments ["...he jokingly said he does not believe in it and said it's all flawed..."].

However, there are a couple of aspects of any working environment that you need to bear in mind:

1. Nothing is put on a platter for your convenience to learn—in typical jargon, NO Spoonfeeding can or ought to be expected. It's up to the individual concerned to figure out how to correlate the situation with the ultimate goal.

2. Looking at such situations from a different perspective, there's NOTHING called coincidence in life—every happening HAS a reason, WITHOUT EXCEPTION. Just because it doesn't seem apparent while one is going/passing through that confusing phase doesn't mean the reason(s) doesn't/don't exist. It's up to the individual to figure it/them out.

In your case, maybe you are missing some learning opportunities—just look around and I am sure you will discover it/them. Just WIDEN your glance and look at the larger picture.

All the Best.

Regards, TS

Thanks for the replies, seniors. I am still going to ponder upon this issue this weekend to see how many positives or negatives there are. As of now, the beam balance is quite heavier on the negative side. All your kind support is highly appreciated.

Thanks for the replies, seniors. I am still going to ponder upon this issue this weekend. I will see how many pluses or negatives are there. As of now, the beam balance is quite heavier on the negative side. All your kind support is highly appreciated.

Whatever your decision may be, let us know and don't hesitate to ask us for whatever you may require. Please tell us precisely, as all of us are willing to help you in any way possible. All the best.

Regards,
Kumar.s.

ALL THE BEST, Mediaboy.

I must admit—NOT MANY at your age and experience level look at things as objectively as you 'seem' to be doing—weighing the pros and cons BEFORE making a decision. Most wake up AFTER they get hit.

Do keep this forum informed of your decision—not for the sake of 'reporting' but for the benefit of others who may pass through a similar phase later in their careers.

All the best again.

Regards,
TS

I finally put in my papers yesterday. An incident yesterday went in my favor, for which I did not take the initiative. Being the payday, the admin/HR manager called me in person for evaluation and assessment. He went into deliverables that are expected of me, else I would not get a 'good' letter and other things. Taking the cue, I told him frankly I never asked for sales but took up the challenge to try the exercise. I also told him frankly that my core is MarComm or CorpComm, but the company doesn’t really have an orientation towards it. The research wing is entirely related to the finance domain, which is not my core, and I am being put out of my core.

He suggested himself that there are two routes:

1. Either I continue to achieve targets or conversions. A slight detour in profile can be arranged, OR

2. I relieve myself at this point.

This happened around 11 AM. I requested him to give me till 5 PM in the evening to think about it. Around 3 PM, I was called in by the owner/promoter, who told me that I took SALES on my own; I was never told to just do it. Well, okay, I did not react at all. I stayed calm. He further added that since I was not comfortable (read: I told the admin man frankly), what I can do is try Communications instead of sales. Even in that, I would just have to document what they do in soft copies and show how convergence is achieved (read: strategy, concept, creativity, etc., would not be a part of it since they KNOW how to do it). I took the bitter pill of hearing him out and said alright, I’ll align with it. However, by the end of the day, I realized that practically there is no other work besides sales for me, and it was just put as an option as again I was told they would proportion my daily activities (and report them to three people). Something did not make sense to me, and I reassessed that neither would I have a value addition nor would they benefit from me.

At 5 PM, I requested the Admin Manager to give me 5 minutes of his time. I told him I want to be relieved, ensuring to complete the remaining tasks of the day by the end of the day.

End of story.

Regarding my project, I think I am going to do an individual survey regarding perceptual mapping of their magazine and put it in. At least I will know what the market thinks of their product as an external stakeholder.

Thanks for all your support.

Just wanted to update on this. Two days after I resigned, when I went to collect my letter and stipend, the company reneged on giving me the letter. The owners went into an argument for no reason, found faults in me, and the HR/admin manager himself, who had offered me two options earlier (either to resign, for which he would give me a one-month letter, or to continue towards the completion of targets assigned), now blatantly tells me to my face, "Letter won't be issued. It's not in my hands."

To save my dignity, I didn't put up a scene nor did I fall into arguments. I left politely. Just so you know, I don't even have a work letter now, something which the organization themselves told me they would provide. I don't even know whether I should mention this intern period in my CV anymore. Seniors and friends, please advise.

I am sorry to hear about your plight, a part of which I believe you may have brought upon yourself by not taking due care in the initial stages. To salvage the situation, what you can do now is discuss the matter with any senior with whom you have worked and try to obtain their personal certification or endorsement of the project to the extent you were involved.

Even if you decide to take on an alternative project, it is important to truthfully mention this experience in your CV or report. There are certain reputable organizations that appreciate mistakes made and the learning that comes from them.

Warm regards.

Thank you, Raj, for the advice. I am trying my best. Yes, I know due diligence was not taken when I chose to intern in the organization, as I just had an opinion about them by reading some online articles and their website. I had absolutely no contact with anyone working for them or knew someone who had any contact with the organization for any reason. I just applied and went there. I won't be making the same mistake again in my life.

How to Research a Company When Seeking a Prospective Employer

I need to learn how to research a company when seeking a prospective employer. All ideas from dear friends and seniors would be highly appreciated.

Dear M'Boy, now let us come to action. Read once more the post of Ankita dated 30.1.13 and let's find your answers quickly. My son also did a project in Marketing (Research) for his MBA in Bangalore. Let me know whether some of his experience would be of help to you.

Regards, Kumar S.