What to Do When You Receive an Offer

Congratulations! Getting your first internship offer is a very exciting experience. Follow our steps in order to ensure that you respond to your offer in the appropriate manner:

If You Want to Accept the Offer

  • Fantastic! Be sure that this is the internship that you truly want, because you cannot change your mind after you accept.
  • Many times, organizations will offer you the position verbally over the phone. Accept the position over the phone, then follow up with a thank you email in which you restate that you accept their offer and confirm your start dates.
  • Ask the internship coordinator if there is anything you can do to prepare for your first day.
  • If you have any questions for the internship coordinator, such as about the dress code, this is a good time to ask
  • See our email templates under Professional Correspondence in the Resource Manual if you need guidance on what to include in the email.

If You Need More Time

  • If you have received an offer but are waiting to hear back from another internship, you can ask for more time to think about the offer.
  • When requesting extra time, first tell the internship coordinator that the opportunity sounds very interesting, and then ask “When would you need my final decision by?”
    • Do not let the internship coordinator know that you are considering other offers.
  • The date the internship coordinator gives you is the date you must respond to them by.
    • Don’t string the organization along. They are extremely busy and need to hire interns as soon as possible.
  • If the date they request your response has arrived but you have not heard back from organizations you were waiting for, you still must tell the internship coordinator whether you accept their offer or not.
  • See our email templates under Professional Correspondence in the Resource Manual if you need guidance on what to include in the email.

If You Want to Reject the Offer

  • Be extremely prompt with your response if you know you want to turn down the offer. You want to allow the organization enough time to hire other interns.
  • Thank the internship coordinator sincerely for their offer and tell them that you regrettably have to decline their offer.
  • You do not have to justify your reason for turning down the offer.
  • See our email templates under Professional Correspondence in the Resource Manual if you need guidance on what to include in the email.