TLDR – Internship was not as the ad described, got sexually harassed by the staff during a tour, during lunch would-be-boss started drinking, brought me to a pub to do a final interview and continued to drink. Weird situations started happening. Would-be-boss drove me to back to the train station while under the influence. Randomly stopped to pick up his son from school. I got offered the job and a few weeks later when he called me for my response, i asked for more time. He called me unprofessional and retracted the offer. Thank GOD!
This happened in early 2017, my university course had an industrial year for internships which i partook in. I applied for all the big companies student programmes but didn't hear back. So i went with one of the ads that the university was promoting. Big mistake! It was for a Tester and IT administrator role for a plastic/packaging film manufacture in England, Hereford. I thought great, 45 minutes from where my parents live and the salary of £15,500 was ok while having no rent.
Fast forward. I get offered an interview after meeting the intern i would be replacing. They are also from my university and recommended me. I arrived at the train station bright eyed and desperate for a internship as the clock was ticking until the semester started. I thought if i didn't get this one i may have to proceed to my final year and forgo the experience which i did not want to do.
I see the recruiter waiting for me by his car. Nicely dressed, black suit with no tie and a white shirt that was unbuttoned a few too many at the top. His name was Michael and i would be his intern for his IT department. After a firm handshake he drove me to the industrial estate where the all-in-one factory/warehouse/office was. After a short tour of the place, we got to the basement where I realised the IT department was just him and the intern. Big red flag for a company of this size. But i just overlooked it for now.
Michael showed what he was working on with the intern and its a full blown full stack program for digital stock taking in visual basic. First of all, i did not apply for a Full Stack Developer role and there was no mention of it in the ad. Plus that is an old programming language that is mostly not used anymore. Just smile and wave at this point.
After seeing Michael's department, he took me upstairs to meet the “phone ladies” as he called them. As soon as i walked in the door, i was sexually harassed by a very-plus-size older women who commented on him bringing in a new sexy “young one” while the other two laughed. An awkward wave and hello from the threshold then i was out of there.
Fast forward to lunch time. Michael then took me to the Cosy Club which is a pub/restaurant. He asked me if i drink, i said that i do drink a bit which he must have thought i wanted a pint now. He got both of us drinks and a meal. It's noon but thought one couldn't hurt. After the meal, he showed me around central Hereford and reimbursed my travel expenses. We stopped at his favourite pub, which was called the The Saracens Head, to do a relaxed interview as he put it.
Seated at a table not too far from the bar, he decided to start the interview. I did my best to answer his questions but it was made more difficult by the fact that he was ordering pint after pint for me and himself. I had two and he has 3. The other intern showed up to have a drink as well. While Michael was in the loo. I asked the intern if Michael normally drinks this much and he said they usually go out for a drink at lunch. Uh oh.
This is when weird shit started happening. A drunk guy at the bar who was there listening this whole time came over and started continuing the interview. Since the intern was now here. I acted professionally and humoured the drunk guy and answered the questions. When Michael came back, he didn't stop the drunk guy and just sat there watching. The pub started getting more busy which didn't seem strange until a Bride came in with her full dress on. A wedding reception was starting, at this point i realised why there was so many flowers and ribbons everywhere.
Michael did not like this noise and suggested that we call it a day. The intern also left to go back to work. Michael drove me under the influence to the train station, i had no idea where i was so i just got in the car but we stopped at the Cathedral. He said that he was picking someone up and ask if i minded. I said no. It was his son who just got out of school. I awkwardly said hello to his kid and shook his hand for some reason. He finally took me to the station.
Before i left, he offered me the job and said he would be in touch.
A week or two later, i got another interview offer from a big stock broker in Bristol and was hoping to get that instead. Michael called not long after to ask if i had thought about the offer. I asked for more time as i was still weighing my options. Probably shouldn't have said the last part.
I was going to make my decision and accept it if this other opportunity fizzled out. Michael then started berating me about being indecisive and unprofessional. He then retracted the offer.
Thank GOD!
I ended up getting the stock broker internship, learned a ton during my year there. I also got paid 2.5k more and was in a much more interesting city. It was also a FTSE 100 company which now looks great on my CV.
Though the experience was unpleasant at the time, its a great story which i tell whenever i get the chance. If you end up in this situation, just leave and don't put up with it like i did.