# Am I Misreading This, Or Was I Fired?



## Darkest NiTe (Mar 3, 2013)

So, I worked at this internship for 100 hours. I was also, simultaneously, looking for a full-time job. The company (associated with a University) seemed really excited to have me as an intern, and the boss (who didn't really check his finances) thought he could offer me full-time. At around the 60th hour, he told me it probably wouldn't happen. When I got my 100 hours, he told me that it definitely couldn't happen, but he'd offer me an extra 60 hours (so I can have some income as I await a job offer).

Anyways, supervisor I was working with (we became friends) told me that we were at a phase that he couldn't find use for me, so I was put on someone else's project. I worked on this lady's project for a little bit. I'm at ~125 hours, and JUST got an email tonight from the boss thanking me for helping out, but telling me (paraphrased), "we no longer need your services, Katie said she's got a good handle of the project, thank you for your help, good luck on the job search."

I'm very...confused. I can't decide whether I was terminated, whether they just didn't have funds, or whether I did something wrong. I responded graciously, also reminding him that I still have ~35 hours.

I just need to unpack this. Kinda salty tonight.


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## General Lee Awesome (Sep 28, 2014)

Fired


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## TallGreen (May 6, 2017)

Was this a small company?


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)

you were let go


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## Darkest NiTe (Mar 3, 2013)

@*TallGreen* Research institution, with the University that I am at.

I guess I was, obviously, "let go" by its very definition, and no one on this forum can REALLY help without ALL proper context, but still. Kind of sucks, but also kind of works in my benefit.


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## TallGreen (May 6, 2017)

Darkest NiTe said:


> @*TallGreen* Research institution, with the University that I am at.
> 
> I guess I was, obviously, "let go" by its very definition, and no one on this forum can REALLY help without ALL proper context, but still. Kind of sucks, but also kind of works in my benefit.


It looks like they are making decisions without thinking them through, why offer the extra hours at all if they know they can't hire you?


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## angelfish (Feb 17, 2011)

Just off the bat, it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong in an interpersonal sense. It sounds like they tried to find spots for you for a while and eventually sort of gave up. Hard for us to know whether that's mainly because of funding, because there was some other internal change, or because you didn't have the necessary skills/talents/qualifications. You don't really have anything to lose, so I'd just talk to your previous supervisor and see if she knows what really happened. I'm sorry for you going through this, as it's always shitty. Fortunately I think it falls more in the category of "internship ended" rather than "fired", and you can probably still use them as a reference in your future job search.


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## SilentScream (Mar 31, 2011)

TallGreen said:


> It looks like they are making decisions without thinking them through, why offer the extra hours at all if they know they can't hire you?


Well, I think they were being as gracious as they could and may really have stretched as much as they could and couldn't anymore. 

A lot of companies right now are feeling the financial crunch what with the uncertain economy (unlike what people are being led to believe, we're not in a boom). There are probably going to be more firings/layoffs happening soon. There are indicators that 2019 will flatline and 2020 will be the start of a recessionary period.


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## TallGreen (May 6, 2017)

Arrogantly Grateful said:


> Well, I think they were being as gracious as they could and may really have stretched as much as they could and couldn't anymore.
> 
> A lot of companies right now are feeling the financial crunch what with the uncertain economy (unlike what people are being led to believe, we're not in a boom). There are probably going to be more firings/layoffs happening soon. There are indicators that 2019 will flatline and 2020 will be the start of a recessionary period.


Here we go I guess.


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## nablur (Mar 9, 2017)

let go.... sorry dude, it happens.


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## Tropes (Jul 7, 2016)

Sounds like they tried keeping you as long as they could. You will likely be able get a decent recommendation.


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## Chompy (May 2, 2015)

Companies need to plan a little better...sounds like they were trying to get cheap labor.


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## Rascal01 (May 22, 2016)

Three possibilities come to mind:

There really was a financial issue. Budgets drive everything. Managers are human and err. Interns are expendable when it comes to funding.

You were not a good fit for the internship or simply not liked; they saw no future for you there and let you you move on.

Just as likely, there was someone they had in mind for the position, and eased you out of the way. Sometimes it’s a friend of a friend, a child of a staffer or someone recommended by senior management.

My experience has been these things are favorable rather than not. There is something better in your future and you need to move forward to where you need to be.

I once worked in a zoo filling wheelbarrows with animal droppings. It got to be a very difficult place to work due to political changes in city government. Flash forward by two and a half years and I found myself going to the White House regularly due to a job change. It was a monumental step forward in my life.

You have no idea what wonderful things your future holds. No one does. All that has taken place for you is that you were shown where you don’t need to be. Don’t be too bothered by what you have experienced. It may turn out to be a gift.


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