Intern

I have served in a few large corporations through my working life. During those tenures, I had my fair share of supervising interns, be they local or foreign kids.

I observed that in general, they start off rather timid, unsure of themselves. Towards the end of their 8-12 weeks or so, you can see that they have grown in confidence as well as in their network among staff. Most try their best not to step on anyones toes, towing the line, even when the line appears crooked. Some staff members would enjoy bullying those poor souls who are more or less stuck for the duration of the internship.

Against that background and experience, its refreshing to listen to one intern (in another company) who described how she had told off her supervisor who was being rude, not just to her, but others as well.

This supervisor brags about having worked in the company for 29 years. He probably thinks that it gives him the right to be abusive towards all others who have served less time.

The young woman was one week into her internship when he was upset with her over something. The supervisor wasted no time to grab his chance to show who's boss. He raised his voice at her in plain view of the rest of the staff in the department.

What he didnt bargain for was that this young woman had learned early on not to let anyone walk all over her, and to stand up for herself and others against injustice. She looked him straight in the eyes and told him firmly, ”Please do tell me if I'm wrong but you dont have to raise your voice with me!” Imagine his shock to be spoken to in that manner. By a 'lowly' intern at that!

Whats interesting was what followed in the next days. He no longer uses abusive language on the kid although he continued with his usual behaviour with others. Great for the kid, but honestly, I dont understand how that reputable company could allow such behaviour at all. In my environment, he would've been marched to the HR office twenty eight and a half years ago.

In my earlier post, I had related the fact that I was in an abusive relationship. He only stopped his threatening behaviour including abusive language when I took the risk of standing up against him after a long period. I should have had the courage of that kid much earlier.

I know for certain that the young woman will be successful in whatever she does. I also hope that she will share her stories for others to learn early in their lives.