Should I go?

July 1, 2018 11:18 AM

I just found out there is a company meeting tomorrow and I am wondering if I should re-arrange travel to get there.

I am a summer intern for a company and I just found out there is a brainstorm meeting tomorrow (but most calling in). I am currently with family elsewhere. My plan was to work from where I am, taking calls etc. but now I'm worried that I should be there.

I can rearrange travel plans without extra cost (I am on miles) but I worry it looks bad that as an intern I am not there. The most senior partners are likely there, and they are the ones who recruited me. They work hard and value others who do. My direct manager won't be there.

There was a communication issue which is why I just found out now - they forgot to include me on the invite.

I am truly torn about what to do. I want to make a good impression and work hard. I think I am going to stay but I feel anxious that I am not going. Am I overthinking?

posted by treetop89 to Work & Money (24 answers total)

I would go.
posted by jbenben at 11:21 AM on July 1, 2018

My work experience is in the UK and I wasn't trying to climb any kind of corporate ladder, maybe that doesn't apply to you. But I wouldn't go. You aren't paid as an employee and they didn't invite you. Did you raise the alarm with them that you found out about it? If not I would just.... not go. Then say you didn't get an invite. In my previous jobs if you were trying hard and bending over backwards there was no advantage to it.
posted by catspajammies at 11:22 AM on July 1, 2018 [11 favorites]

I would go too, it be sure to make up the time to your family later. (Assuming you mean wife and kids, not parents/siblings).
posted by saucysault at 11:23 AM on July 1, 2018

Can you call in like the others? If so, I'd do that.
posted by rpfields at 11:23 AM on July 1, 2018 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: I'm with siblings so it's not a big deal to leave. And I can call in.
posted by treetop89 at 11:24 AM on July 1, 2018

Best answer: Dial in to the call if you really feel you must be a part of this meeting.

They forgot to include you on the invite. I'm not trying to be unkind here but you do not matter that much to them. And I assume you're out of town due to prearranged plans, and aren't just playing hooky tomorrow, right? Please don't let them own your time off.

People will respect you more if you respect yourself first.
posted by phunniemee at 11:25 AM on July 1, 2018 [81 favorites]

Yeah, you didn't know, so it's reasonable that you're otherwise disposed, and since they invited you late after forgetting I think calling in would show the requisite amount of go-getterism.
posted by rhizome at 11:31 AM on July 1, 2018 [11 favorites]

Did you clear your plan to work remotely with your manager in advance? If so, just ask your manager if you need to attend this in person. Most would probably say you don't.

If you didn't clear your plan in advance, and are relying on a policy that it's generally OK to work from home unless you requested for a meeting, then I would show up. And if that's the case you shouldn't leave town unless you clear it with your manager first.
posted by grouse at 11:32 AM on July 1, 2018

Response by poster: My job is remote already - the only requirement is the Monday meeting in person which was cancelled and then added last minute last Thursday (they forgot to add me on the distribution list). But I didn't clear it with my manager when I should have.
posted by treetop89 at 11:34 AM on July 1, 2018

If your job is considered "remote", calling in a situation like this might be fine.
posted by grouse at 11:36 AM on July 1, 2018

As an intern,are you trying to get a full time job there? If it's just an internship, I'd call in. If you are trying to impress the folksinto hiring you more fully, then consider traveling in.
posted by TheAdamist at 11:38 AM on July 1, 2018

Response by poster: Note slight edit above - Monday meeting in person. And I'll stop threadsitting. Thanks all.
posted by treetop89 at 11:38 AM on July 1, 2018

There's no need to go. You say others are calling in so clearly it's OK if you do too.

That said, whether going is worth the effort depends a lot on what you're hoping to get out of it. What's the purpose of the internship? Is it to land a hard-to-get permanent job, make connections, or to learn things? If it's one of the first two being seen and noticed might make it worthwhile. If it's the latter there's still benefit from seeing brainstorming in person--we do lots of remote stuff and as much as everyone pretends otherwise it does add a layer of remove.

You don't say how far this is or how inconvenient it is to get there, so impossible to give an absolute answer. It's going to be your call.
posted by mark k at 11:39 AM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

one more vote for call in.
posted by the twistinside at 11:41 AM on July 1, 2018

Best answer: I say call in. When I was an intern I definitely would have worried about something like this, but as someone who’s now been in the working world a while, and has managed many interns, this would not be a make-or-break thing for me at all. I honestly wouldn’t even expect you to be an active participant in a meeting like this (though your contributions would be welcome). If the senior team had said something like “we expect everyone who can be to be in-person for this meeting,” that might be different, but it doesn’t sound like that’s the case.

FWIW, obviously every manager is different, but this is what matters to me when I’m managing interns: reliability overall, ability to take initiative, and growth over the period of the internship.
posted by lunasol at 11:57 AM on July 1, 2018 [12 favorites]

You're an intern. That's not getting paid, right? Don't go to extra expense and trouble on your account to be there in person for this when other bigger shots aren't doing it either.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:29 PM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

(but most calling in)

Assuming you are talking about a North American fairly traditional corporate culture - particularly if it is a US company when this next week's got a holiday in the middle of it and just about anybody who can has turned it into a vacation week, literally the only people who are going to be there in person are people who had to be in the office anyway. Since you do not normally work there, nobody is going to be expecting you. There's some percentage chance that people would think you were especially devoted to your job, but you also run a risk of everyone thinking it's real weird and remembering you for this. I mean, it's really your manager's fault for not setting clear expectations, including inviting you in the first place, but since they don't expect you to even show up on a normal day this is probably not the day to try looking extra eager, and your importance in this whole thing is probably not proportional to bailing on your family for the day.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:38 PM on July 1, 2018 [7 favorites]

If your company culture is such that most people will call in, you should call in. Nobody is going to remember whether or not you were there in person, but you're going to remember having to rearrange your personal travel to accommodate a meeting you could have called in for.
posted by something something at 12:49 PM on July 1, 2018 [2 favorites]

You're an intern. That's not getting paid, right? Don't go to extra expense and trouble on your account to be there in person for this when other bigger shots aren't doing it either.
Whether internships are paid or not depends heavily on the industry. At my company internships are always paid.
posted by peacheater at 12:58 PM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

I work at a Big Four firm (though not in the USA). I think there would be zero expectation of an intern attending this meeting in person if they normally worked remotely. People constantly dial into meetings from client offices, or from home, or wherever. It's normal. Dial-in if you want, but don't go into the office.
posted by Pink Frost at 1:19 PM on July 1, 2018 [4 favorites]

Honestly if your direct manager is calling in, there is absolutely no need for you to be there in person. There are some company cultures that value facetime above everything else, but given that you're a remote intern, your manager is not going to be there in person and you were inadvertently left off the invite, you're really more than safe just dialing in (am currently managing an intern - I like it when she attends the big meetings with higher ups, but more as exposure for her than our benefit. Sometimes it's even preferable if she dials in.).
posted by peacheater at 2:11 PM on July 1, 2018 [3 favorites]

Nthing calling in. Honestly, for meetings involving more than about a dozen people, it's my experience that it's pretty unlikely you'd be missed (or would be missing all that much, for that matter). If you were left off the invite in the first place, I'd consider that a blessing to skip out entirely, but I can see where you might not be willing to risk it.
posted by Aleyn at 3:34 PM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

You do not need to show up in person for this meeting, especially not to impress the higher-ups. You can be impressive as an intern in many other ways that actually matter, and trust me, trying to be impressive with things like this actually makes you look worse because it’s puzzling why you would show up. Not that you were wrong to ask this question by any means! The fact that you did says a lot about your work ethic.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 9:50 PM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

Is one of your goals with this internship a job offer? If so, I would go and consider it an investment in time for your future. If you just want the experience and maybe a recommendation, dial in.
posted by AugustWest at 8:59 AM on July 2, 2018 [1 favorite]