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We\u2019ve all heard stories of nightmare interns, but in a recent Reddit post<\/a>, a surprising number of netizens are rallying behind this one particular intern, saying they may have been wronged.<\/p>\n \u201cMy intern<\/a> is actually hopeless\u201d, the OP lamented. \u201cLast week I asked him to take minutes for a meeting. At the end of the meeting, he confidently told me how many minutes the meeting lasted. 53 minutes LOL.\u201d<\/p>\n For those who don\u2019t speak corporate, meeting minutes are written or recorded logs of what was discussed, decided, and assigned during a meeting.<\/p>\n The OP then continued: \u201cIt\u2019s okay, my fault I expected too much. Since then I taught him how to take minutes. Today we had another meeting and he took minutes. Afterwards, I told him to send it to everyone. I meant everyone in the meeting but he literally sent it to EVERYONE including the CEO.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know whether to laugh or cry,\u201d they lamented.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the OP likely expected others to relate to having interns who didn\u2019t meet expectations \u2014 and yes, some did \u2014 there was also a surprising majority who sided with the intern.<\/p>\n A common counterpoint raised by netizens was that the OP could have been more specific with their instructions, adding that the intern was likely new to working life<\/a> and that, in some cases with newcomers, \u201ceven common sense needs to be taught\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n One commenter opined: \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Please be kind to these interns lah\u2026 their pay is peanuts and you didn’t end up with monkeys, literally. If we don’t give them a chance to make mistakes and learn, where is the future of Singapore going to come from?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Another wrote: \u201cI\u2019m sorry OP but this is [on] you. With interns, you need to act as if they are babies who know nothing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The same netizen, who also shared that they had dealt with interns who made them want to \u201crip their hair out\u201d, suggested what the OP could have done instead, such as checking whether the intern was clear on the task, needed any help, or had any questions.<\/p>\n \u201cI know some can really be CMI, gone case. But I think it’s also fair to give them the opportunity to learn. For some, it’s their first time in an actual working world<\/a> and school can only do so much,\u201d they added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Others also echoed that the intern should not be treated like someone with a few years of work experience, with one adding that \u201ccorporate lingo is not something taught in schools\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>How is it his fault when the instructions are vague? I mean at least he puts in the effort and performs the tasks unlike certain people who always take mc or slack off a lot?\u201d asserted another netizen.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n One even shared that when they were new and asked to take minutes, they \u201cstraight up\u201d asked their boss what it meant. Others suggested that the OP should have vetted the intern\u2019s work, such as the email that needed to be sent out, and provided some basic training beforehand, even for newcomers, before assigning tasks.<\/p>\n In a nutshell, many agreed that working with an intern often involves a more hands-on, step-by-step guided process, where extra effort from the supervisor is required to ensure they complete tasks to the level expected of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, others believed the intern could have shown more initiative instead of taking instructions at face value.<\/p>\n Some joked that the intern would make a good addition to the Singapore Armed Forces, where he would excel at taking instructions word-for-word.\u00a0Others said he could have asked for advice, or at the very least, Google, if he wasn\u2019t a hundred percent certain about the task.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPlease don’t tell him anything related to climbing the ladder at work, otherwise he will bring a literal ladder to the office,\u201d joked one netizen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some also felt that communication goes both ways, and while the OP could have checked if the intern understood the task, the intern could have also been more proactive in asking questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n In one of their replies on the thread, the OP also said they wished the intern had asked for clarification if they weren\u2019t clear on the instructions.<\/p>\n Then there was a netizen who joked: \u201cIt\u2019s like giving ChatGPT instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n Photos:\u00a0Pavel Danilyuk<\/a>\/ Pexels<\/em><\/div>\n