I’ve interned three times in my life. Once as an admin assistant/shadow in a law firm, another time as an editorial intern at a magazine publisher, and a “graduate trainee” (fancy term for a post-university intern) at a public relations agency.
Funnily enough, I encountered absolutely horrible senior colleagues in two out of the three internships. They were neither my supervisor nor my boss, but they were in charge of assigning me the bulk of my tasks.
They practised what I now jokingly refer to when talking with my friends as slave labour. At the time, whatever they told me was my responsibility I accepted without question. I was made to feel that I could never do well enough despite working my hardest. My best was never good enough.
Looking back, it was really ridiculous at the number of tasks heaped onto the plate of a mere intern – expectations included. But those times also served to strengthen me as a person (goodbye strawberry generation-ness!) and learn to deal with tough superiors (hello adulting!). It’s also why I can now share these pieces of advice with you!
So here are five tips to deal with that difficult older colleague/supervisor/boss during your internship!
#1 Seek to understand before being understood: Practice keen observation
Supervisors and bosses have a very different set of objectives and considerations compared to you. While an intern may see and manage things at a micro level, their superiors have way bigger concerns. Case in point: You only have your KPI to manage, but your boss will be affected by the KPI of the entire team.
Your first step would be to find out what matters to them. Many times we make the mistake of putting our time and effort into the things that matter to us. Instead, we need to focus on what they think is important.
A bonus would be if you were able to figure out their preferences and their way of thinking.
#2 Observe and get along well with your co-workers
If you have a difficult boss, there’s a chance your colleagues have gone through the same tough times working with them and can empathise with you. They probably already know all your boss’ “pattern” and have found their own ways of navigating the working relationship with them. Learn how to deal with your boss through them..
When I interned at a magazine publishing company, I got along very well with the senior designer at that time. She was very cool and had a motherly vibe. During one team brainstorm meeting, I was getting flak from one of our editors for something and she spoke up in the midst of that “sudden attack”.
As she was the eldest there, probably also the longest-serving employee, and incredibly talented she was very respected. I think she said something about me being too young to come up with the ideas they wanted (I was 18 and the magazine was for ladies in their 30s to 50s).
Just one sentence from her silenced the critics—she made it clear that it was an unreasonable expectation, something that even I did not realise, and even if I did, I would not have been able to voice it aloud.
From there I learnt that your older colleagues have abilities you don’t. They see more than you do. They have more say than you do. They can speak better than you do. Better yet—if you befriend your colleagues, they can bring light to a bad day! What more reasons could you need?
#3 Start with solving their problems, aim to be indispensable
Be crafty as a serpent but harmless as a dove. There are ways to get on your boss’ good side without having to “lick their boots” or go against your own principles.
After finding out what matters most to them from your own observations and from your colleagues, do whatever you can to be a source of help. Help them be successful!
Perhaps they struggle with gaining the cooperation of a difficult member of staff or they may be anxious about a certain important project.
Leverage your relationship with that colleague whom your boss finds difficult to work with to get the job done or dedicate yourself to making that important project take flight.
This gives you more bargaining room when it comes to unreasonable expectations. If your boss sees you as someone that they need, they are more likely to entertain your requests (e.g. if you need more time for a certain task).
The ultimate goal is to become someone who is indispensable. You solve their problems, they solve yours. A win for everybody!
#4 Keep your emotions in check but speak up when necessary
There is a time for everything. Sometimes you will have to endure and let injustice fly over your head. However, in order that you do not end up bottling up your emotions, learn when to be rightfully angry!
Continuing on from the earlier example of helping your boss manage a difficult person or devoting yourself to making an important project take flight—If you have done all that and yet are penalised in some way or another for factors you could not control, it is time to speak up!
Let your boss know how you feel. You could do so in a professional way by saying something like, “I have done everything in my power to be an employee who goes above and beyond, yet I have not been treated in accordance with my efforts.”
If you have shown yourself to be a valuable employee so far, your boss will probably take note and try to make the situation better, not worse.
#5 Talk to your Polytechnic lecturer-in-charge
If things really seem out of your depth, I strongly encourage you to speak with your lecturer-in-charge. Back when I was interning during my final year of Polytechnic, it was a really hellish experience as my superiors treated me like a slave. My company supervisor (their superior) never checked in once with me. It was my worst work experience to date and I still remember the helplessness and anger I felt at the injustice I faced from two colleagues who were close friends—once, she threatened to give such a bad testimony to my team supervisor that he would fail me.
When my Polytechnic lecturer finally visited us at the office for the interim grading, she gave us the opportunity to chat with her for a short while. Before I knew it, I was having trouble holding back tears as I shared a bit of my situation with her. She was known as a tough-talking lecturer and many students were wary of her. But through that experience, I found out that she was actually very warm and caring. She had our best interests at heart and she was familiar with the injustice I faced, as she had been in the industry for a long time.
At my final grading, the team supervisor did indeed give me a just-fail mark. I had worked like a dog. As he began to explain why he graded me so, he related what one of those two difficult senior colleagues had said about me. I was shocked as it was something I did not do. My senior colleague had lied about me! When I pointed out that this version of the story was not true, my supervisor had no choice but to find out the truth and adjust my grades. Those 2 marks got me just past the pass line.
In the end, however, I scored really well in my overall grade—thanks to my lecturer. The grades given by your lecturer were a higher weightage than the one given by my company supervisor, something that was recently implemented to protect the students because such harsh and unfair grading had happened too often.
To conclude, such experiences only served to make me a richer and wiser person. I discovered the importance of having good colleagues and a healthy work culture, which has helped me to know what to look for in my job search later.
Besides that, I hope that these experiences will challenge and remind you not to misuse your authority when you hold more senior positions in the future. Experiencing injustice and unkindness will only serve to make you a richer and wiser person. Choose well!
