How to go about intern to full time conversation call?
Hey all,
I am about to have a conversation with my manager for asking me to convert into full time.
I am an international student in USA and I have tried to search for FT’s but in current job market where a lots of companies are on hiring freeze i dint get a lot of opportunities and very few opportunities i got wanted to hire me at lower salary than I am earning in my current internship. So, I want to stick with the company am working with. Also, I loved the team and work culture there are strictly no complaints. All the team and my manager are impressed by 2 projects that I did in my duration of internship.
So in my next call what all things I should include/highlight to make the transition from an intern to full time?
Discussion
(2 comments)- 1a year agoRobinhood, Meta, Course Hero, PayPal
I'm glad you're doing well - It seems like you're well positioned for the call!
First, I would go through any official documentation around the SAP internship program, specifically the material around what it takes to qualify for a return offer. SAP is a massive company, so there should be a decent chance this exists. If it doesn't, you can talk to other interns to see what they know or junior engineers within the company who have converted from internships (maybe there's some on your team?).
From there, just make your case, which your question already seems to have a lot of (mention those 2 impressive projects you did).
I don't know if this is a structured meeting where your manager is expecting you to bring this up or if it's a regular 1:1 that you're going to turn this conversation. If it's the latter, you can just lead with something like, "My internship is coming to an end, and I have had a wonderful time working and growing on this team. I was wondering how securing a return offer for full-time works and how I stand there if that's a possibility." This frames it in a way where you praise the team and are tentative - You don't your manager to feel like you're forcing things.
For general communication advice, I recommend going through this playlist: Alex's Guide To Effective Communication
Another resource you can use to make your case and understand (and measure!) your performance as an intern is this discussion: "Internship Metrics For Conversion?"
- 1a year agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
This is an example where having informal, low-stakes conversations (e.g. over a coffee/lunch) is really valuable. I'm almost positive there would be other intern --> full-time conversions in your org, or perhaps other interns.
From talking to them, try to understand things like:
- When does the conversion conversation take place?
- What % of interns get a return offer?
- If you can, take a look at their code output / impact and compare it with yours so you can better calibrate.
Once you have sufficient information, I'd bring it up with your manager like Alex suggested. Another possibility is to bring it up with the HR/recruiting team, depending on how well-defined the internship program is.
