Avoid the Intern Inch

The Weighty Challenges of Starting Work

About now, many interns and summer associates—students who managed to avoid the dreaded “freshman 15”—have experienced a new uncomfortable reality: their favorite pair of slacks feels just a tad snug. Darn that Career Services Office. They never mentioned starting work could turn a summer associate or intern into a more well-rounded person . . . literally.

All too often that’s exactly what summer employment does. With the best intents in mind, day after day, many employers put out large spreads of food. Interns and summer associates encounter bagels at a morning training session, sandwiches and wraps served at a meeting over lunch, and chips and guacamole during a late afternoon reception. Before long the pounds creep on.

Calories from food are often exponentially supplemented by calories from alcohol, especially at employers where late afternoon or early evening receptions are the norm. At those events, beer, wine and cocktails flow freely . . . sometimes too freely. Not a summer goes by that I’m not reminded of a recruiting department member who required hospitalization a few Augusts ago. The cause? Alcohol poisoning brought about by the recruiter’s attempt to “keep up” with a few of the firm’s summer associates.     

How best can summer associates and interns avoid returning to school and avoid carrying a few additional pounds? It’s about as unsexy as any advice could be: 1) Use moderation in everything, including the amount of food and alcohol you consume; 2) Watch what you eat, because calories do count; and 3) Exercise matters, so hit the gym regularly.

Special note: Whether you partake of all the goodies or not, it’s not a bad idea to observe what your employer serves. You may be able to tell something about its economic health by the snacks offered. When management suddenly replaces hot meals with cold sandwiches, it may be a sign of an underlying need to trim expenses.

What Do You Need to Know?

Smart interns and summer associates consciously confront calorie over-load by monitoring food and drink choices and exercising.

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This year’s summer hires you will have fewer opportunities than their predecessors had to interact in person with employers and recruiters. Because of social distancing requirements, you’ll need to maximize every Zoom meeting to which you are invited as well as phone calls and emails. Don’t allow an unforced error to keep you from landing a job offer this fall.

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