2009 October 05 | The Wall Street Shuffle Blogs

Archive for October 5th, 2009

MEMOIRS OF AN INNOCENT INTERN: Part III

PLEASE NOTE THE SUBJECT OF THIS SERIES IS NOT MY CURRENT BOSS, DAN COFALL. DAN COFALL IS THE ANTITHESIS OF THE BOSS I HAD IN “MEMOIRS OF AN INTERN.”

The real world can be dirty. It took 70 years for Bernie Madoff to teach us that those closest ones are the ones who’ll try to screw you over. No matter what those around you may be doing, you should always do the right thing.

“At some point, even the most methodical scammer will make a mistake,” president of the business intelligence firm Corporate Resolutions and former special agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Ken Springer said. “My favorite expression is past history is indicative of future performance.”

I looked up to my boss like a father. Several red flags should have gone up before and during my internship. He begged me to remove content on a website that “inaccurately” portrayed his past negatively. I put him in touch with a computer whiz friend of mine who helped him eliminate the information and further optimize his search results. Finally, he said he would pay me off the books, meaning no formal records would be kept. He showed shady signs from the start, but I ignored them. All I knew about were his frequent media appearances and high net-worth clientele.

“When doing business with someone, you need to conduct your own independent research,” Springer said. “It’s not about going on the Internet to get instant answers. Do not make decisions just because it looks good on paper.”

If my boss was unhappy with my work at any point during my internship, he should have fired me. By keeping me around, he was legally bound to paying me the wages we agreed to. I took screenshots of every e-mail and Facebook exchange we had in addition to pictures of text messages. I did my due diligence a month too late.

In response to my letter, my boss left me profane and vulgar voicemails that prompted me to de-friend him on Facebook. I hunted down his hotshot attorney and told him how much I was claiming. He seemed apathetic to the amount. Minutes after the conversation, I received a text from my boss saying not to call his attorney and that he’d mail me my check.

Two days ago, more than two months after my internship, I finally received a check that was off the books. It was a quarter of the amount I am owed; it was filled out in different pens, and the “for/memo” line was blank. The date on the check was also two weeks behind the date the envelope was postmarked. My boss continues to leave voicemails, threatening my future employment and saying he has made calls to Syracuse about me. He continues to stress that I have no idea the reach he has in places where nobody would want him to be and that he will file a lawsuit against me for fraud for not delivering results he was looking for.

I’m sharing this story because in the current economy, the scammers are coming out. People will do anything to save a buck. You need to watch out for yourself, especially if you plan to work or intern at a smaller firm.

“Schools should implement guidelines before a company can solicit interns and should get feedback from the student during and afterwards to assess the benefit to the school for future internships,” Springer said.

It’s pathetic for a 50-year-old top executive to attack a 20-year-old intern. I got him on the FOX Business Channel and a nationally syndicated radio show. I wrote content for his new website. Now, I’m giving him print exposure and contemplating posting his voicemails on YouTube.

“Media lead time takes months,” said Bob Newman, president of Newman Communications, a leading talent management firm. “That’s why interns should be shadowing and doing research. I tell every client not to depend on us to get famous and that we don’t guarantee anything.”

The Joker in The Dark Knight said, “You can’t rely on anyone these days. You have to do everything yourself.”

My boss once told me to stop with the Obama stuff and become more of a capitalist.

Thanks for the advice, boss. I’ll see you in court.

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2009.10.05 / no responses / Category: Naresh Vissa
MEMOIRS OF AN INNOCENT INTERN: Part II

PLEASE NOTE THE SUBJECT OF THIS SERIES IS NOT MY CURRENT BOSS, DAN COFALL. DAN COFALL IS THE ANTITHESIS OF THE BOSS I HAD IN “MEMOIRS OF AN INTERN.”

Note: I actually sent this letter to my boss, but it has been edited down here to protect sensitive information.

Dear Boss,

I simply do not understand why you have failed to pay my agreed upon wages for the services I rendered this summer as an intern with you and your firm. I arrived at work on time every day. I worked as diligently as I could to accomplish the tasks that were assigned to me. I had excellent working relationships with you and your team.

Your partner paid his share on a timely basis. At the end of each of the first two weeks, he left me checks. He explicitly stated he had “limited resources,” yet he understood I showed up every day.

You stated at the end of both weeks one and two that you would give me a check. I never received anything.

Prior to the start of my internship, we agreed on $b a week ($y/day). Your partner gave me $c. I am now owed $x, and you even agreed and acknowledged you owed me this amount on public Facebook postings, text messages, e-mail exchanges and in person.

On several occasions, you indicated you would mail my payment “immediately.” Coming up on two months after the fact, I have yet to receive any payment. These are not disputable facts.

After I quit work, I did my own due diligence to protect myself from situations like this. When I was home, I gathered many facts. I talked to people who know you very well or did business with you in the past. I have records of all our electronic communications. Before I left for school, I met with an attorney to prepare myself just in case things became unfavorable.

Now, we have arrived at a very uncomfortable point. You have indicated you do not want to pay the wages we agreed to. You leave me very few options.

I should have received these wages at the end of every week I worked. At the very least, I should have collected them upon the conclusion of my work. It is completely unjustifiable to continue to withhold or negotiate these wages with me.

Though this is a very small amount of money to you, I am a college student and my internship income is essential to me in order to pay for my books, living and other expenses. You have put me in a very difficult financial position.

May I ask that you send me a check for $x today? If you cannot or will not do this, I will have no choice but to seek a legal solution through the local small claims court. I will also pursue this issue with the proper agencies.

I hope you understand this is not a route I would normally choose, but you have delayed paying me. Should I not receive full payment of $x by [specified date], I will have no choice but to pursue legal action. This seems like such a small and insignificant amount of money for services that I clearly rendered.

Yours Truly,

Naresh Vissa

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2009.10.05 / no responses / Category: Naresh Vissa
MEMOIRS OF AN INNOCENT INTERN: Part I

PLEASE NOTE THE SUBJECT OF THIS SERIES IS NOT MY CURRENT BOSS, DAN COFALL. DAN COFALL IS THE ANTITHESIS OF THE BOSS I HAD IN “MEMOIRS OF AN INTERN.”

This past summer, I packed my stuff and moved to another city to work an internship for an investment management company. I lived in a bankrupt Extended Stay Hotel, worked long hours and tried my best to do what I was asked. My boss and I agreed on a weekly wage.

After the second week of work, I developed bags under my eyes and was losing hair on my head. My main task was to get my boss and his partner’s clients national publicity. They wanted to be on channels like Discovery, FOX, Bloomberg and Howard Stern. Clients varied, from a plastic surgeon to financial expert. They gave me a phone and asked me to make things happen.

“HR in most investment firms is simply a transactional function,” said Peter Cappelli, Director of the Center for Human Resources at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “Get people in and get them out without breaking the law. They don’t do organizational development, training or job design.”

No proper training was provided. I had no problem with that, because I am entrepreneurial, but PR IS BRUTAL! The industry is all about whom you know. Forget about press releases, email marketing campaigns, CRM software and phone pitches. You need to have an in, and I didn’t have anything. I called mentors, Syracuse alumni, anyone and everyone, and I had nothing to show.

After the second week, two of the partners came into my office and said they were disappointed with how much time they spent teaching me the business. I told them from the start I was a 20-year-old intern. PR is brand new to me. It’s going to take some time.

The pressure built up. I wasn’t getting any responses from any producers or journalists. I became desperate. I was at the point I was going to beg people for things.

So I quit. My supervisors hoped I could take their clients national. I told them not to depend on me. They should rather dole out six grand a month for a PR firm and see the results. At the end, I didn’t want to waste their time, energy and money.

If there’s one thing I can take away from this, it’s make sure you love what you do. The worst feeling in the world is to wake up every morning and dread going to work.

The PR profession is tough stuff. If you don’t know anybody and don’t have the proper training or software to aid your work, you’re going to find yourself going nowhere.

It sucks, but I did what was best for everyone. I could have finished my term there, gotten no results and collected an extra stash of cash. Nevertheless, I felt that wasn’t even worth it.

But that’s not why I’m sharing this story. My internship really started after I quit. Up until that point, I did not get a single payment from my boss. Whether I lived up to expectations or not, I was owed money for showing up every morning and trying my best to produce results. I was supposed to get a check in my mail after returning home. After weeks of reminding my boss, it never came.

Next edition, I’ll discuss how I received the money I was owed.

Believe me – it was much more brutal than losing half a head of hair.

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2009.10.05 / no responses / Category: Naresh Vissa
The Deeper Correction Has Arrived

My last post reminded our Shufflers that we had to look at the market with a bullish bias, but the age of the bull market was about to become a factor. Trends always have corrections as they progress. During the early life of the trend, many corrections are 2-4 days and relatively small, as traders and investors come into the market and buy small dips to keep the bull market alive. After 3 months of this type of buying, there is a time when a deeper correction occurs. Buyers simply step aside and are more cautious about their purchases. This occurred in July of this year.

We are now under the same market condition. The deeper correction that you are now seeing is “typical” for this stage of trend. A complex correction is the likely outcome over the next week or so. How deep will the correction be? This depends upon the news and financial outlook that develops over the next few weeks of course, but traders should expect many up and down days. The vertical rally is over for now.

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2009.10.05 / no responses / Category: TCC, The Stock Market