It’s best to be direct and ask about the compensation schemes for internships within your company.  It is possible that some companies have different internship requirements from department to department.  Some departments may offer paid internships at minimum wage, others offer internships for school credit, where other intern programs may offer an apprenticeship where you are in a training program for an entry level full-time job.  If you work at a company where there is no formal structure and you are looking for a paid internship, ask first if there is anyway you can get minimum wage or be reimbursed for expenses.  If not, look or  other companies that do offer paid internships and start looking for work at those companies in the meantime.  If your goal is ultimately get a fulltime job, then leverage the internship even if unpaid for as long as you can afford to until you can use it to get a paid job.  And no, it’s not fair to work for free but if your internship opens doors to a better opportunity, look at it as a gift and leverage it for all it’s worth.

Knowing where you stand on both fronts is a good place to be in.  Thank your supervisor for looking out for your best interests.  Knowing whether it’s time to look for another job is a personal decision obviously unless you are unemployed or about to be.  If you think you would do better elsewhere than you should start putting your feelers out and see what the market is like outside. If you are in a business that is slow or unstable, you might find your competitors are in no better shape and it may give you the incentive to “stick it out” until the market turns.  However, it would not be wise to interview outside unless you are serious about making a change now and can’t wait for things to turn around at your current employer.  Otherwise, tell your supervisor you appreciate their support in looking out for you and will continue to work hard and be loyal to the company in hopes of an increase in salary or promotion. 

As tempting as it is to confront your supervisor and ask for additional compensation, one thing comes to mind, consider the source. How sure are you that that the information you received is accurate?  Before you start making demands on increases in salary, or worse threatening to quit your job, make sure your information is correct and that you have an understanding of what may have transpired.  If you have any doubts whatsoever, then it’s best to not address the situation until you are given an annual review where you can ask about the salary ranges and how those are determined and what your chances are for an increase.  You don’t want to be confrontational with your supervisor regarding another employee’s salary because this is likely to backfire on you.  If you believe you are being undercompensated for your job, address this issue with your supervisor and not the fact that a new employee may or may not be making more than you.  Making assumptions based on information you are unable to corroborate is a dangerous game and you are likely to lose.  Stick to only the facts, if you believe you are deserving an increase in pay and you are not compensated fairly, then provide independent research to support your claims and address this on the merits of your job performance and no one else’s. Playing a guessing game, confronting your supervisor and potentially alienating a new employee is not going to win you favors in your advancement goals at work nor will it likely help you get the increase you desire or potentially deserve.

Tell her exactly that, you were exploring your options and it was merely an informational interview.  If there is more to it such as you were referred by a friend, read a job posting or they solicited you for the meeting, determine how much of that is valuable information and will help or hurt you in your explanation to your boss.  It’s hard when you interview with a competitor for information not to leak back to your current employer.  If you work in a particularly small industry know that even the most innocent encounter can get back to the wrong people and miscommunication can result.  If your interview was truly “exploratory” then you need to explain that to her.  If in fact you were formally applying for a position, then you need to determine whether disclosing that to her will help you in your current job.  If it will not help you, then do not disclose it, although you will need to examine whether she knows this or not. If she does know that you went on a formal interview then you have no way to get out of it.  Concretely and without any drama tell her your reasons why you decided it was a good idea to accept the interview and why you wanted to hear about the other opportunity.  Reassure her that you are loyal to the company and wanted to know what the competition was doing in relation to a similar position. You can state that the other company contacted you and although you are not interested decided you wanted to hear what they had to say.  There are subtle ways to “leverage” this to your advantage.  You might have more information about a practice your competition is doing that might help your current work situation?  You also have made her aware that you are being “sought after” and nothing makes an employee more attractive than knowing someone else wants you!  Next time be as discreet and always be honest about your intentions no matter how innocent.

Well, kudos for taking the bull by the horns and the initiative for taking your career in your own hands.  It’s not easy to do that particularly as you start out in your career.  Now that you are exploring your options you’ve opened the door for knowing how to best manage internal politics-welcome to corporate America!  As noble as it is being totally “honest” with your current supervisor about your need to interview outside to seek full time paid employment, you need to be careful not to unknowingly offend them in the meantime. Taking time to interview with other companies is necessary for you to explore your options, but it’s NOT necessary for you to divulge how the meeting went, what the position pays, or anything else that essentially crosses the “Need to Know” barrier.  If you were open about your interviewing outside and they were fine with it, that’s all they need to know. Stop and edit yourself before you feel the need to divulge your entire interview conversation with your current supervisor-whether they are paying or not.