A reader writes:

I recently took on my first intern. I let them know from the get-go that I didn’t know if it could evolve into permanent work given the current work pipeline. They are ambitious, smart, and eager to learn, and I have done my best to give them “real world” learning experiences so they make their resume look great.

All of that is good except a few weeks in, I am getting constant questions from them about potential employment. I have told them that if all goes well and I have the means, I’d love to hire them but I don’t have the ability to answer that right now. I understand why someone interning would want to know their chances for a job, but I have been totally transparent and the constant questions are starting to test my patience.

I feel as though, this early, they really should be focusing on learning and making the most of the opportunity, rather than focusing on jumping to the next step right away. They are starting to apply for full-time roles, which is excellent, but these roles are rather senior (and I don’t have to heart to say, are way above their experience level). It’s also confirming my suspicions that this person feels they’ve learnt the entire industry in a few weeks. They’re a great intern other than this, and I’m trying to help, but how do I get them to chill out and just focus while they’re on the job? I don’t want to be a jerk, but I am losing my patience.

I answer this question — and three others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.

Other questions I’m answering there today include:

• Will being associated with a yelling boss hurt my reputation?
• What’s the best timing for messaging laid-off colleagues?
• Connection requests from recruiters