The background story: I was like any other common student who wanted an internship in public accounting so I could have the experience and a full-time offer. I've taken a few career risks in the past where I wouln't sign a second internship offer with the same firm or I would leave a firm because it wasn't the right fit. When I got my foot in the door with a big four accoutning firm I was super excited and very thrilled to sign a second internship offer with them for this summer. However, after taking a few courses in school, I've found a new interest in a different servie group and I started questioning why I've nver steppd out of my comfort zone to try out different service groups.
To be fair, I did reach out to my recruiter at the big four and asked if I could learn more about this different service group and I even applied for a rotation to intern in this area. However, the rotation is very competitive and uncommon for interns in my particular service group to participate in. Along came a very rare and exciting opportunity to intern at a mid-size accounting firm. I interviewed and I asked A LOT of questions about this group to learn more about the kind of work they enagge in and where they see themselves in the futre. I really liked this group and I personally think it would be a great opportunity to inten in this particular service group so that I can compare it with my past work experience and see if I enjoy the work. I mean it's better to try a new firm/servie group as an intern than commit to something different as a full-time without knowing for sure if it's what you want, right??
I got an offer with this new firm and I really want to take it, but some of my friends are saying that I might get blacklisted or get a bad rep for leaving big four in short notice. Has anyone had a similar experience? I feel a little bad/sad that I'll be leaving because I liked my group, but I'm now realizing I don't want to continue working in the same old service group for another 2-3 years. I was thinking to call the recruiter by phone and explain the situation. Not sure if email is better?? Mabe for documentation purposes? Should I also notify my manager? My manager has looked out for me for the past couple of months, not sure though if it would be appropriate to reach out to my manager before notifying the recruiter.
Please share your thoughts. Thank you!