AIESEC: Association of Incompetent Ediotic & Stupid Embecile Crocks
Just a demonstration of the level of professionalism that this so called association enjoys: AIESEC UAE Jive .
I've had first hand experience with this AIESEC, and I haven't experienced anything but bullshit, inefficiency, unethical standards, and students, learning on my own expense.
I took an internship with this thing, in 2006 from March to October via OGX (Out Going eXchange) AIESEC Dubai to AIESEC India, specifically Hyderabad and Chennai.
I will update this post soon as to why you should NOT take an internship with AIESEC, unless you're a desperate fool who has absolutely no other choice.
I am adding details here since i couldn't edit the post due to technical errors.
ReplyDeleteIn this internship with Satyam, I've spent 1 month in Hyderabad of Andra Pradish, and 3.5 in Chennai of Tamil Nadu. Effectively, I was given useful assignments for no more than a month. Basically, this entire AIESEC INDIA internship so far has been something of a boot-camp rather than a professional experience; not only did I have to deal with the difficulties of adjustment and execution due to lack of assistance with environmental difficulties (here being over-population, dirt, pests, pollution, disorganization, and beaurocracy) while trying to cope with all the work, but I got sick 3 times over. The following letter outlines the problems that I had with the 2 main fronts: AIESEC INDIA and Satyam.
AIESEC INDIA did nothing but pick me up then drop me off at the Hyderabad apartment, which by the way, had one room vacant for me, which I wish had been occupied. The room looked like it wasn't cleaned for over a decade (mainly due to dust) and the washroom wasn't either for over a half century (mainly due to mold).
The first month was spent waiting for assignments, which I used for adapting and figuring myself around my Indian maze with the help of a very kind intern, buying essentials and cleaning. Things I had to buy included door-lock, bed-stuff, cleaning tools (surfaces, floor, toilet...) and even some dangerous acid to try to rid of the nasty mold that formed around the poorly designed common-like Indian toilet that I had to use. To rid of that nasty mold, I even had to get down on my knees, on the moldy toilet floor, and scrape it, with a spoon.
I even had to deal with the government when it came to my visa, and paid for it in entirety. I was forced to spend almost a week going and coming to the commissioner’s office gathering every single piece of documentation that they required, and paid RS3’000 for the visa extension because I was only given one month of stay by the embassy in Dubai. Didn’t the deal state that AIESEC was supposed to help with visa? Because of all this running around, I didn’t even have the chance to see Satyam’s HQ in Hyderabad.
AIESEC India didn't even set the rules of rent payment, or even state the rent to be paid. This resulted in serious conflicts between myself and another intern, who demanded that I pay, for my midget-sized room, just as much as a room that he occupied that scaled at least 3 times as big, had a clean washroom which was private and attached rather than public and separate (which also meant I had to lock it with yet another lock) as I had. The other intern required me to pay for the entire month though I came at the middle of it. He said that was the rule there, and that I shouldn’t argue about it. However, I went about checking the validity of that so-called rule. So I asked other neighboring interns in the same floor, checked with Rishi (the former coordinator), and even checked with the landlord, but they all said that they heard of no such rule. In fact, Rishi was following an entirely different rule whereby the total rent wasn’t divided by the total number of rooms, but by the total number of tenants.
In time, the intern got so furious that he one day threatened to beat me with a bunch of his friends with a beer bottle in his hand, and asked me to leave the apartment unless I paid the rent. In my will to avoid conflict, I locked the door, and kept my self-detached from him until he cooled down.
I tried contacting AIESEC INDIA in Hyderabad as well as Rishi, but couldn’t reach them. Later in the morning I was able to, and all the AIESEC INDIA member did – though in a professional manner – was say that he will send somebody, and asked me if I contacted Rishi. I later was finally able to reach Rishi, who told the intern of the Rishi-system, and the mad-Frenchman finally agreed, so I paid what was remaining of the rent according to that system.
Thanks to the traditional means of locking the doors (through the little pad-lock), my cell-phone was stolen because whenever my roommate left, security vulnerability presented itself because if he were to lock it from the outside, I’d be locked in.
Now on to the bad part: my Chennai experience. Firstly, AIESEC INDIA provided no assistance getting to my apartment in Chennai, and secondly, what in God’s name kind of apartment was that?! It was a mosquito nest! It wasn’t just a favorite mosquito spot, but a perfect incubator for them; it was pretty damn stinking dirty, and the ambience in it almost chocked me to death.
When I got there, damages included: a broken bed, a bed-room door that cannot be even closed (especially a mosquito problem), the other interns “cleaned” only once a month (which meant I had to clean upon arrival yet again), there was no maid (not even a watchman to quickly sweep like in HYD once in a while), the light bulb wouldn’t work, and the main lock was seriously ineffective, so much that my flat-mates frequently left the apartment unlocked. Shouldn’t AIESEC check to see if all the furniture is OK upon checkout of a tenant? Isn’t it their responsibility to make sure that everything is in working order, at least occasionally?
The apartment was also in an area where foreigners weren’t very welcome: T-Nagar. T-Nagar is one of the most culturally attached spots in India, and foreigners there were considered to be nothing but infestation that needs elimination. I can prove this with what the housing association did: they tried to kick us out, more than once.
There were no laundry facilities nearby (unlike in Hyderabad where that was one only one minutes’ walk away).
The distance from work (around 30 minutes one-way by scooter) meant that I had to take my flat-mate’s scooter with him, and in the process risk my life and comfort getting there and back everyday. If I were to take the auto, I would have had to spend a minimum of RS3’000 every month, and I don’t think that was worth it given the rent of the flat.
One of my flat-mates (the person who drove me to work by his scooter yet charges me RS1’000 a month for that) happed to have occupied a much better room than I did, but wasn’t an AIESEC member. His room had A/C, no damages, and a private wash-room.
The amount I was spending on rent was a minimum of RS4’500 a month on renting a small place packed with dust, insects, and unwelcoming locals, and this cost was not including all the repair and cleaning tool costs I had to incur to stay there.
This eventually led me to leave the apartment, after asking AIESEC India for another. I vacated to another place nearby my work place, alone. However, the only relatively clean place I could find was a one-star-hotel I had to pay RS10’000 a month for. In that unworthy hotel, I stayed for around a month suffering with the service inadequacies (lazy disobedient boys), uncleanliness (dust everywhere), noise (room was street-facing) and having to walk for 20 minutes to work in the dirty congested road-side (if any), and in the horrible Chennai weather.
So I resorted again to AIESEC to get me another, yet good accommodation. I kept asking them at least 4 times over, and to more than one representative. All they did was tell me that they will research and get back to me later, or that they will send me the addresses for the other intern apartments, but they never did. So I finally gave up with AIESEC and again, just looked by my self, which also by the way took quite some time from my work.
Satyam wasn’t that peachy either. Despite the aforementioned apartment’s situation, Satyam kept stuffing it with other interns, so much that they sometimes had to sleep in the most mosquito-filled place: the hall. Not only did that make them get more bites than the relatively sheltered flat-mates, but it congested the place.
I still don’t think I got my business-travel expenses refunded since I was called into Chennai for the job at FUTURUS, and I can’t check because my online account won’t work.
Not only that, but more than 2 months passed before I got my salary. I almost gave up on that salary when I had to apply 3 times over, and while in Chennai, ICICI told me that I had to apply again. The only way for me to get my salary was to beg and plead to Satyam’s former HR manager (Sandhya) to get ICICI to approve me so that I can receive my salary. I finally got it, but was never able to check my account online, and never even got a payment slip.
FUTURUS was the worst part of it all. Despite not getting my salary, and despite all the adjustment difficulties I had to cope with, and having to do everything myself including fixing my work-PC, finding health and communication facilities, pressing the system admins to setup my account, etc.
I was given the most unreasonable and unrealistic deadlines ever, and that is as a foreign trainee who just graduated. For example, I had to make a flyer or a brochure or an eAd in just one measly day! I also had to rewrite the midsize website’s entire contents, also in a measly single day! The second time, since my former to former reporting manager (I had two) wanted me to do some quality work despite the highly limited resources, I was so keen on doing that, so I stayed on my poor tortured glutes for a whole day, and slept in the office.
After the problems I had doing what my said manager wanted me to do, another manager took over, and his management-techniques as well as personality were the complete opposite. Instead of always treating me like an inferior, and insulting my work more than half the time, he respected me, joked with me, and made me feel very welcome and appreciated. He gave me reasonable deadlines, and didn’t keep pestering me and threatening to sack me every other day like the former manager, but he gave me the freedom to follow the deadline simply by submitting my work to him along with a weekly status report, he encouraged me to learn about Satyam and its philosophy, to communicate more (personally and professionally in order to check the contents of the work done), and even to add a few sections to the contents.
Four weeks passed by while I was doing just as he ordered me to, getting positive feedback, and getting requests to improve the work on hand even. I tried as much as possible to combine all their demands in one, and skipped the trips that my flat-mates were undertaking, just to make my managers happy. Finally one day, while my new manager was away due to the death of a relative, I get to the office, sick and weary (I fell ill for the third time), just to be scolded again by my former manager saying that the work done isn’t what they wanted, I was a little behind schedule, I wasn’t what they expected, and that they had to fire me.
This is despite all the sacrifices I made skipping all those travels with my former flat-mates, the fact that I went to work despite being ill, the time I took to check the sources, the time I took to make the template so good so that the contents would be consistent and so that I would save the time needed to redo the contents along with the template updates, and the time I took so that the message would be logical and orderly rather than emotional and disorderly.
They never understood the principle of efficiency, nor logic, nor order even. FUTURUS has no concern besides entertaining their clients with flashy words, fancy movies, and breath-taking technology. FUTURUS wasn’t able to sell anything for over a year now. Why? Because they are overly superficial, and had oversized ego’s to match. All they focused on was entertaining their business customers, not convincing them, and that is what I was trying to fine-tune. However, I wasn’t working on my own accord, and my manager was happy with my work, but the other managers weren’t.
Later, I heard from HR that they my first project was to do Flash, but that I refused. The truth is they never asked me to do what they wanted, they never asked me to do Flash, and the different managers wanted different things, but when my manager was gone, their demands for logic and order was almost completely filtered to Flash, and my new manager wasn’t there to help me justify my case. After telling them that I had no way of knowing what they really wanted, and was just doing what I was asked to do, they said I should have been “proactive”.
After being released from FUTURUS, my former manager one day insisted that I go to the office in time, and leave it on time, and that is despite the fact that I had no work there anymore, and that he withdrew my access from the office. Every time I got there, I had to call somebody from the inside to unlock the door for me to enter, and despite me not having any work there, I had to get there on time, and sit there doing nothing all day.
Despite that said manager insisting that I go to the office though I had no assignments, the most senior manager one day saw me in the office, and asked me why I was going to the office though I had no assignments there, and asked me to leave in the fastest pace possible. I think it is easy for you to see the level of disintegration existent in this organization from this one little example, aside from each manager having differing demands from me.
One day, I was looking for alternative accommodation myself, and got into a fight with a Guest House’s management. The fight happened because while I was trying to find out the fee for a single A/C room, the manager told me to come with the money before telling me that, so I insisted that he tells me first, after which he asked me to leave, then pushed me, so I pushed back. Afterwards, he called a bunch of his men and ordered them to attack, at which time I resisted, but eventually ran off. The scars on me were there, so the manager asked me about them, and I told him the truth.
After all that has happened, I was not only disgusted, but also confused, and exhausted. Hence, I wrote FUTURUS and HR a letter that was meant to give them some feedback. Later, the new Crossover (Satyam’s foreigner employment program) HR Manager told me that it was best for me to leave the internship. They were actually kicking me out because I was telling them what went wrong with their program so far; I never saw a better display of dictatorship in my life.
I kept struggling with the new manager (Aravinda), telling her that what happened was a normal part of adjustment, and I had FUTURUS to add to it, knowing (from communication with other interns) that FUTURUS is a lot more demanding than any other unit they have had experience with, and that didn’t exactly match with my career-status along with my uncanny need for hygiene, organization, and acclimatization.
Finally, I got a chance for a month to fix up (as if I were at fault) my domestic and career matters. My domestic matters improved as I moved to another – but not AIESEC – apartment with other software people, two of whom are with Satyam, and my career matters were going well until I got rejected from a job I got accepted in.
The second job was supposed to be in QH department, an admin job back in Hyderabad. Problem with the job is that I didn’t ask for a purely admin job, but I asked for a team-work based IT or MIS or business-process-tool or system-admin related job. However, the job seemed so vaguely related that I had to talk to the manager on the phone for around 30 minutes.
He said that he had to have a one-on-one (real) interview with me, so he had to come to Chennai. That was a real bad time for me to wait though because I was in that same hotel paying on a daily basis, and was on the verge of moving out a day before I got a call from HR informing of that job.
Anyway, I asked him for an estimate of when he will be able to come to Chennai for the interview, but he wouldn’t give me one. Hence, I only did what a logical person would do: move out to a cheaper place until he decides to show up, and I paid the RS3’000 for the new apartment.
Five days later I got a notice that I got accepted for the job and that they wanted to know when I would be able to go to Hyderabad. I then emailed the manager telling him that I had to wait until next month.
I did that because I already paid the monthly rate (and at that time there was only a little more than a week till the job started) and also, due to the unclear link between the job and what I wanted to do (and the job was only related in terms of the material that I had to work with), I asked for information on how it linked to what I wanted, and permission to go at the beginning of next month since otherwise, not only would I cope with the monthly rent I already paid, but I would most probably have to pay for the entire month again once I get there, that is despite it being the end of the month.
A week or so passed by, when he replied by email saying that he was on vacation and couldn’t reply, and that I was asking too many questions, and that he didn’t want me working for him.
A few days passed by when HR called me once again telling me that they had to release me from Satyam. However, the month-worth chance that I had with the new Crossover HR to improve my situation hasn’t even passed (the deadline was 12th of September but they called at the end of August).
This time, I didn’t struggle much because I already got tired of fighting for working for a company that acted contrary to its policy, was extremely disintegrated, had no regard to employees’ comfort, and treated them with extreme differentiation.
I say differentiation because while other interns had at least a month’s worth of adaptation after being placed in a job, and despite some of them not having a job for a reported 4 months or so, and despite them not having too much work to do, and despite them rejecting their jobs if desired, they kept them, but me, they were dying to sack. I talked to the new HR manager about this, and she just told me, though I’m sure she wouldn’t implement, that she would talk to QH department and the recruitment responsible.
My only reason for wanting to stay in this chaotic internship was that I wanted to see more of India, and that I was willing to get a job in what I was keen on learning about. However, now I realize that my internship here with Satyam was one big travesty. In fact, seeing what I did at the start, I should have quit a long time ago.
Hi there. I've just been matched to an AIESEC internship in India and I read your entry with apprehension. Needless to say, after speaking to many interns going to India, that I am expecting absolutely no servicing in India and will be ready to use my own resources.
ReplyDeleteDid you consider bringing the matter up with your sending local committee? They could have helped you. Also, I understand there is a complaint procedure where you can bring the matter up in some sort of tribunal.
You've done people some service by relaying your experience here but bringing it to the tribunal could mean that the intership is pulled off the system and AIESEC India's incompetence is brought to the attention to its governing body internationally.
Because, well, ultimately I think AIESEC has a lot of great professional opportunities...so bagging the whole organisation because of AIESEC India's incompetency isn't really a good idea.
We'll see if I still hold this opinion after my internship in India :)
Hi frizzorama! Thanks for the comments. How did you find my entry btw; what was your search query?
ReplyDeleteDid I consider bringing the matter up with your sending local committee? This is the same exact letter I sent to the local committee (AIESEC UAE), in fact, the local committee asked me for a letter like this, which I later published online (because they didn't make any use of it). All they did was not even give me the refund later, and exclude me from any more internships. I thikn it has something to do with the conflicts I had with the 2egotistical FUTURUS managers (I did give them some pointers, and my ways conflicted with theirs because of my orderly nature, unlike theirs), and the fight - or near fights (with the drunk intern and the violent hostel manager), and the bailing on the AISEC India housing (I am one of 4 that attracts mosquitoes, and I do not respect excessive dirt and insects while most others seemingly love those things).
Complaint procedure where I can bring the matter up in some sort of tribunal? I never heard of that.
Bring attention to its governing body internationally? I have no idea how.
Bagging the whole organisation because of AIESEC India's incompetency isn't really a good idea? Well let me tell you two things:
1) if the organization had a procedure for talking to the head of the organization, or at least to the HQ, then I would have, but they don't. Frankly, I don't have time to figure out how.
2) if the "organization" (or whatever it is) is really good, they wouldn't have let this happen in the first place. If it really is a good organization, it would have been good all over, because a true organization is consistent, with adamant policies and procedures that replicate and duplicate across all its branches. What I see from this experience is that AIESEC is not really an organization, it is a group of disparate spiders that are preying on hopeless and jobless poor victims that have no choice but to fall into their dirty big web (literally). Not only do they hire people that have no proper experience nor qualification, but they take money from their clients (in this case their victims) in order to pretend to fund their scheme, which not only does not follow its own terms and conditions, but trains its incompetent members, at the expense of its victims.
Good luck in India, I think you will need it, given that you apparently come from a more developed background than myself (I lived most of my in the middle-east, including Jordan and Iraq).
AIESEC ex-victim,
Row
Hi Row. I was applying for my visa and interestingly came across the fact that in Japan, AIESEC Internships are classed in a different category than employment visa. And it's cheaper. So I did a google search for "aiesec india visa" and your post came up.
ReplyDeleteI've had a look at the document my sending local committee provided me to which included complaint procedures.
It says here that if your complaint has not been entertained by the hosting or sending local committees, you should contact the Exchange Quality Board at: xqboard@ai.aiesec.org, (cc it to
chair.xqb@aiesec.net).
There's a list of things you need to provide though so give me your email address and I'll email over the document.
It says here that you are able to seek financial compensation.
Hope you'll sort some things out this way.
Hi frizz! Thank you so much for the information and your kindness in helping me out in .. helping improve people's career experience.
ReplyDeleteMy email address is (with modification to avoid them nasty spam bots): slowmow2k AT gmail.
Thanks again and very nice to meet you!
Row
Hi
ReplyDeleteI'm a member of AIESEC in India, though not from Hyderabad or Chennai.
I'd just like to say I'm sorry that you had such an awful experience, and I really hope I've made the trainees I've brought here have a better experience. For most of them I know I have.
About AIESEC, the thing is its a very largely decentralized organization, which means that standards do vary. Over 110 countries, you can't expect homogeneity, because the citizens own living standards are so different. While the furniture and cleanliness problems could definitely have been fixed, things like mosquitoes, for which Hyd is notorious btw, and over-crowding can't really be helped! Its kinda part of the India experience... There are parts of it we hate too, like the bureaucracy, but that's not really AIESEC's fault.
I just realized your post was ages ago, and things are realllyy improving these days, or at least we're really trying to improve.
Hope you are doing well.
Hi Sanjana,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I tried bringing this issue to AIESEC itself, but they either told me that they must be on the internship company's side (in this case it was Satyam, you know, the scam?), or they just wouldn't take my complaints.
The title clearly mentioned AIESEC India, and they were reposible for overcrowded accomodation, dirt problems, security problems (furtniture / neighborhood), and pest problems. AIESEC's job anyway is to coordinate and orient interns, but it did NOT do that. It simply picked me up and left me for dead, leaving the task of orientation - more like suffocation - to interns.
However, a GOOD organization would be well integrated with good policies that are established and ensured all over the world, not just in 1 or 2 cities.
The fact that you are the only AIESEC member that really cared about this article also shows how much AIESEC gives a crap about its interns' experience.
I stand my ground, AIESEC definitely sucks :)
Respectfully,
Mow Row
cult like to say the least
ReplyDeleteI agree, to say the least ;]
ReplyDeleteFirst, thank you for taking the time to write out your very very long story in such detail. I was considering applying to AIESEC, couldn't find much feedback about it until I found your site, and now I am reconsidering if it's worth applying (though I wouldn't be applying to work in India).
ReplyDeleteSecond, it sounds like AIESEC India and the companies you worked for are poorly organized, and I really do feel for you.
But having said all that, I must say, from what you've posted, the majority of your bad experience is not entirely AIESEC India's fault (keep in mind I am not defending their failure to act in any way); to be clear, what I'm trying to say is you're projecting a lot of your bad experience on a party that had no control over what you faced. Your expectations were WAY too high. You were going to INDIA...let me say that again so you get my point, INDIA. Realistically, what did you expect? Clean urban apartments with modern furnitures and access to many of the services found in developed nations? If so, then you've grown up comfortably and never known what most of the world's population faces on a daily basis, or like I said, your expectations were too high, or a combination of the both. India is developing country. You know what you can expect from developing countries? Dirt, dust, lower standards of hygiene and cleanliness, bugs of all sorts, lower quality housing, people who live by street rules, overcrowding and pack streets...need I go on? That's what you should've expected. It's you own fault that you didn't knowing you'd be going to India. Don't blame a company for your misplaced expectations or having to transition to lower standards of living. You come off sounding like a snob.
Thanks Jordan for commenting. However, you sound like a person who has not read what I said.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations were not high at all. In fact, I enjoyed the simplicity quite a lot.
The problem is with AIESEC's lack of efficiency, order, and ethical standards in the following (this is only a partial account as I already mentioned everything before):
1) it did not do the orientation as it promised
2) it did not properly divide the rent by size of occupancy
3) it did not do any maintenance on any of its flats (example: main door would not lock properly) (example: GREEN mold and hazardous dust)
4) it stuffed its apartments with interns so people would actually end up sleeping on the floor.
5) it did not re-allocate to different apartments when it said it would.
Besides, I live in a developing country, and it is nowhere as near as bad. And for your info, India is not only poor, it is a very highly diverse collection of poor and rich and and everwhere in between.
Enough said and good luck,
Mow Row
Mow Row, that's really bad when AIESEC members forget the intern... I've had some problems at the beginning of my internship as well and it was reallyyyy stressful! The worst problem in a internship I guess. But every place is a reality.
ReplyDeleteI think you should try a internship in another country where it's possible to get good indications of the last interns there. Mainly about the AIESEC!
I live in Brazil and my internship was in Europe. I knowed many cities and countries (first world countries, Jordan Foss), but nowhere in Europe was so clean like here in Brazil, a "developing country"... even people or cities! Dirt, dust, lower standards of hygiene and cleanliness are problems of some countries... not in all developing countries! Don't generalize Jordan...
hey mow thanks for writing your story. i ve had a great deal of trouble finding anything negative about this organization. its almost like they filtered or censored out negative things. very interesting point about the aiesec visa. do you know if this is the same in china? thats where i want to go but i just feel like the whole organization is shady and have no plans on continuing.
ReplyDeleteHi Derek,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment and the prob I had with the visa was mainly due the dumb Indian embassy in UAE that made me a short term visit visa rather than a student or employment visa, and that AIESEC did pretty much nothing to help in applying for one, other than maybe tell me to go with another intern who was applying at that time.
I have been to China but only as a visitor. If you decide to go and need any help with the orientation then you may contact me here and I will provide you with a small guide to China that I have prepared for my friends who are interested in going too.
Best wishes and yes, stay away from AIESEC, they are not really an organization, they are a bunch of students learning at your expense.
Much like Mow Row, my experience was just weird. When I went to the information session I though it was fishy but convinced myself that a student run “non-profit” organization (haha) that was around the world and had over 20,000 members had to be legit. So I ended up going to the training, I never went on the internship but they decided to have SIX HOUR "training session" on a sunday morning at 9 am. I went and as soon as we got there they decided that we should play a game where we had to choose 8 of 16 items to survive on a fictional island. So as we start this and the whole time I am thinking "what the hell does this have to do with a getting a job?" but whatever i do it just because its 9 am and i don’t feel like arguing (which I am convinced is why they did it so early) almost like cultish brainwashing with no resistance. So i expect we will get to business at some point but no, next up a ONE HOUR game where we have to choose our favorite leader. Keep in mind the whole time we are separated into groups with aiesec students that have no clue what they are talking about who are controlling the conversation. Anyways this was a big pile of crap and big waste of my time. I almost left but then i found there was an interview at 3pm to "select" the right candidates for an internship. What a surprise i was accepted! Who wouldnt be? Rejected people dont need to pay their joining fee to get access to their jobs.
ReplyDeleteSo I get accepted and then my assigned “coach” didn’t even contact me! I get an email asking if my coach has contacted me. 2 months later still nothing from the coach (thank god). Seriously just one more sign to avoid this thing called an organization. They also have weekly brainwashing meetings. I am there to talk about a fuking job, I’m there for business not to make friends or sit in a fuking circle. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place, it sounds to good to be true because it is. If you think I’m full of shit here is a perfect example of what AIESEC does http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMrH-Ud1eZg. I guess if your into dancing its worth your while, or if you don’t know many people, but don’t get taken advantage by them. I also find it strange how there almost ZERO negative reviews about them, its almost as if the negative stuff is hidden. Sorry about the grammar, I wrote this late and super fast. Peace.
Thanks for your feedback mate, and your grammar is fine :)
ReplyDeleteI think you found little negative reviews cause they were dwarfed by all their dancing "training" vids lOl!
and yes not quite a "non-profit" or "organization". They take money from the intern AND the hiring company, and not just a little from the company especially.
ReplyDeleteDon't trust in AIESEC, DON'T DO IT. I was participating for around 2 years in this fake organization, dancing those stupid dances and thinking in this ´positive impact on society¨as most of them say all the time as parrots and giving my time for nothing (most of them believe they are ¨real leaders¨). When I took my internship in Turkey Izmir in April 2011, they didn't fulfill anything from my contract, they didn't pick me up from the airport, my work place and job were unclear from the begging and I had to spend a lot of money (round way ticket from Chile to Izmir) insurance, pocket money and so on. They cheated on me with everything, working hours, accommodation and also the city I was supposed to live, I met a lot of interns in the same situation, dealing with a lot of problems and so unhappy all the time. AIESEC IZMIR is and was in that time just a group of untrained teenagers playing as managers, taking things in a non serious way and I decided to complain using the "AIESEC LAW" through ICB which is a legal body into this organization with unclear rules and a confusing document you can't even understand. I had to say my local committee supported me all the time but all effort were for nothing and someone felt so disappointed at the end. They had to give my money back, cause I was asking for 100% refunds and complaining for prejudices. I sent all supporting papers, interns letters telling their complaints, my boss also wanted to send me to jail so I attached all those documents to ICB..to summarize I just got headaches, delayed answer from these ´AIESEC lawyers¨ excuses and I lost the case despite all papers proving I was right. I got tired, sick, I had to take other internships in Europe through AIESEC cause I didn't want to lose my ticket to go back home in March. My other experiences were great but I spent bunch of money..trust me and they didn't refund any money at all (more than 3.500 dollars I was asking for) I'm still paying for a credit loan I got to pay this ´GREAT EXPERIENCE¨LOL, I met a lot of people complaining not only because of the service in Turkey but having also horrible experiences around the world (China, most of India, Vietnam, Russia, Costa Rica, etc, etc) They don't take into consideration you cover all your expenses, so they should give the best services as minimum, for a lot of people these experiences become the worst ever, they play with your dreams and money and they offer really low salaries if you think most of us are qualified professionals
ReplyDelete(they treat us as a cheap workforce) In fact, there are 2 guys from Colombia complaining against AIESEC through the Colombian Embassy in Turkey. If you wanna help them I can give you their mails and you can send your experiences as a evidence this organization works in a really bad way, they have to get a punishment.
Thanks for sharing Chilean girl. Sure please provide their email-address so we can share our experiences with them.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the failed investment, and I wish you better luck (by dealing with better people) in the future 8]
I am sorry for your bad experience. I would like to share my experience with you and everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI went on an AIESEC exchange in Ukraine just over one year ago. I lived in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment with 5 people which was small and far away from the city centre. I met the most amazing people when I was there, both interns and AIESECers, who were truly inspiring. Life was much tougher than I was used to, but it made every accomplishment 10x better. It's hard to explain how, but going on exchange really changed the way I thought about the world.
I joined AIESEC when I returned because I wanted to make the same impact on others as the AIESECers I met had on me.
I do agree with you that AIESEC is NOT perfect. As mentioned before, AIESEC is highly decentralised. And not everyone in AIESEC is a leader. But AIESEC is a great opportunity, if you take it, and if you make the most of it. In no other organisation do you have the opportunity to grow so much.
You can argue that we are learning at your expense. But only if you let your experience go to waste. You may view your exchange as a waste, and an 'expense', but mine was incredible, valuable and the best experience I ever had.
I do not expect you to understand this now as it has been far too long and I can see that you're feeling very negative toward AIESEC. But for all those that are thinking about AIESEC, please give it a chance. Our exchanges are not holidays. We are not tour guides. You will need to be open to cultural differences (and this goes much deeper than most people think) and you will need to have zero expectations in terms of accommodation and living standards (remember you are living like the poorest of the people in the developing countries).
We are a platform - a platform for great things and full of opportunities if you can just open your eyes and take it.
This is subjective since you actually work for them now. Again though, expecations were not at all high, and I actually liked it to a point, and I am a pretty simple person and don't demand nor expect much from others. I can be happy in almost any situation.
ReplyDeleteI am just pointing out that AIESEC really did nothing other than connect me to a company that turned out to be a scam, too, and they picked me up from the airport.
AIESEC has gone again ALL its promises and deserves no trust nor respect from anyone.
They promised orientation but did not do it, they promised accomodation but did not even manage it (left it to the hiring company), they promised help with visa assistance and what not but did not do it.
Their service was also appaling in terms of responding to queries after the program was over, and in getting off their bloody mailing list even though I was already off their program.
They had me out their program even though I had plenty of maltreatment by the hiring company, and their secret justification for that decision was of course cause the hiring company (that turned out to be a failure and a scam), has more money than I do.
They just support the people with more money. Guess why? Cause that's all they are after.
Hi, I am very happy to find some discussions about AIESEC because I think it looks too good to be true sometimes
ReplyDeleteI am going with four friends on an internship to AIESEC Hyderabad...
I have lots of AIESECer friends who make everything sound so easy and outgoing to the extent that made me scared of what could happen...
I am still not sure about AIESEC though some of my friends who went to India said it was great but they went to delhi...
The people I have talked to from Hyderabad seem organized and efficient but that is all skype talks and it is not always like it seems...so next time I am talking online to those guys, I will ask for pictures of the apartment so I am a little bit less worried of what to expect
Thanks for your detailed post
Please, write to me: paula689689@gmail.com.
DeleteI have been chosen for an internship in Hyderabad and I dont know if accept it or not¡¡¡
Are you there??
Yes better make sure all is OK before you go :)
ReplyDeleteWhy don´t you go to AIESEC International?
ReplyDeleteI´m an AIESECer, and sometimes i hear about bad internship experiences in other parts of the world, they´re exceptions but still shouldn´t happen.
Really, it would be helpful to the quality of our internships if you could point out which countries aren´t delivering what they are supposed to.. but do it to the people that can actually do something ;)
Peace!
That is the best service AISEC can give, to tell ppl that are unsatisfied to repeat everything over again, even over 3 years later 8/
ReplyDeleteThe whole experience with exchange is learning
ReplyDeletebut i must say the experience you had there is no excuse whatsoever to cover up for it,
it was a fail for AIESEC,
truelly sorry from an AIESECER IN AFRICA
err it was India, and yes, lots to learn from but a big huge floppy fail in service standards ind33d 8]
ReplyDeleteThank God for your link despite its age, it's aging very well :-) check the AIESEC Facebook page, there is a post from some Kenny Chong, there are lots of aiesecers and others out of the org some time ago who are really concerned, really u shouldgive it a try and bring the matter to this day context. You could help a lot with your testimony. And specially talking about this BS where it is not easy to find impartial comments about the quality of the organization! Please please please read that post u will find lots of good people brilliant people they want to do something too
ReplyDeleteer can't see no Kenny Chong post on it, and .. thanks anyway
ReplyDeletewhat about japan aiesec... i dont have any idea about them and if someone was in there pls inform me..:)
ReplyDeletees casi imposible encontrar en la red experiencias malas acerca esta organización llamada AIESEC.., me he vinculado a la organización para tener experiencias y nuevos campos!! sabes acerca las organizaciones colombiana o si organiza bien, ? me dio como miedo!! :)
ReplyDeleteesto no es un blog en español. Por favor, hable Inglés.
ReplyDeleteHi Row,
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing out this post. I'm from New Delhi, India and I was planning to go for an international internship with AIESEC, probably Europe. Let me tell you that I agree when you say that most local AIESECers are shitheads. Even for their recruitment processes, they don't have any official or formal paperwork or announcements of any kind and just ask you to show up anywhere, at anytime.
Do you know of any interns who have had similar experiences to yours in Europe? Are AIESEC internships all over the world the same, crappy lodgings, poor working conditions and pathetic support from local AIESECers? I really need some honest feedback. If you know people who had poor experiences in Europe, please paste some links here.
Cheers,
Zeo
Hi Zeo,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but I do not know much about AIESEC in Europe, but I would assume they are better than in Asia or the Middle East as the culture in general tends to be more systematic and professional.
From experience the culture in Asia is not as suitable for the work environment as compared to Europe or the Americas.
Besides, you being used to the culture in India will probably find Europe to be much more pleasant, though I would assume they would expect you to be the same.
I wish you the best,
Row
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI read this post when I was preparing for my internship in India, and it has been several years since my internshio ended. Perhaps my experience help others who have landed here.
I am now a journalist and I was fortunate enough to land an internship as a trainee reporter in a newsroom in India. It was a fantastic job, and saying that you have worked in the media in India can do wonder to an aspiring journo's resume.
On the AIESEC part, I was a member of AIESEC prior to my internship, and thus knew the process in and out. Most of what I need to know, however, is publicly available. For eg, do i need a visa to travel to India? The consulate's website told me what I needed to know. I had also traveled extensively by then so I think this helped.
That said, I had sufficient communication with the AIESEC person on the other side to know where I would be staying, working etc. He did arrive late at the airport, and didn't tell me how to get home from work (pretty scary as my office was in the outskirts and I finish work at 9+/10) but I eventually learnt these things for myself.
Re: accommodation, I had to share a room with other interns and the place we stayed at was not somewhere I would stay at at home. But I compared it to my colleague's (i.e. working journalists) homes and found it pretty comparable. My only complaint was that the AIESEC kids would use it as their party house and come as and when they liked, which didn't say much for privacy.
My (other) only complaint was the money situtation. As I was in India for less than a month, I didn't see the need to open a bank account. My employers, however, could not issue cash cheques. So they had to issue it in AIESEC's name and AIESEC had to cash it for me and pay me my salary. They weren't very efficient in doing this. I was okay as I had brought along cash to spare, and could access my home bank account via ATM, but other interns in the same boat found themselves pretty cash strapped.
Unfortunately, it does depend on who your AIESEC person (or case worker, if you will?) is. Mine wasn't too efficient but I wasnt entirely left in the dark. I admit that there is a chance that things can be pretty crappy, as the system, as I remember it does not necessarily penalise those who don't fulfill responsibilities.
But then again, it's not a professional organisation, but one run by student volunteers trying to make things work. This is something people should keep in mind when deciding whether to go on an AIESEC internship or not.
All the best.
well said
ReplyDeleteHello MowRow
ReplyDeleteI am Monica from Colombia EP in India, I came for an internship in Ahmedabad and was a completely disaster, now in Pune and the same, having facing a lot of problems here..
Hey I agree, on that, just run away of problems....and if it happens once it can twice...be careful
DeleteI am just reading all these experiences and is very familiar to me and nothing new.
ReplyDeleteThe strange thing is that if you try to retrieve some comments or reviews about AIESEC, it is very difficult to find them trying to making up the truth behind a lot of AIESEC experiences.
I went to Hungary as an EP, for a year and a half management traineeship. But yes I will say that before taking the decision about going there, they try to push you t take whatever it comes, they will assure that is going to be great.
An me, by that time I have no idea of what really the AIESEC experience was, so I fully trust them. Then I took to Hungary, and the same as any other reviews, it was a total disaster. First, I got a very unpleasant place to stay, with a old-rug as a wall, just lying in two old wood corners.Crazy, not even a door and I was force to pay 2-full months of rent.
Here, the AIESEC person in charge of looking for the room, told me that she has 2 very good places to choose, but in fact she was lazy and just got the first 2 options on hand, both awful.
That just demonstrate that she did not take the time to look for an appropriated place to live, plus I had to spend a lot of money for such shitty place.
Then the time work arrived, and here everything changed as well. First I realized that the company that hired me, was not even signing the contract, that means that if I have some sort of problem the company would not be responsible for that.
Also they set an stupid time schedule for me, and I was never told before that. I was entering 6 AM in the morning, but the company never realized that I would not have a car, so I was waking up everyday around 3AM in the morning, passing lot of bars and strip clubs, and then run for about 40 min, to catch the company bus at 5 AM, after 2 months I was totally drained and tired and of course the company did not care about that The boss was never looking for your security of health.
Then, after I also I realized that AIESEC in cooperation with the companies cheat the systems, by just providing resident visas to all trainees and thats illegal. Actually is not a work visa and you can get into a lot of problems like me.
How it happened? Well in Hungary they still have a rusty mood to check the tickets for the public transportation, and one of the worst places was on the metro area.
Here what happened was that they wanted to check on my ticket, of course I have it, but since people do not speak English most of the times, they are abusive and aggressive. So they ask me for my passport, and of course my visa.
The few English they spoke, was poor and just asking what I was doing in there, since I had long time there (noticed by all the postings on the passport) then BY MISTAKE I TOLD THEM I WAS WORKING. Here things were really tough I never was able to provide with a work visa of course beucase AIESEC is not an legal entity to do that and is company's responsibility to so, but they would not increase their operational cost. So then then I got caught.
Then after to get out of the problem I pay to the police to let me "free", stupid right.
And AIESEc? Never showed up, never help me out, they just disappeared and instead I took over my embassy, and explained what happened to me, in few words they told that AIESEC was misdoing-doing, since they are not providing it trainees with proper visas, even if it is a non-paid internship, they must provide you with a work visa.
Finally I told the company what happened, and the company did not do anything, they just told, my boss in fact " OH hohohohoho, we should hide you in the warehouse" again another stupid answer, few after I better come back home,
Also I did not get paid in 3 full months, because it was summer and most AIESECERS were partying and wasted.
So be careful with such kind of things, just be aware, and if planning to go abroad, make sure you will have all proper documentation to travel, and make sure the company will fully support you.
well, let's just say that AIESEC, no matter where it is, is just a waste of your time and energy. This is not an employment agency or anything where you can develop any of your skills. It is just a collection of foreigners (especially in Europe), mainly people from the far East, trying desperately to improve their English skills, which are pathetic to begin with. Avoid it at all costs.
ReplyDeleteWell said, more like a cultural exchange program than a recruitment agency, which sucks btw lOl.
ReplyDeleteHello, I had a very bad experience with experience AIESEC me too. I just came from a very bad experience in Indonesia where I have been fired because the huge lack of competence of there "leaders" and there favoritism policy. It was an education internship. I had a very low salary of 300$/months us but my dorm coast approximately 150$/months. You can find better for lower even in Europe. At the beginning I enjoyed my internship. The AIESEC responsibles seemed very helpfull and I enjoyed a lot my internship. However rapidly I found some things that didn't work. They put classes during religious holiday and my student didn't wanted to go follow my class during these days. One of them even invited me to go to the celebrations with her, so nice. However, I decided to talk with the project organizer after my working hours. She answered to me it was not her problem even she have made the schedule. I criticed her and she began to cry, call her aiesec friend and I was like the vilain in the story. When I saw that, I was surprised. I was not really rude with her and I even considered her as a friend. After she took one week holiday in Singapour. During the internship, I got a little problem with a student who often interrupted my class to plug her cellphone and text during my explanation. I begin politely to inform her, it was not something I used to tolerate, but she was continuing and I raise my voice tone to tell her, I didn't like it. She made a complain to my boss (the AIESEC VP and AIESEC president), who never talked to me about that. I just knew it because one of the student friend said it to me she didn't like the way I inform her. Shortly after that my project organizer returned from her holiday to Singapour cease to did her job to bring me some assistance when I needed it, saying it was because I used to be rude with her and she refused to talk. I learned that because one day, I asked her to print some important documents, I needed and she had in a USB device and brought me in my class. She didn't do it because it ws "rainy outside" despite she had water proof bag. I needed to do the job in last minute, arrived in my class 30 minute in delay. I texted her, trying to explain to her that despite she hated me now she had a job to do. Shortly after, I was in a local bar in a event organised by AIESEC but out of my internship context. I talked to her, trying to explain she had a job to do and when she replied to me with insults. I was exhausted and with the alcool effect I began to critic her more directly. Her AIESEC friend arrived and I think from what I remember he was a little bit drunk also, began to attack me physically so I defend myself, push him back on the ground, never try to do other thing except get back to my dorm, hoping I could fix the situation pcificly later after a good night. However the guy tryed to pushed me down the stairs of the bar, without success and decided to get out as soon as I can because I became out of myself. The AIESEC local president who was also my boss decided to take me back my dorm, did me a fake speech about positive destiny, saying I was a good guy and that my reaction was normal whit what happen, that they will not fired me. So I was correct, woke me up and tried to communicate with the local VP who was also one of my boss and tell her about the situation, doing a complain about the project organiser. She said, she had just nothing to say about the project organiser who were also her friend, I think. I decided to inform the project orgniser about all the complain I will do against and about the fact their will probably be consequences. She answered me very violently. This day, where the day where I was supposed to get a class during a religious celebration day. Like I guess, no one comes to my class and I decided to take the three days free I had to travel by myself and recovered myself from my emotions.
ReplyDeleteSequel of my previous message: It was great and I had time to talk by phone to my project organiser to rule the situation because I was tired that no one rule the situation. We had a discussion, made some agreements and when I was return I relaxed and ready to be cooler with everybodies. However I had a bad surprise, when I arrived and saw at my dorm when I saw the president and the VP. They tell me that I was fired from the internship, that they called my family to discuss and that I was forced to go back to home. I was furious and shocked. For them, the reason was that they were unable to communicate with me. WTF, it's more me who tried to communicate with them without a lot of success. They also tell me that the project organiser relatives and these of the guy who attacked me physically wanted to call the police to handle me because I was a threat for them. I learned later that this guy took part of the decision of fired me. They interfered in my private life, called my parent and our relationship who were not good at all fell deeper, fired me basicly because a stupid bar conflict where I just defended myself against insults and physical attack and naver try to do more. They also talker to me about this girl who texted story that was ruled since a time. In fact they just didn't like that I question there profesionnalism like I began slowly to do and as they said always win my point when I argued against them, which happen rarely. In fact I rapidly understood that the decision was based more on pride and resentment than other reason. When i returned in my country, I learned that I was out of the AIESEC. My comitee did nothing except banished me from the local and I was forced to argue againt the national office of AIESEC to get a refund that I finally got after long months of waiting. I studied the policy, and considering my situation they can't take such decision. I wrote a big document forced them to refund then just my internship fee and not banished me from the organisation. I understood that it was an other question of pride. I learned later that the president, the project organiser and the guy who attacked me physically all got promotion in the organisation. What was the joke. Since, that i wrote a document about my situation and they stopped to answer to me suddenly since I sent to them this document with proofs I don't know but my experience with AIESEC proved me that many AIESEC members are just student in powertrip who are not ready to be leader at all. Many comitee like my univeristy comitee are also composed essentially of people who are friends. How can we basicaly trust that? they are also a good source of cheap labour for the company and the student who work in AIESEC often just don't know the law. I would have the possibility to send them a legal action and I need support. We need to force it to change because it has any good sens that an organisation work like that.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the story of both side. I don;t know whether you are western or asian. But if you managed to make an Indonesian girl cried, I can just say, wow.
ReplyDeleteI am an indonesian. might made me biased about this. But I was a volunteer for international student who was granted a scholarship to study our language and culture. Most of the students are nice, some are assholes, some have no idea that they are asshole. I met a german guy who complained about each food served to him by his host family. The host cried because she felt offended. You see, asians are not direct. I was once confronted by a drunk german who i helped because he said that indonesian never meant what we said. He accused my whole nation as being a liar. but you know what, it's just the matter of cultural sensitivity. During my volunteership i met a slovak guy who made a korean girl cried and a german guy who made a japanese LADY exploded. What is normal for you might be offending for the asian. About the AIESECers in Indonesia, I met some of them and I know that they are not that "impressive". They are kids (they don't even drink). That's why it's very easy to make them cry. Some of them will never leave their mother's house until they get married. Indonesia is not all paradise. So if you'd do your internship, do your research. Don't just listen all the saying about Bali and expect us to be a heaven on earth. We are still struggling. About the pay, guess what. It's 2014, I got a bachelor on economics and work as business consultant and my monthly pay is $280 and my shitty flat is $80 a month. For a decent place to live, yeah you have to spend at least $150 monthly in cities. so i just want to say, do your research. I cannot really blame the AIESEC when I read your comment.
p.s. I'm on second interview with a company in Chennai via AIESEC and I already prepared to live literally in rathole. I will update when I have progress.