In a famous Monty Python sketch, an irate customer confronts a pet shop owner.
The reason? His newly purchased parrot has a problem.
It’s dead.
The exchange goes something like this:
Customer:
I wish to complain about this parrot what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.
Shopkeeper:
Oh yes, the, uh, the Norwegian Blue… What’s, uh… What’s wrong with it?
Customer:
I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it, my lad. He’s dead, that’s what’s wrong with it!
Shopkeeper:
No, no, he’s uh… he’s resting.
Customer:
Look, my lad, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I’m looking at one right now.
Shopkeeper:
No no, he’s not dead, he’s, he’s restin’!
Hilarity ensues.
This sketch reminds me a lot of the stories I hear from interns about the gap between promise and reality. They apply for an internship with all sorts of promises, where golden opportunities seem just the tip of the iceberg…
Only to find it’s an internship where the poor intern ends up doing all sorts of menial tasks, turning out to be just cheap labor...
And the company keeps saying, “Yeah, well, uh, nooooo, you have to see it differently… you actually get many opportunities to work hands-on in the field.”
“You have to be a bit of a self-starter, you know, we can’t babysit you, come on.”
Or “yeah we wanted to do that but, you know, busy busy busy.”
And “haven’t you got those login codes yet? How strange.”
The parrot isn’t dead. He’s just resting. Right. 🥸
Interns know a dead parrot when they see one. Don’t sell dead parrots.