'The "intern" turned out to be someone with 5 years experience making $10k more than me': Manager forces employee to train new 'intern,' only to fire them and replace them with the intern weeks later

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Sep 19, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

Deceit has no place in the workplace. It's a wonderful theme for Shakespeare plays, but it gets messy in real life. And not messy in a fun way. Messy in a life-altering way. It's the responsibility of the employer to be transparent and honest with its employees. Maybe there are certain facts they want to hide from their charges, but this should be a red flag. If your commitment to a company requires you to turn a blind eye to some of its practices, we have a bigger problem on our hands. This is especially true if it's about the hiring process. If you're about to be let go, your boss should inform you as soon as the decision is final. 

They certainly shouldn't pretend to send an intern under your tutelage and then dramatically reveal that they weren't an intern at all, but rather your replacement. This kind of Hamlet-level deception is better left to the stages of the West End, not a mid-level marketing firm. But this is the world we live in, unfortunately for one unlucky employee. 

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  • A coworker sips coffee in front of another coworker.
    via Unsplash+ (Curated Lifestyle)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • When the employee took to the internet with her work horror story, commenters flooded in trying to help her make the best of the situation. Read on to see what they had to say and try to imagine what you would have done in this situation. Scroll on to find out. 

  • My manager tried to make me train my replacement without telling me I was getting fired...

    so this happened last week and im still kinda processing it tbh. been working at this mid size marketing agency for about 3 years, nothing fancy but the pay was decent. anyway my manager sarah (fake name) comes up to me and says "hey we're getting a new intern and i want you to show them the ropes on the client database system." seemed normal enough, we get interns sometimes.
    via u/LavaFalcon45
  • but then she starts asking me to document EVERYTHING. like every single process, every password, every client contact, even stuff that was just common sense to me. when i asked why she said "oh you know, just in case" with this weird smile.
    via u/LavaFalcon45
  • red flag #1 should have been when she made me create step by step guides for literally everything i do. red flag #2 was when the "intern" turned out to be someone with 5 years experience making $10k more than me (found out later from a friend in HR).
    via u/LavaFalcon45
  • the final straw was yesterday when sarah called me into her office and said "so we've decided to go in a different direction with your position." i was like wait what?? and she goes "but don't worry, we'd love to have you stay another 2 weeks to finish training jessica." i just stared at her for a solid 10 seconds then said "absolutely not" and walked out. cleaned out my desk while she was still sitting there with her mouth open.
    via u/LavaFalcon45
  • best part? they called me 3 times today asking where i put certain files and how to access the client portal. maybe should have thought about that before firing the only person who knew how everything worked lol already got two interviews lined up for next week. thankfully i had some money saved up so i dont have to panic about rent while i find something better.
    via u/LavaFalcon45

  • Commenters chimed in with stories of their own.

    series-hybrid • 2h ago This seems to be happening a lot these days. Why do companies hire a new person at a higher pay level, instead of giving a raise the the experienced worker?
    via u/series-hybrid
  • Two female coworkers sip coffee together.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • MalachiteKell • 1h ago Hiring budget higher than the retention budget, because HR doesn't get bonuses for onboarding when all you do is retention.
    via u/MalachiteKell
  • dabenu 1h ago • Simple: nepotism. Companies do not exist to be fair or even productive, they exist to concentrate wealth to a lucky few. The rest is just means to an end. Unless the higher ups start losing money out of their pockets, it all makes perfect sense. More money gets concentrated to fewer people. They'll compensate for the decreased production by dumping more work on some low level employees. Keep squeezing out the company until it falls apart and then they simply start over.
    via u/dabenu
  • • HotnHandicapped 59m ago Because some companies only respond to market pressure, not loyalty. You're more likely to get a pay bump by leaving than by staying. It's unfair, but it's become a sad truth.
    via u/HotnHandicapped
  • jcoddinc 56m ago • They honestly believe that they will get more work from the new hire than for rewarding the loyal employee. They think that if they get a raise they will actually do less work or refuse additional tasks. Whereas with a new hire you can dump 10 extra tasks onto the duties expected list.
    via u/jcoddinc
  • knighthawk82 • 42m ago Because they can give the work of 3 people to the new hire, and it wont be him taking on additional responsibilities outside his work, its all just baseline for them.
    via u/knighthawk82
  • chubbysumo • 1h ago because the new person is more likely to do what they say.
    via u/chubbysumo
  • SierraStar7 • 1h ago "best part? they called me 3 times today asking where i put certain files and how to access the client portal. maybe should have thought about that before firing the only person who knew how everything worked lol" When they call you again, which they most likely will do, tell them you already gave everything to the person they hired to replace you.
    via u/SierraStar7
  • Keep repeating that every time they contact you, do not say or reply with anything. else, your only response should be "I already gave everything to the person you hired to replace me." This way they can't try to say you took any of the PWs or anything else. It will also help your case should they try to deny your UI. Keep all the communication between you & them.
    via u/SierraStar7
  • chubbysumo • 1h ago make sure to go for unemployment, that was constructive dismissal. They fired you.
    via u/chubbysumo
  • flatpackjack · 2h ago . That s ks, but is good you were able to get interviews lined up so quickly. I was the graphic designer for a boot manufacturer who was moving offices across country because they thought being
    via u/flatpackjack
  • on the same street as Nike would bring success. They hired a marketing person to replace me and paid them 30% more. Their sole job was to hire and manage freelancers to do all the design work I previously did.
    via u/flatpackjack
  • neverenoughpurple 46m ago . Why on earth, if they don't think someone is doing well enough in a job to remain in the job, would they want that person to be the one TRAINING THE REPLACEMENT? It makes it really obvious that it has nothing to do with quality of work.
    via u/neverenoughpurple
  • sunny_yay • 1h ago Honestly, there's nothing much you can do. The response I love in this situation is that you might as well charge some high hourly fee with minimum hours to get a final pay out of them.
    via u/sunny_yay
  • NtheLegend • 35m ago . I had this happen a few years ago, but it was a blessing in disguise because I absolutely hated that job. I would cry on the way in more than a few times. After fruitlessly searching for work while I was there, I managed to get better work (if for only slightly better pay) immediately after I was fired lol.
    via u/NtheLegend
  • . moyismoy 43m ago You did a few things wrong. 1. You want them to fire you, not quit. You don't have to do any work for those last 2 weeks. You could have spent the entire time applying for new jobs. If they tell you
    via u/moyismoy
  • to do something just ignore them. Getting fired means you get unemployment benefits. 2. You missed a golden opportunity to lock their client files for "security".
    via u/moyismoy
  • Zankastia • 36m ago Pro tip. Change working places every three to five years.
    via u/Zankastia
  • heyyabesties 58m ago . Please tell me you didn't answer any of their questions.
    via u/heyyabesties

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