Strange Shift In Attitude

[Caldus]

I am an intern working at a larger corporation. My boss and supervisor have both agreed for the last few weeks that I have been the best intern they have ever had. They have never seen someone accomplish so much in one summer. My boss would assure me of this all the time. All of the sudden, today, I felt a very strange vibe from him. We were all going over my presentation that I would have to present to the entire software division of the corporation at the end of the internship. While he was making suggestions here and there, he had a very negative method of providing those suggestions. He would sometimes project his voice in a manner that made him seem like he was irritated with me or something. I remember a while back, he had a personal talk with me and wanted to know why I was always nervous around people. I told him about my apparent anxiety in certain social situations (except presentations, which is weird). He has been supportive of it though.

 

Then later in the day, when I was coming back from a workshop and coming into the weekly meeting, he was outside of the door while the meeting was being held. I came up to him to ask to make sure that the meeting inside was our meeting and not someone else's meeting (we have different groups within the same office building using the same conference rooms). Then all of the sudden he did this shoo gesture like as though he was actually shooing me away. He was on the cellphone during the time (he might've been talking to someone very briefly, I'm not sure). Point is, his attitude has been weird lately and I think it's because it was something I triggered in him this week (I have no idea what though). Or maybe he was just having a really bad day. Thing is, he is usually extremely nice to me. I don't want to make him change his mind about how I am as a potential candidate for the company later on. Any thoughts?

[Jennster]

Not sure on this one - perhaps he was just having a bad day. I say watch his attentions to you over the next week and see if things resume to normal. Sometimes people just have off days.

[avman]

Honestly if he's always been really nice to you and complimentary of his work I think it's likely he is distracted by something else. That can certainly affect his mood and may make him seem more brusque with you.

 

There could be problems with his superiors. Or some goal he's having trouble meeting. Or any other of a multitude of possible reasons.

 

Give your boss a day or two to let things sort out. Then you could maybe approach him and just ask him "Is everything ok? You seem like you've been very preoccupied." Thats a good lead which will give him a chance to explain to you what's been going on.

[the yang to the worlds yin]

Sounds like he's just having a bad day. If it continues, you might as well ask him about it.

[the yang to the worlds yin]

Who knows, he may have just seen a change in you, that he wasn't sure he liked.

[Caldus]

Not sure what it could possibly be seeing as how I am still being my usual self. I talked to him over the phone today (wasn't in the same building as him today -- I shift between the cubicle and the lab) and he didn't seem as irritated today. So we'll see.