our underage intern drank at the company party

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes:

Earlier this week I was chatting with our intern, Rachel, and another coworker about the staff party the previous week. I had been sick and missed it, and intern Rachel, who is in college and under 21, said that I didn’t miss anything, just her getting a little drunk … because they didn’t card her. I’m not a teetotaler, but I was stunned that she would admit it in front of us like it was a funny in-joke.

In planning the party, we specifically picked a non-happy-hour event and decided not to serve booze because we had an underage team member. Which means she ordered it herself.

Obviously the best moment to correct this has passed and I’m not her direct manager, but I feel like I need to let her know that this was not professional behavior. But I’m at a loss for how to do so.

Rachel is a great intern from what I see — she asks thoughtful questions, is eager to learn, and has brought some great ideas into brainstorms. She does have a tendency to sometimes overshare and be a bit loud, but never in an annoying way, just a bit naive.

Has the moment gone to give her some friendly professional advice?

I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.