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When Are You Too Old to Take an Internship?

older-internBy Adrienne Erin
Contributor, Online Career Tips

Finding a job is one of the steps that many adults must take once they finish their education. However, getting that job is another matter. You may have gotten your bachelor’s degree, but that’s no longer a guarantee for a job offer. Even if you’re switching careers, the work experience you had in the past may be inapplicable now.

Then there’s the nasty Catch-22 present with many jobs: it’s listed as entry-level but requires one to three years of experience. How can you get experience if the entry-level job requires experience?

The answer is internships. While internships are still associated with the college-aged crowd, it’s actually becoming more common for an older age set to take them. There is even a movie about this very scenario. Just because you’re no longer in your 20s does not mean you are ineligible for an internship.

Shows Employers Determination

Many people make at least one career switch during their adult lives. However, once you switch careers to something drastically different, it can be hard to get your foot in the door. My own mother went through this when she went from a career in architecture to one in computer science. Despite getting that computer science degree, many employers were reluctant to hire her because she had switched her careers.

The way she stood out was by taking a programming internship. After she took the internship, she said that the interviewers were impressed that she was willing to take an internship to get more knowledge and experience with her new career path.

If you’re switching to a completely different career, internships are the way to go. If you’re going from litigation law to automated marketing, you’re going to need to show future employers you’re willing to do what it takes to be successful in your new career path.

It Proves You’re Not Content With Minimum Effort

If you are looking for a new job, taking an internship will also show potential employers that you’re more comfortable with an active lifestyle. When you’re job searching, you can spend hours each day searching for the job, researching the company and writing cover letters. It can feel like a full time job, all on its own! However, to an employer that gap between jobs doesn’t show that — it shows an empty spot in your resume.

Taking an internship — even an unpaid one — shows these doubters that you’re still doing something instead of sitting on the couch supposedly doing nothing. The best part is that taking the internship will benefit you — you’ll be learning about the industry in which you want to work and you’ll be able to add that to your resume.

You’re Never Too Old to Learn Something New

Internships are the best way to get job experience. While many are still unpaid — raise your hand if you’ve heard the employer say the payment is the experience you receive? It isn’t the only incentive, and it still is beneficial to take the internship. Potential employers appreciate it when interviewees, especially older ones, take the initiative to get the experience they need to get the job they want.

It may feel like a step back to take an internship, especially if you’ve been in the workforce for years. However, by doing so you’ll be able to take the necessary steps to launch your new career.

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