As more professional adults seek to reinvent themselves in the workforce, they find out pretty quickly that times have changed. The paper resume, followed by a solid interview and hand shake, don’t carry the same weight they used to.
But that’s okay, because for the baby boomer generation in particular, there’s more than one way to skin a cat, as they say. For some, the answer lies in returning to school for retraining and recertification in a new field. For others, it means scouring online job boards and playing the numbers game – if enough queries are sent out, something’s bound to come back.
Granted, the first option can be time-consuming and costly. And the second… well, many describe the section option as sending resumes into a “black hole.”
But there’s a third way – one that many adults in mid-life and beyond are discovering can really take them somewhere. That option is to become an adult intern. Yes, we think of interns as newly minted college grads, discovering the world of work for the first time under the watchful eye of an older employer. But that’s only one kind.
Those of us born before the late 1960s and early 1970s are quickly growing in number and, increasingly, life circumstances dictate the need for change. Mothers with grown children are attempting to reenter the work force in droves. Same for husbands or wives whose spouses have been laid off or downsized. In both scenarios, they face a gap in their resumes.
Similarly, many boomers have put in their 25 or 30 years in one field, and cherish the chance to try something new, an encore career, if you will. But what employer will give them a chance without prior on-the-job experience?
As exhibited by recent news segments on ABC News and NBC Today (see http://www.boomerden.com for video clips) adult internships are on the rise. They go by many names – some call them apprenticeships. Other invoke terms like job shadowing or finding a mentor. They all boil down to something similar – providing an avenue for experienced, educated adults ages 45 or older to “test drive” a new field in a safe, low risk setting. For business owners, it’s a valuable chance to get out a boomer’s work ethic and aptitude. Job offers often follow these temporary stints.
Yes, there are drawbacks, too. Pay is usually minimal or non-existent. And along with the new skills training come tasks that may be less than glamorous. These are, after all, a chance to immerse oneself in a new field – often from the ground up.
If you’re interested in giving one a go, here are some ways to get started:
1. Search for adult internships online, in the field you’d like to pursue. Sites such as http://www.flexjobs.com or http://www.indeed.com might be good starting points.
2. Reach out directly to companies you’re interested in. Ask them if they have an adult internship program. If they don’t, inquiring about having them create one.
3. Find a qualified intermediary service that can do the legwork for you. Boomer Den prequalifies both business owners and interns, ensuring matches that are reliable and provide value to both parties. There is no cost to the intern candidate, and only a minimal fee to the business.
An estimated 23 Americans are currently unemployed or unemployed. We can do better than that. Explore an adult internship as a road back to a meaningful career.
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Boomer Den LLC: Where adults explore new career passions; where employers gain help and know-how at a price they can afford. http://www.boomerden.com. Join our subscriber list today!
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