Leverage a minternship to change career paths

We’ve all heard of an internship — but what’s a minternship? 

Well, if you’re dissatisfied with your career path and you want to change directions, a minternship might be just what you need. Minternships are middle-career internships, and according to Anna Pazos in her BBC article “The ‘minterns’ taking internships in their 30s,” a growing number of Millennials are taking advantage of them. 

Choosing a new professional path

We’ve all heard of an internship — but what’s a minternship? 

Well, if you’re dissatisfied with your career path and you want to change directions, a minternship might be just what you need. Minternships are middle-career internships, and according to Anna Pazos in her BBC article “The ‘minterns’ taking internships in their 30s,” a growing number of Millennials are taking advantage of them. 

Choosing a new professional path

The high number of people leveraging minternships should come as no surprise, since The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2019 revealed that almost 50 percent of Millennials will leave their positions within the next 24 months. Moreover, approximately 25 percent reported having quit a job in the previous two years. For many of these workers, a minternship offers the perfect opportunity to start a new professional path while they’re still young enough to do so. 

How you can benefit

While a minternship usually comes with a significant pay cut and the strange experience of working with managers who are younger than you, it also offers you the chance to try out a new career without the high stakes of your earlier mid-career responsibilities. Typically, regular internships are for students who are still learning. Similarly, with a minternship, having the ability to get back into a learning mindset and benefit from the expertise of your mentor and other experienced workers around you can be energizing and encouraging. 

Once you’ve acquired the knowledge you need for an entry-level position, it’s also important to leverage your experience from your previous career to move forward. Utilize your soft skills — such as communication and leadership skills — and transferable skills — such as computer expertise — to help boost your performance and productivity.

Tips for finding a mid-career internship

So how can you find a minternship? As Stacy Pollack advises in her Glassdoor article titled “The Rise of the ‘Minternship’ — Mid-Career Internships,” it’s a good idea to look for companies that highlight their internship programs on their career sites or promote them at career fairs. To see if they’re open to hiring experienced workers as interns, contact the hiring managers in question and explain your reasons for wanting a minternship. 

It takes courage and patience to change careers when you’re in your 30s. However, when you find a minternship at a solid organization, you can greatly enhance your chances of getting your new career off to a good start.

 

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190815-the-minterns-taking-internships-in-their-30s

https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennialsurvey.html

https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/minternship-mid-career-internships/

 

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