Thursday, November 16, 2006
Too Old for an Internship?
As I get older, I find that whether a newspaper doesn't like
you often depends on how your skills fit their organization's needs.
Part of it is the company, part of it is what kind of shape that
company's in economically at the time. So I take a lack of interest
less personally now than I did before, although some of the interviews
I had I could have handled better.
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That's also why it's good to have those interviews -- you can use it as a self-improvement exercise.
Two newspapers I respect quite a bit seemed to like me but had no
foreseeable openings. A third newspaper for whom I really, really want
to work, which is a major urban daily, sized me up and said that I
looked good, but the only way they'd consider putting me on the staff
is if I interned there first.
At first I felt a little jilted, not because of my educational
credentials but because I already have about seven years of newsroom
experience at serious small-circulation dailies. The more I think about it,
though, I'm warming up to the idea. Three months is a short time in the
grand scheme of things. I would be paid, and it would get my foot in
the door for a full-time job after that at a destination paper.
But I can see some downside to interning. I'm in my early 30s. If
I finish my internship with no job offer, it could well look like I'm
just spinning my wheels -- a career student with no focus.
My mom and dad, who are easily old enough to be grandparents by now,
aren't thrilled with this idea, and I honestly can't say I blame them.
What do you think? Am I too old to intern? Should I just try to get the
best staff job I can, or should I ply the internship strategy and hope
for serious gains afterward?
Grad Student
Age should be no barrier to doing an internship, but the fact that
you already have a lot of full-time experience could make an internship
look like a step back, even though it would be at a much larger paper.
I would want to have the very clear sense that there is a good chance
of a job at the end. Without the job, you'll pretty much be in the
place where you are now with an additional paper that saw you work, but
didn't hire you. The overall pattern of your resume could look like
your career is on a downward arc.
So, talk to the editors at the big paper and explain your concerns. If
a real job looks like less than a 50-50 proposition, I'd look for a
full-time job, even though it may be at a smaller newspaper.
Coming Friday: Tired of her job at a weekly, she is thinking about returning to a first love -- teaching -- but doesn't know if she wants to give up her spot in journalism.
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