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Wednesday 5 February 2014

Am I too old to intern?

Internship, work experience, graduate program. There is a lot of faffy words, I would just like an entry level job please.

From trawling though miles of job adverts it has come to my attention there is a ridiculous amount of jargon to understand while looking for your first career making job. I have come to believe the following;

Work experience - travel expenses only, will usually last 2 weeks
Internship - paid if you're lucky, usually lasting 3 months
Entry Level -  have a degree and some experience under your belt
Graduate program - need only apply if you went to a Russell Group University and got a 2:1 or higher

Recently my Google search words have been "Internship London", but should I still be looking for internships? I'm 24, I've managed medium capacity hospitality venues. From bars and nightclubs to restaurants. I know how to manage co-workers as well as customers. I've shaped the running of a restaurant even though it was my first front of house role, and I was part time. There's a lot of transferable skills there.

I never got any of my hospitality jobs by handing in a CV, in fact the only job I've got from applying with a CV  is the one I currently had. I looked back at it the other day and realised the covering letter had a few typos. I think I was in the right place at the right time.

In Falmouth I relied wholly on my reputation as a bad-ass bartender and the fact that I knew a ton of people from working in a fair few of the bars and pubs there. I didn't apply for jobs, I got offered them. And occasional <s>poached</s> head-hunted.

But in London it's a completely different story. People don't know what I've done, what I can do. I need to prove myself all over. And as I've decided not to carry on with the hospitality career, it's like starting from scratch.

But is an internship the right way for me to start a brand new shiny career?

Pushing aside the current argument of paid or unpaid, is apply for an internship selling myself short? Do I need to become more confident in my skills and start applying for entry level jobs? I do know things. And I know how to do them well. I've started working for a start-up, thrown straight into the deep end and haven't freaked out. I'm a community manager. No one checks my tweets before they go out. And yes I'll admit with my dyslexia a few typos have gone out. But the majority of the time I spot them before it's too late. Within a week of starting work I had taught myself two new pieces of software, I just got on with it. This job has taught me that all I need is to be told an outcome and I'll work out the process myself. But isn't the point of an internship to be taught how to do stuff? I already know how to do stuff, you've just got to let me show you.

The dictionary definition of intern: A student or a recent graduate undergoing supervised practical training.

I don't think there is any way I can call myself a recent graduate any more. In September it will be three years out of education. That is a terrifying thought. And I don't need to be supervised that much. I'm currently working from home. 

Don't get me wrong, in no way do I think I am better than an internship, I know I still have a lot to learn. And if I was offered one tomorrow I'd more than likely accept it. I'm just not sure if it's the right thing for me to do.

But should I spend three months doing an internship when I could be three months into a secure job. Or is it going to be super hard to land a job without doing an internship?

I think it's time for some networking.

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