If You Offer Mid-Career Internships, Flaunt It

Have you heard of the 40-Year-Old Intern? Or the 50-Year-Old Intern? These are people returning to the workforce after a career break for child care, elder care, or other personal reasons by taking an internship like you might have had out of college or graduate school. Professional mid-career internships operate on the same principle as any other internship: they provide employees the opportunity to be evaluated on an actual work sample instead of a series of interviews by an employer that might want to hire them. Part work, part training, and part exposure to a company culture to see if there is a match, professional internship programs are short-term, non-binding work arrangements that provide a testing period. For employers or hiring managers that view hiring from the return-to-work pool as a riskier proposition, this trial period lowers the perceived risk. Professional internships are emerging as a special category of progressive action for employers and a powerful return-to-work strategy for individuals. These programs create a formal pathway to employment for returning professionals at a time when they have historically been perceived as more difficult to hire. But these perceptions are changing, for good reason. Returning professional internships give employers the opportunity to connect with a talented group of professionals at a moment when their childcare, elder care or other career break responsibilities are reduced or over, and these candidates are ready to fully re-engage in the workforce. Plus, professional internship programs enable employers to increase the number of midlevel to senior-level women in their ranks, since women typically make up a majority of the internship pools. On the surface, these programs probably mean little to employees who are just starting their careers. For recent graduates, a career break may be the furthest thing from your mind. But looking ahead, there’s no question that expected and unexpected reasons may well lead you to a career break. So, consider what a formal reentry program signals to employees. The employer is sending the message that it recognizes and accepts the reality that some of its employees’ career paths will include a break. For a talented young professional who might harbor some anxiety about how to balance work and the prospect of taking time away to provide childcare or elder care, it says “we understand.” “If a career break is in your future, we want to be your employer of choice when you return; we have a formal path back for you. You are not alone in the transition.” If you have already left your company to take a career break, or are about to, keep in mind these reentry internship programs exist as a way for companies to reconnect with both their own high performing alums and those returning professionals who previously worked elsewhere. With the rising popularity of these programs, it is now possible to describe the contours of a typical program. Professional internships generally range from six weeks to six months in duration, are paid, and offer an orientation at the beginning and professional development modules throughout the program. Reentry interns work on special projects or in the actual job they would take if they successfully convert to permanent employee status. Programs usually include updating, mentoring, and coaching support features. “Conversion rates” from intern to permanent employee range from 50 to 90% depending on the program and the year. In Back on the Career Track, the 2007 career reentry strategy book I co-authored, we talk about the future of re launching. We argued then that hiring professionals back after a period of years away would allow employers to recoup their initial investment in those workers. We also noted that employers would discover the talent to be tapped in the re launcher pool, and that formal programs designed to engage with this talent would start to proliferate. Nine years later, this is indeed happening. Wall Street has embraced the concept and the STEM sector is starting to as well. Every employer with an internship program for undergraduates or graduate students should also have a professional internship track for the return-to-work pool. The benefits of gaining access to these highly qualified professionals, increasing corporate diversity, and sending a positive signal to current employees, are three powerful motivators. For employees, while there is reason to believe that over time, employers will attach less risk to hiring professionals who take a career break, internships will continue to be a uniquely valuable avenue for returning to work. The more return-to-work “success stories” that are created, the more expected and acceptable a career path that includes a career break will be. Source-hbr.org For further assistance related to Internship related queries in India, Dubai or Singapore, please visit: http://www.pursueasia.com . -WhatsApp : +91 7768033776