Older interns impress with growth mindset
Published on
15 Nov 2020
Published by
The Straits Times
When Robert De Niro's 70-year-old character takes up an internship at an e-commerce fashion start-up in the movie The Intern (2015), he starts off needing help with technology and not having much to do.
But he finds ways to learn and help, and eventually becomes an invaluable member of the team.
Like in reel life, some mature interns here have also received good reviews from their host organisations, ranging from start-ups to statutory boards.
Ms Manisha Seewal, group chief marketing officer of automotive marketplace Carro, hosted a 50-year-old digital marketing intern for two months this year.
"We were very impressed with her... demonstrating the growth mindset that's needed to succeed in today's job market. The younger interns too looked up to her as a role model for learning constantly," she said.
The intern, who was new to digital marketing, landed a full-time role in a different industry and also signed up for a one-year digital marketing course at Singapore Polytechnic, she added.
Mr Guillaume Catella, founder and chief executive of venture builder start-up Creatella, is currently hosting a second mature intern from Singapore, Ms Joyce Toh, 44.
The firm typically hosts up to 10 interns a year internationally.
Mr Catella said the first mature intern three years back, whose background was in literature, quickly went from intern to digital marketer, project management assistant and project manager, before launching a start-up herself.
"Mature interns never fail to surprise us positively. We too learn from their past experience and perspectives," he said. "Our team's values and work methodology tend to attract more younger people, but as long as someone feels strongly aligned with our vision and values, his age is irrelevant," he added.
Instead of having a fixed internship programme, Mr Catella said the firm takes the time to understand its interns' strengths, what they want to learn most, their career goals and skill sets they need to develop, and then create roles, road maps and a structure that fits them.
Mid-career job seekers can consider company attachments under the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways programme. As at the end of last month, there were about 10,600 such opportunities.
Even though it is not a permanent role, Workforce Singapore principal career coach Glenford Koh said taking on a company attachment or company-based training under the programme shows prospective employers that a job seeker is adaptable and proactive in continuing to be productive and engaged in the workforce - attributes which most employers look for in a candidate.
On how mature workers can make the most of an internship, Mr Paul Heng, managing director of NeXT Career Consulting Group, Asia, recommended starting with a mindset that taking on a mature internship is not a step backwards, but the beginning of a new chapter in one's career. Employers or supervisors must also want to make it work. Both interns and bosses need to be realistic and be prepared to set reasonable key performance indicators, he said.
Also key is support from one's spouse or family, he added. They must understand the reality of the situation and be aware of why their family member wants or needs to take on an internship. "Moral and practical support can make a difference between success and failure," said Mr Heng.
Mr Koh noted that if the company does not broach the subject of an employment contract three months before the attachment is due to end, the mid-career job seeker should take the initiative to speak with the immediate supervisor to determine whether he has a future with the company.
"Take the chance to thank them for the opportunity to learn new skills and gain experience in the past few months too," he said.
"If the company values the job seekers, it will make an offer that appeals to them.
"A progressive employer will also value the maturity, past working experience and transferable skills of mid-career job seekers and be willing to offer higher pay than it would to fresh graduates."
Learning start-up culture from the bottom up at 44
It may seem like a surprising time to quit a job, but for Ms Joyce Toh, the Covid-19 pandemic jolted her out of her familiar job in museums and into an internship at a start-up.
Ms Toh, 44, left her job as a senior curator in September after 13 years as she felt her growth had plateaued. "Something about the pandemic and being at home forced me to think carefully about what is important in life," she said.
"If I don't move now and don't push myself now, I'll never do it. I know that there are things that I want to achieve in life, for myself and to help others."
Taking a leap of faith to embrace fresh challenge elsewhere
Mr Richard Chai, 50, is no stranger to technology, having programmed surveillance and inspection robots in a previous job.
But he still had some concerns in September last year, when he was about to start a six-month internship to build a chatbot at the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board.
"I was worried about how my colleagues would react to an intern who could possibly be much older than them. The tech AI (artificial intelligence) field is usually filled with news of young IT stars. Would an old man be accepted?"
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.
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