What it's like being an intern in your 40s

Following my elder daughter’s decision to study in Sydney and my other daughter’s plan to take a gap year abroad, my husband and I realised that come this month, we’d be left with only our son at home. Life would be quiet... too quiet.

This realisation, which came to me in March, left me feeling empty: in one fell swoop 20 years of motherhood had gone. How could I replace my busy family life with something equally fulfilling and rewarding?

I dreaded the thought of spending the next 20 years on coffee dates or wasting entire days at a shopping centre. What I needed was a job. That was easier said than done. My last full-time office job was as the editor of a finance magazine in 2001. Work, since, had been limited. I’d published a memoir about my mother’s childhood in wartime Amsterdam that had led me to become a freelance writer, latterly focusing on art. But commissions were infrequent, so I was more than ready for a nine-to-five job.

Yet the reality was that now, in my 40s, after such a long period without a solid role, I’d become virtually unemployable, and when I sent out my CV, I rarely even received an acknowledgement. I needed a new plan.

Perhaps I’d watched too many episodes of Suits, but I started thinking about working for a commercial law firm. At the time I didn’t want to spend years qualifying as a lawyer (although I have since started to consider it). So, I signed up for an evening legal secretarial course, which gave me a fast-track overview of the legal system, and the job hunt began. But it was a catch-22: most jobs required six months’ work experience – how could I get the experience if no one would accept me without it?

Then one day I bumped into an old acquaintance, a founding partner of a London law firm. ‘Can I be an intern?’ I heard myself brightly ask. Three days later, I had an interview, and the following Monday I started. 

In my previous life, leaving home at 7.45am meant doing the school run in flip-flops. Now I was in a smart dress and heels, tote in hand, ready for working life.

One beautiful sunny day, I excitedly arrived at Karam, Missick & Traube, in the heart of London. But the sight of all those young people at their desks was demoralising. I may have looked the corporate part but I didn’t feel it: not only was I twice the age of a trainee lawyer, I was on the bottom rung. 

However, as I got stuck in, spending the day reading cases, sitting in on a client meeting and doing research, my apprehension faded. Having my own security pass, desk, computer, email address and growing workload felt good, and it wasn’t long before I had brought in potential clients. I was buzzing. 

Yes, I had zero legal experience, but I did have enthusiasm, initiative and life experience. Twenty years spent building a home and family, coupled with my writing, had taught me how to communicate, negotiate and operate – key skills for any thriving business, not least a law firm.

Three months in, while the young paralegals and lawyers in the office are full of drive and ambition, I find it liberating not to have to stress about promotion. The pay is minimal for now but that’s OK as the experience is priceless. Having a structure to my day and helping with the caseloads and business development works fine for me. 

In spite of being busier than ever, I’m packing everything in, including some writing. I just wish more companies would acknowledge that mature women are capable and not past their sell-by date. I’m going to miss my daughters terribly when they leave. But rather than dwelling on it, I’m so grateful to my boss for seeing my potential and giving me the opportunity to be positively distracted.

The best part? He’s just offered me a job as head of business development. I’m thrilled it’s paid off for both of us.