I quit my job and started over as an unpaid intern at 31. I was the oldest person in the room, but it led to my dream job.

In April 2025, I sat contentedly at my full-time job as a publishing associate — until I got a foreboding feeling I couldn’t shake.

One minute, I was joyfully dealing with Netflix celebrities. Next, my instincts were screaming that something was wrong. I couldn’t explain it, but the feeling haunted me until I did something reckless.

I quit my job. I put in my resignation, and in the morning, that feeling of doubt was gone.

I was shell-shocked. “Did I really just do that?” Amid the disbelief, a headline announced shortly after that my former company was closing.

It should have felt validating. But the reality was catastrophic. Yes, my instincts were right!

Nevertheless, I was unemployed in a highly competitive industry. And so, I joined the ranks of job seekers in search of work.

The broken job market

I was hopeful until I learned people were applying to hundreds of roles without hearing back. The job market was frozen, and ghost jobs were on the rise.

It became clear that the traditional hiring framework was broken. With the traditional path unavailable, I had one remaining option: pull a Robert Frost and take the road less traveled. But I had no idea how.

I reluctantly toggled to the “internships” button on a job board. Sure enough, an unpaid internship was open in the sector — book publishing — I hoped to build my career.

Without overthinking it, I applied. To my surprise, I got an answer. An assignment and two interviews later, the director of a literary agency asked me searchingly, “Do you really want to be here?”

I did. Not because I thought becoming an intern was glamorous, but because I longed to be back in a space where a community was invested in collective success.

So, at 31 years old, I became an intern.

I had to rely on freelance gigs and seasonal jobs to make ends meet.

30 is the new 20

Being an intern was humbling. There were moments when the age gap hit me hard, sitting at the table with people 11 years my junior.

But I was in awe of them. They were emotionally open. They asked questions without embarrassment. They spoke honestly about stress, uncertainty, and hopes.

Listening to them at the agency, I discovered how guarded I had become as an adult navigating corporate environments. Witnessing their mindset changed me. I wanted that energy.

But I was unsure if I had room for it. As much as I wanted to be freely curious — inquire, seek mentorship — I didn’t have time. At the internship’s end, I couldn’t simply return to class like my intern cohorts.

I needed a real job, and the truth persisted: I had gone backwards, hadn’t I?

Tapping into the beginner’s mind

I was intimidated by auto-rejections and the AI bots. What if HR choked at my “intern” stamp? After all, I wasn’t chasing entry-level roles; I was seeking roles commensurate with my experience.

It turns out, I used what my younger fellow interns taught me and became more open. I decided to stop expecting judgement, transform curiosity into fearlessness, and job-seek beyond conventional avenues.

And I did that by having conversations.

I used my intern status to lead outreach. I contacted 145 people working in roles I aspired to. Over approximately two months, I completed 80+ networking calls. People were genuinely interested in my background, my unusual career path, and my confident networking.

The tables turned. Instead of them interviewing me, I was interviewing them.

By the last stretch of my internship in 2026, I received multiple job offers. The wildest part? I never applied to any of them.

People wanted to hire me because of my unique experience and demonstrated drive.

I accepted a role as a literary agent with a nurturing, high-performing team. I have a happy new beginning.

Jackie Garcia-Morales is an author, publicist, and literary agent based in New Jersey. Connect on Linkedin.