by Katie Dunn | Apr 26, 2016 | career break, job search, moms, women in business
Today’s blog is special because it features Q&A with Beth, Stefani and Kathleen, three successful relaunchers who attended the Back to Business Women’s Conference in 2015 and started new jobs shortly thereafter. Each of these awesome women worked hard at their job searches, learned along the way and achieved results, but they each did things a little differently. Read on to benefit from their wisdom.
What made you decide it was time to return to work?
Stefani: I was working part time with the thought that it would lead to a better position, but it wasn’t going anywhere and I knew I needed more.
How did you get your job?
Stefani: I heard good things about Indeed.com so I focused on that website and that is where I found my current position.
Kathleen: I applied to numerous jobs at UNC and NC State over a 4-month time period. I finally got an offer for a job that would have been good and on the same day got called to interview for a job that was specifically event planning, which is what I wanted. That same day I was attending the Back to Business Women’s Conference and met a UNC HR person there. He suggested emailing the hiring manager something to show her what I would do if I had the job so I emailed her a detailed event plan that she mentioned in the interview and the next day she called me and offered me the job.
What job search tactics were effective for you?
Beth: I found that networking was the most effective. Contact everyone you know and their spouses. Ask for any help you can get. It is amazing how one conversation can spark an idea or a contact that ends up becoming an opportunity. Be bold and don’t be afraid to ask for help – that’s what everyone does. In the end, my best friend’s husband’s recommendation got me my job.
Did you ever feel frustrated during your job search?
Beth: YES! Job boards were a waste of time for me. Target specific companies related to a skill or an industry where you have previous experience. Now that I have been on the other side of it as a recruiter, I see how quickly resumes are passed over, for the smallest thing. But keep trying – you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince! LOL!
Stefani: Absolutely! I quit looking for a while but with encouragement from my spouse and friends I started back searching again. And what really, truly lifted my spirits was attending the Back to Business Women’s Conference! It inspired me when I had been very discouraged.
Kathleen: Very frustrated! I couldn’t get an interview for a while and it felt like it was impossible to speak to a person during the application process. I learned that I needed to be networking.
Was the type of job you went back to different from your previous job? If so, why?
Stefani: I’m back in the field in which I used to work but I changed my strategy to target a less technical position. I realized that I could not walk back into a role like I used to have due to advancements in technology. This new strategy alone truly helped me get more interviews.
Did you do anything to refresh your skills to get the job?
Stefani: I didn’t, but I was considering it. It’s just difficult to justify when a home has one primary income. Kathleen: Yes, I needed to learn a variety of software programs and I am still learning.
What is your best advice to women on a career break right now?
Beth: Do something with your time that can translate to a job later on. I heard a recruiter colleague of mine (who didn’t realize I had a career break myself) criticize a woman who had been out of work. “Could she not have had a part time job? I can’t help her!” Even a volunteer position that develops skills that can be useful in the workforce is important. Show that you had the initiative to keep current and the energy to volunteer or work at something important.
Stefani: Looking back I wish that I had a strategy in place to return to work as soon as I made the decision to put family first for a while. I was really just “a candle in the wind” but I learned that I should have attempted to keep myself involved in my field, in a professional organization or have a more pertinent part-time job. I just became totally involved in organizations and part time work that focused on my children – not career-forward thinking.
What’s your best advice to women returning to work after a career break?
Stefani: If your search is stagnant, attempt a different strategy. Keep an open mind and try different avenues – don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone!
Kathleen: Do a lot of research on the field or business you’re interested in, update your business attire to match the environment you would like to work in, make sure your resume is updated in a way that is being used now, create a LinkedIn account, tell people you know you are looking for a job and look confident even if you don’t always feel it.
How did you manage the transition back to work?
Beth: That was really hard at first, but my advice is to give it time – it will get better. I used an online family calendar (Cozi) to keep track of schedules – that really helped. Everyone will adjust – it does take some getting used to though.
Stefani: My mother always wants to help out so I asked her to make a casserole for my first week of work. And she really came through and made me a casserole each week of my first month – it was great! And my kids have chores they are required to do after school before I get home, such as setting the table for dinner.
Kathleen: I planned out everything I could with multiple plans and became more flexible with what “had” to be done and what could wait.
We made it a family affair, everyone does their part.
Do you enjoy being back at work?
Beth: Yes, I do. I love being an adult again, feeling like a professional and being able to support myself and provide for my family. It wasn’t my first choice for this time of life, but my confidence has returned and I love the new person that I am.
Stefani: I’m loving it – it’s like I’ve gotten back to myself and it really has improved my personal self-esteem.
Kathleen: I love my new job and schedule, so glad I did it. I learned so much from the process that I can share with my teens who are looking for a job!
by Katie Dunn | Apr 17, 2016 | career break, Conference, interview, job search
Career switching is a common occurrence for women re-entering the workforce. You’ve probably heard the statistic that the average working person will have 7 different careers in their lifetime. Women often make a conscious decision to return to the workforce in a field other than the one where they previously worked. Here are 7 tips for successfully approaching a career change as you re-enter the workforce after a career break.
1) See this as an opportunity to re-invent yourself
Approaching this career change with the attitude that you are going to make a fresh start in a new field is going to carry you through the inevitable tough times of a job search. Commit to putting in the hard work required to get a new job and sticking with it through the ups and downs. Not sure which direction to take your career in? Click here to check out 10 free career assessment tools.
2) Determine which skills you’ll need in your new field
The trick to being a successful career switcher comes down to two words: transferrable skills. If you can show that the skills you used in one job will transfer well to another job, you are on your way to having an effective pitch for why someone should hire you. Comb job postings and LinkedIn profiles of people who hold the job you’d like to fill. Do informational interviews to determine which skills you’ll need. Make a chart with 2 columns – in the first column list the skills mentioned most in job postings for the position you’d like to have. In the second column list an example of a time when you used that skill.
3) Get the skills you don’t have
Switching careers takes work. Chances are you are going to have to do some re-skilling. Look into a professional certification or an industry conference, take a class at a community college or online or attend a meet-up to acquire the skills you don’t yet have. The nice thing is that you know exactly what those skills are, thanks to the work you did charting the required skills for your new field. You can also get those skills by volunteering in your intended field.
4) Craft a compelling story around your skills
Everybody loves a good story. Take a project you worked on in which you used the skills listed in your chart (see #2) and turn it into a story. Set up the situation, the task that needed to be completed, the action you took and most importantly, the result you achieved – all while focusing on how your skills enabled you to accomplish something big. Then tie it all together by relating the skills you used to your intended field. Don’t be afraid to have a story around something you accomplished while on a career break. This can show that you used your time out of the paid workforce productively and never stopped achieving, even when you weren’t getting paid.
5) Join a professional group geared toward your new industry
This is a great way to learn what the insiders know, meet people in your new field and get the lingo down. Chances are they have educational events you can attend. Finding these organizations in your local area is as easy as doing a Google search. These organizations often need volunteers and have job-search groups, so get involved. Join a LinkedIn professional group and first monitor, then participate in the conversations happening there.
6) Find an internship or offer to do project work at a target company
Internships aren’t just for college kids anymore. This idea is catching on among women returning to work, according to iRelaunch’s Carol Fishman Cohen in this TED talk. Some industries may also be open to the idea of having you do project work. I had a friend who wanted to be a recruiter but balked at the idea of working for commission only for a trial period. This would have allowed her to learn the business without costing the company anything. She didn’t want to work for free, but 6 months later she was still looking for a job, hadn’t earned any money and still hadn’t learned the field of recruiting. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea after all!
7) Act like you’ve been there before
When you pull all of this together, it will help you act like you’ve been there before instead of seeming like an outsider trying to break into a new field. The funny thing about job searching is that recruiters want to hire people who have done the job before! If you don’t have direct experience in a field, you’ll have to prove that you possess the required skills and understand how to apply them to be successful in the role.
And here’s a bonus tip:
If you’re not getting the desired results from your job search, consider creating your own job. While I was looking for my return-to-the-workforce-full-time-job, I realized that there were a lot of other women out there facing the same challenges I was. I decided to do something to help all of us. I started Back to Business and in the process acquired skills that employers found attractive. I seized the opportunity to re-invent myself, developed a host of new skills that gave me a pretty convincing story to tell, met a ton of new people through the groups I joined and never missed a chance to learn something new. Ironically, just over a month before we launched our first conference I started a new full-time job that I loved.
Keep at it. You’ll find a job that you love too and when you do, tell me about it on Facebook so I can congratulate you!
by Katie Dunn | Sep 20, 2015 | career break, job search, skills
This week we have a guest blogger: Successful career relauncher Barbara Ann Spangler shares her return-to-work story. Barbara Ann talks about how she networked to discover an internship position and to learn what skills she needed to acquire to succeed in that role. Barbara Ann is a panelist at the Back to Business Women’s Conference on our Panel of Women Who Have Successfully Re-launched Careers.
I began my return to work journey a couple of years ago. Through this journey I struggled with how to approach returning to work. I met with several staffing companies and the feedback was that it had been too long since I had been working and it would be a hard sell to place me in a position. They suggested I start as a temp or an administrative assistant. While I was open to exploring that, I found that the jobs they targeted for me were less than challenging. I began to explore career changes as another path. I have a BA in Economics/Business Administration with previous work experience in data and financial analysis, process improvement, and technical documentation.
I connected with a peer of my husband’s who works in marketing at a local technology company. She set up a few meet and greets with other workers within the company so I could explore what their jobs were and what skills were required as well as get ideas on how to position myself. In one of the meetings with a Senior Director of Marketing Operations, we discussed the growing area of marketing analytics and how my background in data analysis meant I already had the skill set, but did not have experience with the tools. I had already explored the business analytics program at Wake Tech and signed up for their accelerated program to get a certificate in Marketing Analytics. The Sr. Director of Marketing Operations I had spoken to had an intern position for the summer and offered me the opportunity as a way to gain experience with the tools. I am currently working with their group using my process analysis and technical documentation skills to aid their group while gaining experience and exposure.
I had doubts that networking would be of benefit to me in my journey. However, it was through networking that I met people who took time to meet with me, tell me about their jobs, and help me on my journey. They offered me advice, suggestions and insight into what tools to learn and referred me to tech staffing companies. In the end, it led to a job.
I highly encourage you to go meet with people, ask questions about their jobs, think about what you want to do and be open to where the journey may take you.
by Katie Dunn | Sep 11, 2015 | career break, job search, resume, skills
There’s no shortage of advice on the internet for job-seekers when it comes to resumes. But women returning to work after a career gap have a special situation: You’ve been very busy while out of the paid workforce but don’t necessarily have a job title or professional accomplishments to show for it. Here are a few suggestions to help you as you put together your resume:
Use an objective or summary statement. An objective or summary at the top of the resume may be especially important since your career is not necessarily following a linear path. Chose just one of these: The objective is handy if you are applying for a job for which you may not be an obvious fit or you are a career-switcher, like many women returning to the workforce after a career break.
The objective briefly states what type of job you are looking for and the specific skills you have that relate to that job, but must be framed so that it clearly states what you can do for the employer. Here’s an example of a well-crafted objective statement: “Obtain a position at Back to Business where I can use my marketing and business development skills to help grow the organization.”
A summary statement summarizes your skills, areas of expertise and anything that might distinguish you from other applicants. An effective summary reads like this: “Experienced Project Manager with 10 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and knowledge of Global Networks. Proven ability to manage projects in emerging and established markets.”
Whether you choose to do an objective or a summary, remember that this part of your resume will need to be carefully tailored to each position you apply for and should include keywords that recruiters will search on when filling the job.
Use action words such as developed, designed, established, expanded, grew, launched and achieved to start your bullet points and capture the reader’s interest. Each of your resume bullets should convey an accomplishment, rather than simply listing your responsibilities.
Where possible, provide evidence that you possess these most sought-after skills, according to Quintessential Careers: communication skills, analytical/reasoning skills, computer/technical literacy, flexibility/ability to manage multiple priorities, interpersonal skills and leadership/management skills. Regardless of what functional area you are seeking work in, these skills are highly prized by employers. Visit Quintessential Careers for an excellent article on how to articulate these skills in your resume.
Know the right keywords for your target industry and use them effectively. You can determine what keywords are most commonly used in job postings by reading through multiple job postings on Glassdoor.com, Indeed.com or another job search website. Pay close attention to the words used in any job listing you are responding to and be sure those exact words appear in your resume and cover letter whenever possible.
Quantify the statements in your resume bullets. Be specific when stating your accomplishments. You are aiming for bullets such as “Increased sales by x%”, “Reduced costs by $50,000”, “Brought in 10 new clients” or “Hired and trained over 500 people”. If enough time has passed that it’s difficult to recall specifics about your previous professional accomplishments, check out former co-workers profiles on LinkedIn and see if you can get clues from how they talk about their experience. While you’re there, invite them to connect, congratulate them on a recent career move or just drop them a line to keep the relationship fresh.
Here’s some expert advice from Catherine Tuttle, Former Manager of Alumni Career Services for the NC State Alumni Association and Owner of Forward Thinking Resumes:
“Returning to work after a career break doesn’t mean you have to have lots of white space on your resume. Keep in mind, just because you weren’t getting paid for what you were doing outside the home doesn’t mean it’s not relevant experience. Think about everything you’ve done since you left your most recent full time position and evaluate how it relates to your next career move. For example, were you volunteering for a political campaign – canvassing neighborhoods and speaking out about the issues? Were you part of an alumni network planning opportunities for others to engage on and off campus? Were you working with the PTA to raise awareness and funding for your child’s school? These experiences aren’t trivial and if communicated appropriately, represent a number of key skills that employers value including communication, initiative, relationship building, fundraising, and event planning just to name a few. As women we tend to downplay our success, so talk with friends and family or work with a professional to evaluate your experience, embrace your accomplishments, and articulate them clearly on paper.”
Getting started is the hardest part, so set aside some time to produce your first draft, then ask a trusted friend or adviser to review it for you. Having a resume you are proud of is a key step in being ready to face the job market as a prepared, confident job seeker.
by Katie Dunn | Sep 6, 2015 | career break, job search, moms
Two weeks ago I officially joined the ranks of the career re-launchers. After working a flexible, part-time schedule for the past 13 years so I could spend most of my time with our four young children, I started a full-time position. And I love it!
I have to admit the whole time I was job-searching, I had mixed feelings. I wondered if this was really the right time. Would my co-workers value my professional skills? Would an employer understand that I plan to give 110% at the office, but that my family will always be my first priority? Would our children survive if I wasn’t around all the time? Would we ever eat a home-cooked meal again?
Here’s the answer to all those questions – a resounding YES!
My first week, and this whole transition, were made much easier because of a few steps I took to prepare in advance.
First, I used care.com to find a nanny. The site is easy to use and after entering in the parameters of the job I was hiring for and some information about our family, I received eight responses in five days from people who saw my ad and wanted to apply. I ran a background check through the site on my favorite candidate, hired her and now enjoy the text she sends me each day around 3pm to let me know she’s picked our boys up from school.
Second, I got disciplined about planning a week’s worth of meals and ordered my groceries online. The monthly fee for this service is well worth it: I save at least that much each shopping trip by not being in the store to be tempted by impulse buys. I use Lowe’s Foods to Go, but Harris Teeter and other local Raleigh-area stores do it too. My hair is actually less gray when I don’t have to wait in line at the deli counter, so I’m saving on my hair coloring costs too!
Third, I enlisted the help of my family – husband and kids – to pitch in and help make this transition as smooth as it could be. They really rose to the occasion! Our dinner menu listed chicken enchiladas for Tuesday night, so on Sunday my husband cooked them and stuck them in the freezer. Having a prepared meal in the freezer is like money in the bank to me, so we cashed in on Tuesday night and enjoyed a nice family dinner.
Carpooling has also been a lifesaver. Although I fear I’ll be forever indebted to my neighbors and friends who have been extremely generous with rides for my children, I am hoping there will come a time when we can repay their kindness. Weekend rides, anyone? I’ll pick your kids up and drive them home!
As for feeling valued at work, I feel like I hit the jackpot. Keeping one foot in the working world with a part-time position while our children were little meant I never felt too far from a professional environment, even when I spent the majority of my time in the trenches of diapers and PB&J’s. If you’ve stepped out of the workforce completely and think you’ll want to return someday, don’t wait until you feel the urgency to return to work to develop new skills, keep up any certifications that might be important in your field or find a part-time or volunteer position that will enable you to keep growing professionally. It makes going back a lot easier.
During my interview for the position I started this week, I was asked about my ability to multi-task and juggle multiple responsibilities. I gave my business answer, but couldn’t resist adding “…and I do have four children, so multi-tasking is pretty second-nature to me.” My interviewer laughed and said “Well, maybe you can teach us how it’s done then!” I knew then that I’d be valued not just for what I can do, but also for who I am. I am a working mom!
