by Katie Dunn | Jan 21, 2018 | career break, confidence, job search, women in business
Focusing on our job search means updating our resumes….which means a solid review of our skills – determining which relevant skills we already possess and which require an update. Here are the critical skills we’ve identified and then what some experts have to say about them –
Professional Skills: Communication, Leadership, Teamwork
These are interpersonal skills that are so vital, yet not always common, in a work environment. Clear and concise verbal and written communications, the ability and confidence to have others follow your lead and the ability to work well with others as a leader or member of a team are crucial for success.
Business Basic Skills: E-mail, Spreadsheets, Word processing, Budgets, Scheduling
Being proficient on e-mail and in scheduling is probably not that tough for women re-entering the workforce as we’ve just spent the last many years coordinating our families’ activities! But a Microsoft refresher course is definitely in order with recent technological upgrades and advancements.
Technical Skills: Software-specific, Coding
Recruiters and employers are often looking for technical skills. Search job postings in your area of interest and check on LinkedIn to see what skills people working in your intended field possess. Remember that even if you don’t plan to go into a technical field, it can be important for you to understand the language of technology and have a basic understanding of modern technical terms.
Use our Job Re-Entry Checklist to assess your skills and identify any gaps that might need a refresher or training.
What the Experts Say
These skills are so important, that reacHIRE’s comprehensive PowerUpTM training program includes 70+ hours of training in these areas. reacHIRE has a program in Boston and RTP that helps women to successfully re-enter the workforce. Sonja Neiger, reacHire’s Regional Director, Talent & Training tells us that they include finance fundamentals, working with big data and understanding the software development process in their training.
“Most businesses are very interconnected, so strong communication skills are critical” says Leigh-Wallace Hines of The Select Group. “I typically also look for responsibilities listed on a resume where the candidate has given presentations using various methods (in person and teleconference) to groups of people and written documentation or marketing materials. When speaking to a candidate over the phone or in person, I want to make sure that they speak clearly and that their personality will mesh well with the environment that they will work in for our customer.”
Regarding technical skills, Hines says that “if someone is looking to ‘start from scratch’ and enter the technical world as a Help Desk Analyst or a Network Technician, then having some sort of certification (unless they have a Bachelor’s Degree in the field) will demonstrate that they have the baseline knowledge to be successful in the role. For a data analytics role, having demonstrable experience with software relevant to their field (SAP, SPSS, SQL, etc.) is important. If someone has been out of work for some time, candidates should be able to show some sort of effort in keeping their skills up-to-date by attending seminars, conferences, or classes at a local technical school.”
If you’ve been a busy, involved parent, chances are good that you’ve probably cultivated many of the skills that employers find desirable in candidates while you were on your career break. Many women stay active by managing committees through their churches or children’s schools, leading PTAs, organizing events or fundraising. Don’t overlook the value of these activities. Take a good look at what you’ve been involved in and make a list of the tools and skills you used in those situations, even if it wasn’t paid work.
Once you identify those skill areas in which you are relatively weak, make a plan to improve them. Your plan could include attending Back to Business events where you can brush up on some of those critical job skills in a hands-on environment. And if you’ve been putting off volunteering, now is a good time to pick a few activities that will help you strengthen a skill area you’ve identified as important to your next career move.
Communicating that you possess these skills is the next step. We’ve addressed that in subsequent Back to Business articles on effective networking. So keep working on your checklist and stay tuned!
by Katie Dunn | Oct 2, 2017 | career break, confidence, interview, job search, leadership, resume, women in business
Whether you’re ready to go back to work after taking time off or just thinking about it, my Returning to Work After a Career Break Webinar will be helpful. It’s full of the professional advice that I use in my position as Senior Associate Director, Career & Leadership at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School but geared toward women returning to work. Sign-up to receive the Webinar Replay that you can watch at your convenience — it’s about 30 minutes — and the accompanying Worksheet, and return to work the right way.
by Katie Dunn | Sep 16, 2017 | career break, job search, moms
Once upon a time, it was our kids. Babies, just home from the hospital. When they were awake during the night they demanded your attention and food. When they slept, you watched them sleep to make sure they were still breathing. Then they grew up and became teenagers who could stay out later than you could stay awake. But even when you slept then, you had one eye open like only a mom can.
Now you’re thinking about going back to work and what keeps you up at night are all the what if’s and the how on earths. What if I go back to work and my family needs me at home? What if my child needs a ride and I’m not available? How will my kids play sports/do after-school activities if I can’t pick them up every day? How will dinner get made every night if I’m not there to do it?
Here’s the answer to all those questions: Forget about them for now.
Returning to work after a career break is a multi-step process. Solving those problems before you have a job isn’t even possible because you’re working out of order.
For example, why worry about who’s going to pick up the kids until you know you have a job that requires you to be at work during pick-up time? You may wind up in a job with the flexibility to leave early on days you need to pick people up. Or the kids may find their own rides, or have their licenses by then, or (my favorite) a neighbor will ask you to carpool. Here’s my point: don’t let the fear of the unknown hold you back from pursuing a job you’re interested in. Once you get the job, you can figure all the rest out. I know you can – you’re so smart!
Take it one step at a time. The step that comes first is focusing on you. What kind of job do you want? What are the companies where you can do that kind of work? What skill gaps do you need to fill to be able to get that job?
When I was looking for a job, our oldest son was playing on a lacrosse team that practiced 30 minutes from home every afternoon. I was so worried about how he’d continue to play on the team once I went back to work and couldn’t drive him there every day. Guess what? I didn’t go back to work until well after the season ended. This wasn’t a problem I needed to solve, but occasionally I used it as an excuse to put less than 100% into my job search. In hindsight, that was silly.
Allow me to sum it all up for you: Tackle the problem at hand first, then worry about the other stuff. Get the job and then find help where you need it.
You can do this.
by Katie Dunn | Sep 9, 2017 | career break, job search, moms
If you are working on your professional comeback, there are so many things you need to think about: your resume, career direction, LinkedIn presence, cover letter, professional wardrobe, preparing your family for a big change, and on and on.
But how about you? Yes — you! Do you feel ready? Are you nervous? Need a confidence boost so you can get out there and present yourself in the very best light?
Job seekers tend to spend a lot of time on the tools of job search that I mentioned above, but my experience tells me that women returning to work often need a big shot of confidence in this stage of their life. You’ve been doing amazing things during your years out of the paid workforce but you may be unsure of how they translate to your next career move.
Someone told me recently that they appreciated that the Back to Business Women’s Conference dealt with more than just the tools of job search; we took the confidence issue head-on for women returning to work after a career gap.
Fail
I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot today because I spent the afternoon doing the high ropes course and zip-line at Bond Park in Cary, North Carolina where we live with our 4 children. Originally, I signed our 11-year old twins up for the open ropes course afternoon, but when one of them asked me “Aren’t you going to do it too?” I went back and signed myself up also.
This was not my typical Saturday! We climbed up a shaky 35 ft rope ladder, walked across a balance beam in the sky, crossed rope bridges and zip-lined. It was scary! But during the ground training we learned that we were protected by a two-fold security system: we wore two harnesses and were clipped into 2 carabiners. So, although it was scary, we were not going to fall. There was no way we could fail.
What if you couldn’t fail? What if you approached your return to work knowing that you could not fail? Would you walk a little taller? Be a little bolder about reaching out to people you’d like to meet or work with? Speak up about your accomplishments and skills with a different voice?
Well, guess what? I’m here to tell you that you cannot fail in this endeavor. It may take longer than you’d like and you may hear a number of “no’s” along the way, but all you need is one “yes.” And I promise you, eventually you will transition back to work. Approach it like you know you cannot fail.
Trust
Another thing I was reminded of while walking high among the tree-tops today is the importance of trust. When we climbed the rope ladder today, we had to have a spotter and before we began we had to say “Trust on” to verbally acknowledge that we trusted our spotter.
Who’s spotting you during your transition back to work? I hope you have people you trust to encourage and support you as you look for a job and return to work.
During the Back to Business Women’s Conference, we seat women with others who live near them and suggest that they get to know each other and continue to meet after the Conference to support each other. Some of these groups met for a year or more after the conference – as members started new jobs and left the groups, they introduced friends who took their places. Many women have told me what a great source of support their Back to Business group has been during their job search.
Making it fun
Let’s face it – going back to work is hard work. Whenever possible, let’s make it fun.
If you’re in our area, I hope you’re planning to join us for the Back to Business MeetUps that will take place over the next few months. We’ll have fun as we share job search advice and hear from women who have successfully made the transition so you can learn from them. Check out the full schedule of upcoming Back to Business events here.
If you’re not in our area, you can access all the information you need here from recaps of MeetUps to How to Conduct an Informational Interview and pretty soon some online content.
So now that we know we can’t fail, let’s get Back to Business!
You can do this.
by Katie Dunn | Sep 5, 2017 | career break, confidence, job search
Back to school means a return to more structured days and a sense of routine at home. I personally love the freedom of summer, but I can also appreciate the rhythm that returns to our lives once school begins and the kids settle into a new year.
Back to college for the kids, however, may mean something entirely different for you as a Mom. If you help them pack up and then drop them off with a smile on your face – good for you! If you’re like me and feel a little hole in your heart when they leave every August – I see you. I love to talk to parents about the phenomenon of kids leaving home – some of my friends LOVE it when the kiddos ship out and others feel down about it.
Whichever camp you’re in, there is no denying that late August/early September ushers in a new season in our lives and family routines. Let’s use this to our advantage!
If you’re actively looking for a job, this is your season! You have time during the day (uninterrupted time!) to schedule meetings with people, do informational interviews, write amazing cover letters and polish up your LinkedIn profile. What a gift!
Back to school isn’t just a new start for your children: It’s also a fresh start for you. This is an ideal time to recommit yourself to your job search goals and get re-energized to focus on the things you need to get done for you. Here are a few ideas to keep you on track:
Start with a plan: Focus your job search by planning out the time you’ll spend looking for your next career move. Block the time on your calendar and stick to it. Aim to get better every week with your time management.
Be interactive! Be sure your job-search time is heavily weighted toward activities that have you actively engaging with other people as opposed to being at home in front of your computer.
Update your online presence as part of the fresh start. Take a look at your LinkedIn profile and find a few places that you can freshen up. The more you update your profile, the higher your chances of showing up in a recruiter search. Be sure to include keywords that appear in job postings in your profile in multiple places such as your About section, your skills list and your work experience.
Make it fun! Find a group of friends to support you through your transition. Yes, it’s work, but it can still be enjoyable. Meet a friend at a coffee shop or a co-working location and work together to keep each other on task.If you are local to the Raleigh area, The Frontier in RTP is a co-working location that is completely free.
Join us at Back to Business Our website and programming are all geared toward helping you transition back to work after a career break. Be sure you’re on our email list and consider joining us for the Back to Business Women’s Conference. This opportunity only comes around once a year (even less in a pandemic!) and it’s an invaluable opportunity to bask in a programming that was designed to help you restart your career. Honestly, there’s a lot of career advice out there, but there are very few people talking to women like us about solving the challenges that are unique to a Mom returning to the workforce. I look forward to meeting you and helping you get back to business.
by Katie Dunn | Sep 1, 2017 | career break, confidence, job search, moms, resume, women in business
Preparing to re-enter the workforce can be overwhelming! Download this step-by-step plan to get you going in the right direction.
