by Katie Dunn | Sep 9, 2016 | career break, job search, moms, women in business
Dear 25-year old Self:
You’re just a few years into what will hopefully be a long and fulfilling career. I know you’re not thinking about how you’ll juggle career and family when the time comes, and that’s exactly why I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned over the past 20 years. You may want to take a break from your career to raise a family. Here are some strategies for success you can employ now that will make it easier to re-start your career when the time is right:
- Keep one foot in the working world: If you can find an opportunity to continue to work on a limited or part-time basis, take it! This allows you to have an employment history without a gap and to stay in touch with the professional world. Besides, it’s refreshing to have adult conversations. This is the #1 thing that women returning to work tell me they wish they’d known when they left their jobs to stay home.
- Make family your priority: You’ve heard it before – you’ll never get back those years when your children are young. If you have the luxury to be around for those early milestones and you want to be home, then seize the opportunity and savor it.
- Consider your options, choose confidently and enjoy life. Forget “working mommy guilt”, whatever that is. Whether you choose to continue working or to stay home with your children, do the best job you can and don’t second-guess yourself. You can always reconsider your decision as your circumstances change, but move forward with confidence in whatever direction you’ve chosen.
- Raise independent children: Having your own career, interests and hobbies is so much easier when you’ve raised independent children. I recently dropped my rising 9th grader off for student-only freshman orientation and was bewildered by all the moms going in with their kids. When I asked my daughter if she’d like me to come in she said “Mom, I’ve got this.” Wow – did that make my day! I drove to work feeling a bit sad that she was growing up so fast, but absolutely thrilled that she was so confident and independent.
- Attend a conference once a year: This is a great way to meet people and stay current on new developments in your field. Choose a conference nearby to keep the cost low or pick a conference in a city where you have friends or family and turn this into a business vacation. May we suggest the Back to Business Women’s Conference? It is held in October in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Tons of professional job search advice, support from an amazing community of women, a resume workshop, a networking workshop, and so much more – just what you need if you’re returning to work!
- Keep the network up: Make a conscious effort to keep in touch with your professional contacts. This can be as easy as emailing a few people each week to say hello and let them know what you’re up to.
- Continue to meet as many people as you can during your work hiatus. I know you’ll be busy (I get it, we have four children!), but some of the people I built relationships with during the time that I wasn’t working full-time were instrumental in helping me return to work when the time came.
- Have lunch with former co-workers: I left IBM in 2003, but meet my former office-mate for lunch every fall. We have entirely different networks since our careers have gone in different directions, but over the years we’ve each asked the other to make introductions for us. And since fall is fast approaching, I’d better go check the calendar and invite Jeff to lunch!
- Have coffee with someone new and interesting every month to talk shop: I know this sounds weird if you’re not in the habit of doing this, but a few times this summer I’ve reached out to people that I didn’t know personally to invite them to have coffee and talk about something specific. I was rewarded with fascinating conversations and great new ideas! You’ll get more comfortable with this the more you do it. I promise. I used LinkedIn inmail which was great for this.
- Be a continuous learner: Subscribe to whatever magazine people in your profession read to stay current with developments in your field. I’ve subscribed to Fortune Magazine since I was in graduate school and since they just kept extending my student rate, I kept ordering it. Sure, some months they piled up on my coffee table, but I eventually read most of them and over the course of the 12 years that I considered myself primarily a stay-at-home parent, I digested a lot of business news.
- Get a good web crawler to send you articles on your field every day: The key here is to send them directly to an email folder so that when you have the time you can read to your hearts content (or until the baby cries). If they aren’t piling up in your inbox, you won’t feel guilty that you don’t get to them all. Directing them to an email folder ensures that when you’re ready to read, you’ve got a well-stocked shelf of relevant articles.
- Develop a new skill: Taking a break from your career or downshifting for a time can provide a great opportunity to make a directional change. With so many great courses online, you can develop new skills without even leaving your house that will keep you sharp when you’re ready to return to work.
- Update your resume every year on the same day: Call it your “resume-aversary” (OK,don’t call it that), but understand that designating the same day to do this each year increases the likelihood that it will happen. If you’ve taken a significant career break and haven’t even looked at your resume in 10 years, this can be a real roadblock to getting back in the job market.
- Set aside money for professional development while you have an income. This way you won’t hesitate to invest in yourself when you’re not working. While there are lots of free courses and advice out there, you’ll find that occasionally spending money to keep your skills fine-tuned will really pay off in the long run.
I hope that by the time you’re ready to restart your career, the working world has evolved to seeing a career break as an opportunity for growth and personal development. I can say with confidence that the 12 years I spent out of the full-time workforce were years of incredible growth for me. I returned to work with a renewed sense of purpose, the ability to keep things in perspective and time management skills that I could only have dreamed of earlier in my career. In fact, I owe my current success to my career break.
by Katie Dunn | Jul 23, 2016 | career break, job search, moms
Let’s face it: It’s hard to get much of anything done in the summer! With kids home and a long stretch of time in front of us, there just isn’t much urgency to be productive. For some reason, it’s easier for me to accomplish 10 things when I only have 2 hours, than when I have 2 months! So if you’re looking for a job this summer, and especially if you’re looking to get back to work after a career break, here’s my suggestion: Be realistic about what you can accomplish this summer as you continue on your journey back to work. If you set unrealistic goals, you’ll only be disappointed when you fall short.
Since I want you to feel confident about what you’re accomplishing, I’ve come up with 2 summer job search options for you. All you have to do is decide…are you “Takin’ It Easy” this summer or are you “In High Gear?” The “Takin’ It Easy” plan is for you if you’re hoping to continue your positive momentum as you look for that right job post-career break. It focuses on getting yourself ready and taking small steps toward putting yourself out there. The “In High Gear” plan is for those of you who are actively job-seeking and it contains reminders of all the things you’ll want to be consistently doing throughout the summer.
Whether you’re “Takin’ It Easy” or “In High Gear” keep in mind that devoting even a small amount of time each day to a focused and productive activity in your job search will pay dividends for you. Click here to activate the job search plan that’s just right for you. I wish you a fun and productive summer!
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.
