Recommended Resume Formats for Returners (With Templates)

Here at Path Forward, we receive a lot of questions about resumes. While the answers to each of these questions differs from case to case, there are a few fundamental principles that remain consistent in how you present yourself and your work: 1.  The resume is a marketing tool that is meant to showcase your relevant work experience (including unpaid work), degrees, and certifications to make the case that you…

Success Story: Sophie Yazdı

Sophie Yazdi took a 20-year break from her career to care for her children and a parent. She always wanted to restart her career and so was thrilled to be accepted into and to complete the return to work program at T. Rowe Price. She is now an associate vice president, senior sales consultant. In this engaging video, Sophie appears with Mary Helen Donovan, a regional sales manager – vice…

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Hire a Career Coach

As you embark on your career restart, you may find yourself having trouble defining your goals for returning to the workforce. We call this “finding your why.” Or, you could be wondering how to apply or translate your skills and experiences to the current job market. If any of this is true for you, engaging with a career coach may be the way to go. But before you dive headfirst…

How Your Partner Can Be Your Partner in Your Career Restart Journey

Over the years I’ve met a lot of people looking to return to work. And a question that often comes up is how to engage spouses or partners to be supportive during the career restart journey. Some partners are naturally good and supportive and intuit what their partner needs from them. But most of us live in the real world where even the best and most loving partner may need…

Top 10 Tips to Restart Your Career

Restarting your career can be a daunting journey. And like any journey, it’s best to take one step at a time. We’ve assembled the best advice from the Path Forward alumni community on how to restart your career. Whether you’ve taken time away to focus on caring for your kids, your family, or yourself, these tried and tested strategies will help you navigate the way back to work after a…

The Elevator Pitch: How to Make Yours Pitch Perfect (With Examples)

You’ve got 30 seconds to sum up who you are professionally, what you’ve accomplished, and why you are a great – make that outstanding – candidate. Oh, and somewhere in that 30 seconds mention your career gap without it sounding like a negative. Gulp.  Welcome to the elevator pitch. As daunting as it may seem to introduce yourself, engage the listener, and include an “ask” in such a short amount…

Networking Not Your Thing? (Hint: You’re Already Doing It.)

Gone are the days when networking meant slapping on a name tag at an industry event, glass of self-confidence in hand, trying to make small talk with strangers, and exchanging business cards that would inevitably be lost or tossed.  Whew! Glad that’s over.  But there is still a valuable role that networking plays in your job search. Many jobs are posted for public viewing, but a lot of them are…

Every Mom is a Working Mom: Happy Mother’s Day!

This Mother’s Day, Path Forward is sending a special shout out to moms – those who are balancing motherhood and career, those who left the paid workforce to care for their families, and those who are now striving to restart their careers. You inspire us every day with your determination and resolve to balance career ambition and motherhood, and to battle the stigma against career breaks. For you, on Mother’s…

Why Returners Are Valued By Employers

Different is Valuable When Returning to the Workforce At Path Forward, we create return-to-work opportunities in partnership with forward-looking employers such as HubSpot. We asked Shyam Venkatramani, DI&B Recruiting Program Manager, for the employer’s perspective when interviewing job applicants who have a career break on their resume. His insights below provide a thoughtful view on what returners bring to the table and how to make your attributes shine. * *…