Self-care requires the discipline to do the hard and boring things that are good for us. But the way self-care is portrayed today is completely and utterly backward. First, self-care as a concept is almost exclusively aimed at women (generally wealthy white women who can afford the goods and services that get marketed to them as self-care). The not-so-subtle suggestion is that women need to be reminded to care for…
During an interview, you’ll likely be asked a few questions that start with “tell me about a time when…” or “give me an example of…” These are called behavioral interview questions and their aim is to show the interviewer how you handle common challenges and situations on the job. They often touch on topics like leadership, teamwork, project management, problem solving, and conflict resolution. How you choose to answer these…
When it comes to job interviews, there are a lot of reasons why you might be out of practice. Some people are fortunate enough to have held a job for years, and haven’t had a need to interview. But for many returners, taking a career break to care for loved ones might mean it’s been a long while. Regardless of the circumstances for why you’ve been out of the interview…
Informational interviews are casual meetings where you scope out potential jobs and learn activities in your industry. Depending on the connection, you may be able to get advice on your career path. The important thing about informational interviews is that you’re letting people know you’re on the job market and are looking for details to help you in your search. So you’ve scored an informational interview with an amazing person…
You may recall reading the statistic that men, on average, apply for jobs when they meet 60 percent of the qualifications, whereas women tend to only apply if they meet 100 percent. While this stat is often attributed to a lack of confidence, a follow-on study found that many women perceive the rules of job searching differently than men do. The women in that study assumed the list of qualifications…
I would venture to guess that most people, when they leave the workforce to focus on caring for their family, plan to re-enter at some point. That plan may be specific or hazy, but almost everyone I’ve ever spoken to about their restart journey says something like, “I always planned to go back to work.” And while I don’t think anyone expects that the search for employment will be easy,…
Short answer: Maybe. In April I wrote about LinkedIn’s new feature allowing people to include career breaks, for caregiving and other reasons, to their profiles. I applauded the move — LinkedIn’s profile had been overly rigid and made accounting for time out of the paid workforce very difficult. Making our profiles more customizable to fit our actual lives is an important step in recognizing that not every career follows a…
“Right now I’m relearning how to be in the workforce again. This returnship is opening the door for me, it’s helping me to be more confident and comfortable in my job. And the thing is, I’m learning every day.” Collective Health interviewed Fatima for a blog article titled, “Meet the Collective: Hi Fatima!“. Read about her successful return-to-work journey and her thoughts on how employers can support women returning to…
After a 15-year career break, Wanda Chiu returned to her engineering career with a returnship at Cloudflare in 2016. Several years later, she started a new role at Mux. In this video, Tami Forman, Executive Director of Path Forward, asked Wanda why she encouraged Mux to start a returnship program. In short, Wanda has so enjoyed the supportive culture at Mux that she knows it will make the perfect landing…
Path Forward supports caregivers of all genders in returning to the workforce. But we recognize that women often carry an extra burden. That’s why for International Women’s Day on March 8, we’re calling out that many obstacles women face are due to gendered stereotypes about careers and caregiving. In the home, these may include ingrained ideas about who is most responsible for providing childcare or whose career is most important.…
