My dining room table was dirty when I woke up this morning. Some of it was kid debris – a plastic box full of crayons, half-finished drawings, books, birthday cards. Some of it was food debris – crumbs from last night’s dinner. It was dirty when I woke up because it was dirty when I went to bed. If you just read that paragraph and thought “Oh honey, you are…
While on a career break, what are the best ways to prepare for your eventual restart? Kathryn Sollmann, author of Ambition Redefined: Why the Corner Office Doesn’t Work for Every Woman & What to Do Instead, shares her insights in a Q&A with Path Forward. Q: How do you recommend addressing career gaps on a resume? Should the reason for the gap be stated or not? I’m in the “honesty…
One question we are often asked is how do I write a resume when I haven’t worked, professionally, for years. And it’s tough because most “how to deal with a resume gap” advice is aimed at people who have been out of work for several months, not years. So here’s a high-level guide to writing a resume when you’ve been out of the workforce for a long time and are…
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…
LinkedIn is a crucial resource to your return to work journey. It’s a forum for showcasing your resume and skills, as well as announcing that you’re back on the job market. But its primary function is as a connection builder — a place to both grow and make use of your network. Many people think that the best way to accomplish this is to send blind connection requests to people…
Job interviews are tough for most people, and it can feel especially daunting to go on an interview after you’ve taken a break from the workforce. Depending on the length of your career break and how long you were working before you stepped away, it may be a long time since you’ve been the subject of a job interview. All the latest returnship jobs, events, and advice. Get Path Forward’s…
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…
Photo Caption: A Career Restart Seminar at Zynga in San Francisco in 2018. In the olden days we used to do employer events in person! On the plus side, our virtual events reach many more caregivers, in many more places, than we could ever reach in person. Seven years ago when I left my corporate communications career to launch Path Forward, I never could have imagined what it would…
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…
You’ve embarked on a job hunt armed with a personal arsenal of job application resources, like an updated resume, tailored cover letter, and stellar interview tactics. But there’s one crucial component of the job search process that returners often overlook: professional references. Companies rely on professional references to verify your skill set and to get an outsider’s opinion of how you perform in a workplace environment. These recommendations can also…
