Isabela Quitzau Conceicao worked as a Product Engineer at a foundry in Brazil when she took a career break to support her family’s move to the United States, and to care for her newborn child. When she was ready to return, Isabela found a returnship role at PepsiCo that would be a perfect match for her skills, and jumped on the opportunity. She returned to work as a Process Improvement…
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…
Sandy Goodwin took a 12 year break to spend more time with her children. When she was ready to return to work, Sandy completed a returnship at CDK Global, where she now works full-time as a Design Operations Lead. Sandy talks about her return to work experience, finding work-life balance in her post-break career, and how being a robotics coach for her kids helped boost her own technical skills. What…
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…
Laura Carey took a 12-year break from her career as an HR professional, during which time she raised her kids, acted as her dad’s primary caregiver for a year, and volunteered extensively. After a great experience volunteering at a Northwell Health hospital, Laura found a returnship opportunity at Northwell Health that would be a great fit for her. She completed her returnship in talent acquisition, and now works there full-time…
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…
A few years ago a book came out called “50 Ways to Get a Job” by Dev Aujla. I read it and had two instant reactions: I wish this book had come out earlier in my career because it was the career guide I always wanted. Every returner should read this book. It’s truly the perfect book for anyone who’s been in their career for a few years and is…
Drew Schuetz took a break from his career in project management to care for his partner. Once he was ready to return to the workforce, Drew found it difficult to get back to his career, even with an MBA and job experience. After finding out about Path Forward, Drew applied for a position at Motorola Solutions, where he completed a returnship in project management. Now a full-time senior project manager…
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…
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,…
