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…
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…
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…
Returning to work after a career break is not just a big transition for you, but for your entire family! No matter where you are on your journey back to the workforce, it’s never too early to start preparing your family for your return and all the big changes that will come with it. Planning ahead will save you a lot of headache and stress in the long run. Here…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
