The Secrets to Re-Entering the Workforce After an Extended Career Break

Mar 11

How to re-enter the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom or caregiver.

In the past, it’s been a struggle for moms and caregivers who stepped away from their careers to raise children or care for family members to relaunch their careers and pick up where they left off.

Oftentimes, moms who were highly educated, experienced, and skilled professionals had to take jobs that were several levels beneath where they were at when they began their career break or they had to leave their industry altogether and start a new career. This was incredibly frustrating and scary for many people – being qualified for a job but viewed as irrelevant or outdated, and uncertain about their future.

This negatively impacted everyone – the women who had the education and experience but couldn’t use it, and the employers, clients, patients, etc. who could have benefited from their skills and experience but didn’t. Fortunately, in recent years, this has been recognized and a work re-entry and returnship movement has started amongst different organizations and companies.

Returnships are similar to internships, although they are not the same.

Both are temporary, short-term programs that people have to apply for and successfully pass an interview in order to participate. An internship is for someone who has no experience in a field to get their toes wet, so to speak, and to provide them with basic exposure to the job or industry in order to help them get their first professional job. As The University of Texas at Austin explains, a returnship, on the other hand, is a program designed to help an already knowledgeable, seasoned professional get up to speed on the industry’s current procedures and technology that may have changed since they left, which in turn will help them land permanent roles that are at or close to the career level they had climbed to prior to leaving.

Returnships are usually geared towards professionals with multiple years of experience, but who have been out of the workforce for at least two years; although, some programs allow participants who have only been out of their field for one year. The participant in the returnship will immediately start using their foundational knowledge in the returnship program, rather than learning the foundations like an intern does in an internship. While both internships and returnships have learning objectives that have to be met and assignments that have to be completed prior to the end of the program, internships generally last 3 – 4 months, whereas returnships can last anywhere from 2 – 6 months.

A returnship isn’t something that a participant shows up to each day to just go through the motions so they can get their proof of completion and then move on. Each program has a learning and development plan that becomes harder and more rigorous the further along in the program a participant is in order to ensure mastery of new technology, skills, and goals. If this sounds intimidating, don’t worry. This is a good thing because this means that the participant is truly acclimated and can confidently reenter their industry.

Additional perks of completing a returnship are having access to career coaching and mentoring, expanding your professional network, as well as possible full-time employment. The expansion of your professional network is huge as many people who’ve left their industry oftentimes have fallen out of touch with former co-workers and colleagues. It leads to new opportunities and supports that you otherwise wouldn’t have had. And the goal of most returnship programs is to hire the returners who have excelled in the program. But this doesn’t mean that you have to accept a position with the company or that it was a waste of your time if you don’t receive a job offer from the company; it’s still a valuable addition to your resume that will pique the interest of other employers.

So now that we know what a returnship is, where can you find one?

The great news is that because returnships are a growing trend in corporate America, there are several resources out there to help you!

Returnship Organizations

Path Forward (www.pathforward.org) is a non-profit that works with employers, including Amazon, Netflix, and Apple, to create returnship programs. Path Forward provides free resources to returnship applicants and participants, and their website states that over 80% of their returnship participants land full-time positions either with the companies they completed the returnship with or soon after with a different company. The website has a list of their employer partners who are currently recruiting, as well as a running list of all open returnship opportunities across the U.S., including companies with whom Path Forward is not affiliated.

Women Back to Work (www.womenbacktowork.org) is a returnship organization founded by the co-founder of Akraya, an award-winning technology consulting firm and staffing agency. Not only does Women Back to Work partner with employers to create returnship programs, but it also incorporates the resources it has through Akraya to help connect returnship applicants and participants to jobs. You can specify your search for returnship opportunities with what it refers to as its “premier partners” or you can access the Akraya job search database for general job openings.

iRelaunch (www.irelaunch.com) is another returnship community platform that provides information on various returnship programs. The CEO and co-founder, Carol Fishman Cohen, has a viral TED Talk called “How to get back to work after a career break” that I highly recommend watching and is a contributor to the Harvard Business Review. She also hosts The 3, 2, 1 iRelaunch Podcast You can register for its returnship job board for free, and you can purchase the iRelaunch Return to Work Roadmap, which is a five-phase program that guides you through your career reentry journey.

Companies that Offer Returnship Programs

LinkedIn’s returnship program is called ReturnIn, and it specializes in relaunching careers in engineering. It consists of a six-month program in a cohort environment where participants will work in technical roles that will provide the skills needed to land a full-time Engineering role. LinkedIn’s program is in partnership with Women Back to Work, one of the organizations I wrote about above.

Amazon’s returnship program is paid, lasts for 16 weeks, and returners are eligible for benefits. Each participant works on a project plan that they are expected to take ownership of and drive progress from start to finish. In addition to each returner being assigned a manager and a mentor, the Amazon returnship program also offers trainings, workshops, social events, and networking opportunities.

Goldman Sachs has three returnship programs: Americas Returnship, APAC Returner Virtual Insight Day, and India Returnship Program.

The Americas Returnship is for professionals with five or more years of experience in their field who have been out of the full-time workforce for two or more years. It’s a paid program that lasts for six months, is currently held from January – June, and is located on-site at offices in Albany, NY, New York City, Chicago, Dallas, Jersey City, Richardson, TX, Salt Lake City, Wilmington, DE, and West Palm Beach.
The APAC Returner Virtual Insight Day is for Asia Pacific countries and includes career coaching sessions, community-building sessions, skills training, and networking sessions. The program is for professionals who’ve been out of the workforce for at least one full year and who are in need of brushing up on and developing their skills, as well as expanding their network.
The India Returnship Program is specifically developed for women with previous professional experience but who have been out of the workforce for two or more years. The program is a paid, 12-week returnship aimed at honing technical skills and career exploration. Each participant will meet on a weekly basis with a member of the Human Capital Management team and will receive a performance review.

Microsoft’s returnship program is called Microsoft Leap. It’s a 16-week program based on an apprenticeship approach, where the first four weeks are structured learning in a classroom setting. The returners are then matched up with a mentor and a lead, and they join a team where they work for the next 12 weeks on a project or contribute to an initiative that will help that team in a meaningful way. You can follow Microsoft Leap on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to receive notifications about new cohorts and application deadlines.

IBM’s Tech Re-Entry program is a full-time, paid, 6-month returnship for people who’ve been out of the workforce for at least one year. The program is operated in the United States, Canada, the U.K., India, China, Germany, and Australia.

Credit Suisse has a returnship program called Real Returns that operates in the U.S., the U.K., India, and Switzerland, helping professionals who’ve been out of the workforce for at least two years get back into the financial services industry. The U.S. program runs from September – December in New York and Raleigh, NC. The program includes a project that you will complete, meetings with your assigned mentor, and networking events.

Intuit, the company responsible for TurboTax, Quickbooks, and Mint, has a returnship called Intuit Again. It’s a 16-week program that includes mentorship, an onboarding boot camp, and workshops.

Final Thoughts and Advice From People Who’ve Been There

Stepping into a new chapter of life and trying to get back into the workforce after being away and out of that environment for a long time can feel awkward, scary, and overwhelming. You may experience imposter syndrome and you might doubt your abilities. But the wonderful news is that many people have done it! Numerous people have gone back into their previous field or have stepped into a new field after taking an extended break, anywhere from one year – 15+ years away, so that should give you hope and inspiration.

I want to leave you with some words of advice and encouragement from people who have successfully relaunched their careers after a significant break. This advice comes from my own experience, other people I have talked to who have successfully re-entered the workforce, as well as guests on Carol Fishman Cohen’s 3, 2, 1 iRelaunch Podcast.

So, here’s the advice…

Be clear with yourself about what you want your career to be. Decide what industry and position you want and figure out what you need to do to be qualified. For example, one person wanted to get into project management. She had never worked as a project manager in a professional capacity, but she had spearheaded projects as part of her volunteer experience. After doing some research, she decided to get her Six Sigma certification, which helped develop her resume enormously and make her relevant to project management roles. Because she defined her career goals, did her research, and shored up the areas in which she was lacking skills and education, she received two job offers for project management roles!

Be fearless in making it known within your network that you’re wanting to re-enter the workforce. People can’t help you if they don’t know that you need help.

Be persistent. You will likely receive a lot of rejection, which is normal, so don’t get discouraged. A “no” today doesn’t mean a “no” tomorrow. Eventually, you’ll get a “yes” and you only need one “yes”.

Don’t allow an employer to lowball your offer just because you’re currently not employed. Outline your skills and knowledge clearly, incorporate the skills you’ve learned and the experiences you’ve had while on your career break, and do your market research about what kind of pay you should expect for the position with the skillset you offer. And remember - just because someone gives you a lowball offer doesn’t mean you have to accept it.

Lean on the network you’ve built and maintained while you’ve been away from your industry. If you’ve volunteered anywhere, talk with your fellow volunteers or the volunteer program coordinator about what you’re looking for. If you’re a classroom parent at your child’s school, talk with the teacher, the office staff, or the other classroom parents. While you’re sitting on the sidelines watching your child’s soccer game, chat up the other parents. Many of these people have connections that could lead to your next professional opportunity.

If you’ve been searching for a job for a while and haven’t received any contact for interviews, take a step back and evaluate your strategy. Have someone look over your resume and LinkedIn profile to see if it’s missing anything or if there’s something on there that is automatically knocking you out of the running. Create a portfolio or website with samples of your work, and include a link to your site on your LinkedIn page. Create business cards with your name, the industry that you’re trying to get into, and your web address or LinkedIn URL. If these strategies still don’t help you gain any traction, you may want to consider meeting with a career coach.

If you graduated college, most colleges and universities have a Career Services or Career Development center that is free and available to alumni. They do resume and cover letter reviews, mock interviews, and can help connect you to their employer network.

You have many valuable skills and knowledge that employers are seeking. It might not be easy to jump back into your career, but it is absolutely possible. Tap into your grit and determination, employ the suggestions and resources above, and be ready to receive opportunities when they come your way.

Gayle Guthrie