How to Go Back to Work After a (Long) Break
Point of return.
For those of us who have hit pause in our work lives—to raise children, care for a parent or tend to something else—the search for a reentry point is a BFD. But you’re a Verse reader—so we know you’re up for the challenge. And we got you (we’d never leave you hanging). We brought in the expert: Diane Flynn, Co-Founder & CEO of ReBoot Accel.
After her own 16-year pause, Diane returned to a workplace transformed by tech. Right then, she made it her mission to help others like her get current, connected and confident. She has since become a go-to for both women “returners” and the corporations that (smartly) want access to this talent pool. Recently, she added author to her resume, penning The Upside: Better Outcomes when Everyone Plays with Patty White, an important and pragmatic guide for leaders looking to create workplaces where women thrive. Here’s what she told us about “returnships” (yes, that is a thing)—and what every returner can be doing right now.
Count your Cs.
Diane tells us most returners face three common hurdles: They are not current with their skill sets, they are not connected because they may have let professional networks lapse, and, as a result, they lack confidence (Which is all women. Everywhere.). Don’t panic. These are all things that you can act on.
About that one thing you can’t change…
Diane gives it to us straight: Ageism is real. Like any bias, it’s both conscious and unconscious. Younger managers have a harder time envisioning how it will work to manage someone older than themselves, and may be reluctant to bring in someone who hasn’t worked for a while. There’s also the (totally wrong) perception that older employees might not be able to grow or keep pace with a more technology-driven business environment.
Say hello to returnships.
For doubting managers, this is a low risk “try before you buy” approach to hiring. Companies like Apple and Facebook welcome returners (with modest pay) for 12-16 weeks. About 85% of the returnships that Reboot Accel has arranged convert to permanent positions. Participating companies have been surprised by returners’ strong pattern recognition, solid judgment and superior communication skills (hardly a surprise to us).
But, COVID.
Obviously, pre-COVID, a tight labor market had companies embracing experimentation to access different talent pools—and returners quickly shut down doubters with in-person interaction. So that’s shifted, but Diane believes one of the long-term positive effects could be that senior managers (often senior men) get more comfortable with more flexible and remote work—something that would benefit us all. Because we all know (and research shows) that people are more, not less, productive and innovative when they have flexibility.
Start somewhere.
There’s no reason you can’t start plotting your return right this minute. Take it from Diane and:
Do some deep discernment. Unless you need to plan for a speedy return, take some time to think about what you love. Try ReBoot’s personal inventory exercise to get things started.
Network. Network. Network. (Got that?) Whether you need to LinkIn or just share your plans with friends, see who you already know who can help you.
Confidence level-up. Most job descriptions are a wish list—no one candidate has it all. So you don’t meet all of the criteria, send anyway.
Just begin. Do small things: upskill (never has there ever been more free learning to tap—start with the ReBoot Accel website), network, edit your resume—just keep moving forward in doable ways.
