Back to School? Back to Work!

Contributed by Vivian Rabin, Cofounder, iRelaunch

It’s that time of year again. Back to school. Although I have only one child still at home, the beginning of September will always feel like the beginning of the New Year to me. I even tend to plot my New Year’s resolutions over the summer. “This fall, I’ll… contact ten potential new clients, finish those foreign language CDs, start exercising regularly (yeah, right!).

Thinking back, it was at this time twelve years ago that I decided to really focus on trying to return to work, after seven years at home with my kids. I remember telling myself the prior spring, “you’ll have one more leisurely summer, and then you’ve really got to start DOING something.” Not that I wasn’t doing anything. With five kids age 11 and under, I was plenty busy, but the kids were all slated to be in school at least part of the day, so I figured I had a few potential “revenue generating” hours available. And I was determined to make the most out of them. But how?

To make a long story short, I ended up working for a neighbor who had his own executive search business (I had been in finance, then recruiting, before I left the workforce). Executive search turned out to be a great fit for me, and I eventually developed my own client base. But I remained passionate about the issue of returning to work after taking a career break, and I co-authored a book on the topic (Back on the Career Track). My co-author Carol Cohen and I then founded iRelaunch and began running the iRelaunch Return to Work Conference throughout the US and in London, bringing together professional women who have been out of the workforce with employer sponsors for a day of education and networking.

So if you’re on career break now, whether taking care of your kids or for other reasons, let this be the year you DO something. Here are 5 simple steps you can take in the next week to move your relaunch forward.

1. Write down what you liked best about your prior jobs and volunteer experiences. Look for patterns. Then think about new ways you could build on those positive professional experiences. For example, Allyson Bakewell, a former nurse/MBA who had last worked in consulting, realized her favorite professional task was recruiting. She relaunched as a nurse recruiter. (Read Allyson’s story here). Diane Rooney had been a senior executive in commercial finance prior to taking a 4-year career break to care for her ailing mother, but she had always enjoyed helping individuals and families with their finances. She relaunched as a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch. (Read Diane’s story here.)
2. If you haven’t already, put up a LinkedIn profile, even a very skeletal one, listing your prior employers, roles and education (make sure you include a picture). Then, join a few relevant LinkedIn groups, such as the LinkedIn group for alumni of your alma mater(s) and prior employers, as well as industry groups for fields you’re interested in. It’s a great way to start to reconnect with your professional interests and to relaunch your professional identity. You can always add more detail to your profile later.
3. Start reading online or in the newspaper about your field of interest. Visit relevant trade association sites and sign up for free e-newsletters. Google the sites of leading companies in your field and read any relevant white papers or other research that they make publicly available. The goal is to get yourself back up to speed on developments in your old field, or start to learn about your new area of interest. With all the information available online today, it’s easy to get informed, and there’s no excuse for not being current.
4. Volunteer strategically. When you receive those calls or emails asking you to help with the holiday fundraiser or serve on the programming committee, say “yes” to the volunteer assignments that will help you revive old skills or develop important new ones or that will put you in contact with people who enhance your professional network. Say “no” to the bake sale or the invitation-stuffing nights where you sit around the table with ten people you already know.
5. Attend a professional event—a program hosted by the alumni club of your alma mater, or a Conference produced by a professional association. It’s a great way to get updated and to network. If you live in the NYC or Boston areas, join us at the iRelaunch Return to Work Conference on October 10 in NYC and on November 29 in Boston.

In a survey we conducted last year, over half of respondents had returned to work within a year of attending the Conference, and most attributed their relaunch to the strategies and tactics they learned at the event. In addition, Accenture, Bloomberg, Merrill Lynch and PwC have all hired Conference attendees. They will be sending recruiters to this year’s NYC event as well, together with Capital One, Ernst & Young, and Personal Risk Management Solutions.

Vivian Steir Rabin is the co-author of Back on the Career Track and the co-founder of iRelaunch. The Glass Hammer NYC iRelaunch Return to Work registration discount: receive $50 off through September 10; $20 off thereafter when you use the Coupon Code GROUP. Learn more and register online here. Please note that our NYC Conference has sold out the past two years, so register early to avoid disappointment.