It can be hard to stay upbeat when you don’t get a job after many attempts and applications submitted. One problem people run into is hoping it will be easy to return to work, which actually creates a bit of an expectation that it will be easy. When it isn’t, the disappointment you feel at not meeting that expectation — no matter how unrealistic it was — can be really…
Fall is typically a time of back-to-school and new beginnings, but as with every facet of daily life, the pandemic has turned that upside down. While this has been a challenging year for everyone, we know that it has been especially difficult for working moms trying to maintain their careers while caring for their children, and for caregivers looking to return to work in an unstable economy. While there is…
I’m thrilled to announce the appointment of a new Director to the Path Forward Board: Gayatri Agnew. Gayatri serves on the leadership team of Walmart’s Global Responsibility division where she leads strategy and partnerships for Walmart’s efforts on economic mobility. Her work is focused on key issues such as employer practices change, improving work-based learning, and strengthening inclusion in communities. Her personal mission is for more people to find purpose…
One thing we hear, pretty frequently, is the idea that someone out of the workforce for many years must be “outdated” in terms of their skills. We hear this from returnees themselves. And we hear it, usually formed as a question, from some recruiters. This is especially true because of how many tech companies we work with, many of whom are focused on hiring engineers. If you haven’t worked in…
Rae Haouaoui has had an extensive career with more than 15 years in sales and account management and seven years in marketing and brand strategy, plus small business ownership. When her family relocated for her husband’s career, Rae was seven months pregnant. After 20 years devoted to her career, she made an intentional plan to take a break from the workforce to raise her son. How did you end up…
Company: Cloudflare Position: Technical Support Engineer Cloudflare is now considering returnees for all current job openings in any field! Learn how you can apply here. Gloria stepped away from the workforce for more than 10 years to raise her son. She joined Cloudflare as one of their first returnees and has been with them since November 2016. Here’s her story. What type of work did you do before taking a…
Lavanya earned an MBA and worked for more than five years in the technology sector before she left her career to raise her child. After three years away from her career, she found it difficult to re-enter the workforce at the same professional level. She attended a Path Forward Career Restart Seminar and applied for a returnship at Medallia. She now works as a full-time Senior Analyst at Medallia. What…
Many women lament their inability to create boundaries around their time so they can accomplish what matters most to them. If you find yourself saying, “I have to …” with a sigh for a lot of your calendar items, that’s sure sign that you are spending time in a way that doesn’t bring you joy. Sure, we all have plenty of things we have to do, but many of us have…
Ellein Cheng left her career for four and a half years to raise her children. Ellein was a high-school math teacher, and held a career as a market risk analyst before that. When she started her Path Forward returnship as a product support specialist, not only did she re-start her career, but she changed it completely. After her returnship at AppNexus, (now Xandr), she converted into a full-time role, and…
Anne Smith has 28 years of software engineering experience. After taking a three-year career break to spend time with her teenage children, she re-entered the workforce through a returnship at Cloudera. Despite the fact that Anne had not worked in a hands-on engineering environment for a few years, her understanding of software engineering concepts made her an excellent fit as a project manager within the Quality Engineering team as an…
