Find Inspiring Stories

The media narrative on working moms isn’t always pretty. Generally they seem to revolve around questions like: How do they do it? Can they have it all? There are many mornings that begin with #facepalm because of some story that seems to reinforce a tired narrative that doesn’t describe my life or the lives of many women I know. So it was with relief, amazement and joy that I read…

Barbara Gaskill

Success Story: Barbara Gaskill

Name: Barbara Gaskill   Return Path position:  Sales Operations Analyst Career past life (what did you do?): Sales Operations Manager and Demand Manager in the Semiconductor Industry How long were you out of the workforce?: I was out of the workforce for almost one year Return Path role (what do you do each day?): During my first few weeks at Return Path I cleaned up the pipeline within Salesforce, ensuring data…

A Few Ideas For More Pleasant Mornings

In the life of any working parent there are a few predictable stress points. One is The Morning. When you have children, mornings start EARLY. Sometimes painfully early. And getting everyone up, dressed, fed and out the door in time for the buses and trains and commutes can leave you feeling as if you ran a marathon before you even hit your desk. Mornings don’t have to be Groundhog Day,…

How to Update Your Resume After a Career Break

When you are searching for a job, especially if you haven’t been out in the market for a while, the words “Send me your resume” can be terrifying. If you haven’t updated your resume, your heart sinks as you think of the work in front of you. And even if you have, your heart sinks because…well, because sending anyone your resume is terrifying! So let’s start with something basic: Everyone…

Cathy Juntunen

Success Story: Cathy Juntunen

Name: Cathy Juntunen Return Path Position: Recruitment Coordinator Career past life (What did you do?): Before taking time off to raise my two children, I was the Human Resource Manager at American Medical Response (AMR). AMR is a national ambulance company headquartered in Colorado. How long were you out of the workforce? 14 years Return Path role (What do you do each day?): After some training, I now source and recruit…

The 6 Ways My Children Helped My Career

To hear the media tell it, children are the death knell of a woman’s career. Women get sidelined. They take themselves out of the game. They are distracted and overwhelmed and how on earth can they perform well if that’s true? I’m here to tell you that my children have helped my career far more than they’ve hurt it. Their influence has been big and small. Here are a few…

Defining Success in Your Returnship

I love visiting art museums, especially modern art museums. I’m not particularly knowledgeable, but I enjoy my time and generally find ideas that inspire me (I’ve written, here and here, about how two MoMA exhibits inspired me). And as a mom I love sharing this experience with my kids who are now 8 and 6. Of course visiting a museum with an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old can be … Let’s…

John Bortscheller

Success Story: John Bortscheller

Name: John Bortscheller Return to Work Internship position (and company): Associate Account Executive (sales department) for ReadyTalk Career past life (What did you do?): I was a corporate account manager, selling data network systems for Verizon Business. How long were you out of the workforce before entering the Return to Work program? I was out of the workforce for more than 7 years to take care of my two young…

Don’t Let the Perfect Be the Enemy of the Wonderful

Early in my business career I learned to embrace the concept “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” The idea, which was very hard on a recovering perfectionist, was that something that is done well enough is infinitely more valuable than the thing this is never complete because it wasn’t yet “perfect.” The concept of perfection in parenting is also hard for me to let go of,…