In the spirit of good networking, Meg first reached out to me when she heard about my career transition blog for women. It was a friend of a friend who referred her to me so I was thrilled to learn about her unique career transitions and she’s had several. So many of the women I have featured on the blog changed careers dramatically from one field to another unrelated career path and others pursued entrepreneurial ventures. I was drawn to Meg’s story because she has reinvented herself many times within the walls of corporate America, albeit in different companies. And she is part of the vibrant but small percentage of women at the C-level in the corporate world paving the way for the future generations of women in the executive ranks. [Read more...]
Career Coach • Author • Speaker
Joyce Boyd, Registered Nurse
As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, Joyce loved math and earned a degree in Electrical Engineering. She was one of a few women in her academic discipline and this followed suit in the professional world. She landed a competitive and prestigious spot in a fast tracked entry-level engineering program at a prestigious Fortune 500 company designed to mold the industry leaders of the future.
This program included a full scholarship for Joyce to earn her Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. Working as a Systems Engineer, she loved her job with the company and discovered she was better suited to program management than the theoretical design of engineering. [Read more...]
The Returnship® is a Golden Opportunity
The concept of an internship for university students is common knowledge but the Returnship® is a unique program targeting women who left the workforce for a few years and are eager to get back in. Goldman Sachs and the Sara Lee Corporation are leading the way with this novel approach to re-engage talented women who took time off to raise children, care for elderly parents, or took a hiatus from the professional world for any reason.
The Returnship® came to be when employers realized that many women who left the workforce had trouble getting back in because hiring managers feared their gap-time away from work.
At Goldman Sachs, the Returnship® is a ten week program with opportunities around the globe from New York City, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Salt Lake City, among other destinations. The returnees, as Goldman calls them, work on substantive business challenges tailored to their unique strengths and professional experiences. The talent pool consists of seasoned workers so the goal is to provide them with advanced opportunities so they can play an integral role on a team for a short period of time.
In addition to actual work tasks, the women participate in professional development courses, including self promotion, influence and presence, mentor relationships, and current trends in the financial sector which are relevant to their work at Goldman Sachs.
The Sara Lee Corporation launched their Returnship® program providing opportunities for mid-career individuals re-entering the workforce after having been away for a number of years. Their pilot program was so successful that it is now an integrated part of the company’s ongoing recruitment efforts.
Mentoring for women in the program is essential in both companies to assist the newly re-engaged workers with transitioning and guidance to navigate the realities of work and home life more successfully.
This opportunity is the ultimate test drive for the organization and the candidate to determine best fit. Often it gives candidates a boost of self confidence as they immerse themselves back into the working world after a significant time away.
Cheers to Goldman Sachs and Sara Lee for embracing this incredible opportunity for a positive on-ramp back into the profession. It’s a win-win for all involved and a direct line to hiring new talent. Goldman reports that most of their Returnship® classes result in a 50% conversion rate to full-time hires, in roles that these women may not have sought out on their own before the 10 week program.
The Returnship® signals to all women who take a conscious break from their careers that if they want to go back to work, they can. Let’s hope more companies and organizations take advantage of this great re-entry opportunity to get back to work. Because taking a break does not mean you lose your skills or intelligence, it just means that you made a decision to prioritize something else in your life for a given time period and that should be applauded!
Candace Alper, Name Your Tune – Personalized CDs
It all began for Candace Alper when she was on maternity leave. In Canada, new moms are able to take up to a year off which has led to a growing number of mompreneurs in the country. Having a year to herself and her new baby, Candace was able to take the time to think about her life and her career. With an infant daughter, she started singing the songs all moms know and love but she would incorporate Hannah’s name to personalize the tunes.
Before long – “If You’re Happy and You Know It” became “If You’re Hannah and You Know It” and the idea of Name Your Tune was born. Candace’s husband, Eric works in the music industry and he supported the idea of the new business venture and also brought significant skills and expertise to the table. From the beginning, the focus has been on making music fun for children and parents alike. By customizing songs with a child’s name, this wife and husband team has been able to take classic children’s songs to a new place. [Read more...]
Danielle Bobish, Curtain Up Events
A Broadway actress, Danielle was tired of being a struggling artist and knew she wanted more out of life and her career. But what – and how? Dissecting her career on the stage helped Danielle quickly realize that her professional theater background was the perfect training for planning large events. “With any big event like a wedding, you’ll find the same key elements: costumes, lighting, set decoration, production and timing, and lots of details to coordinate. I thought – why not bring that same excitement and theatrical sensibility to non-Broadway events?” She is now the Owner and Creative Director of Curtain Up Events (CUE) and an excellent example of a woman who combined her passions, skills, and experiences and used them to transition into a new career. [Read more...]
Kim Daly, The Urbane Concierge
Kim Daly has worn many hats during her professional career from an Executive Briefing Program Manger to the Director of Global Travel Operations. In her previous life, Kim was working a full 40-hour week and spending 20 additional hours running errands and doing a plethora of other miscellaneous tasks. Her free time was hardly spent doing the things she wanted to do. She soon discovered that there were many people in the same position– their lives were lost to mundane chores. [Read more...]
How Do You Live the 80/20 Rule?
Recently I featured a career reinvention story about Lisa Montanaro who is a solutions expert and Principal of her company LM Organizing Solutions, LLC. Lisa has found her true career passion as a professional organizer even though she taps her transferable skills as a former practicing lawyer on a regular basis. Her new book The Ultimate Life Organizer: An Interactive Guide to a Simpler, Less Stressful, and More Organized Life is hot off the press so do check it out to get some clarity in your life.
But today’s entry is not just about Lisa’s book – it’s about something she shared in her recent newsletter that struck me. You may have heard of the Pareto Principle – otherwise known as the 80/20 rule. This concept illustrates the reality of unequal distribution when in most cases 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
Lisa went on to share examples such as 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients and 20% of the work we do consumes 80% of our time and resources. Most of us only wear 20% of the clothes in our closet on a regular basis!
The bottom line, as Lisa so aptly describes is that 20% of what we do is vital and 80% of what we do is trivial. So, from all our daily activities – only 20% produce meaningful results. The goal is to identify the 20 % that matters so we can be proactive instead of reactive and more in control of the productive way we use our precious time. We must remind ourselves to focus on the 20% each day that really matters in work and life so we can produce the most positive and successful results.
Likewise, if you play to your strengths, you will use the 20% of your time even more effectively because you will be firing on all cylinders and working efficiently at what you do best. The bonus is that you will also be enjoying the process because you are honoring your strengths.
So – cheers to Lisa Montanaro for reminding us of the value of the 80/20 rule if you use it to your advantage. I hope you will check out her book, she really is the solutions expert!
Would You Be Happier With More Time or Money?
In the spirit of sharing great resources, my friend Chris sent me an amazing article by Alice LaPlante from the Journal of Consumer Psychology about the value of time and money. Professors Jennifer Aaker and Melanie Rudd of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Cassie Mogilner of the University of Pennsylvania discuss how time is often our most precious resource so we must spend it wisely.
I have seen people make career choices based on how much money they will be making but Aaker reminds us that few actually consider how they will be using their time “…whether they can control their time, who they will spend their time with, and what activities they will spend their time on.” Since we spend most of our waking hours at work – our time is something we should consider very seriously in our career decision making.
“Money itself (e.g., thinking about money) is misaligned with happiness-inducing behaviors, whereas thinking about time (e.g., how you are spending time, where you are spending your time) tends to foster these types of happiness-inducing behaviors. How you choose to spend your time significantly influences your happiness.” according to Aaker.
This goes beyond negotiating for flex time and work-from-home options – it’s about the relationship between the resource of time and happiness. While the majority of research to date has focused on how money can or cannot make individuals happy, the newer research about time and happiness is finally starting to get some attention.
Mogilner shared that people with meaningful social connections are happier than those without them. Spending time with individuals you like increases your happiness while time spent with those you dislike, or spending time alone, results in a drop in happiness levels. The three women, with input from additional researchers extracted 5 time-spending happiness principles:
Spend time with the right people. The greatest happiness is achieved when you interact with people you like. You have control over this in your personal life as well as your career life so consider this when making a career move, or re-frame collegial relationships at your existing job to make them more palatable.
Spend time on the right activities. Seek out activities that energize you and make you happy. You may still have to clean your closet or pay the bills but focus on the activities that bring you joy so you can relish that time with positive energy.
Enjoy experiences without spending time actually doing them. Research shows that daydreaming is a happiness inducing activity. When pondering your dream vacation or a special event, your brain sends out happy vibes that give you pleasure. Anticipation can be a very pleasurable act so dream-on!
Expand your time. We still only have 24 hours in each day so focusing on the here and now can increase happiness levels. Taking a deep breath can also have the same effect. Focusing on the future can induce anxiety in some who feel as if they are running out of time which wastes the precious moments of the present. So, take a deep breath and enjoy the moment you are in.
Be aware that happiness changes over time. We experience time differently as we age. Many younger people equate happiness with excitement while older individuals often equate happiness with peacefulness. So, go with the flow as your life changes over time and notice the shifts in your happiness and what you need to find meaning.
Bottom line – the researchers confirmed that spending time with the people you love and doing things you enjoy is the best road to happiness.
Ellen Covner, Custom Gardens, LLC
Early on in her career Ellen Covner, like many other professional women, noticed that working with men could be a very mixed experience. She also learned that group and workplace dynamics often had a style and language all their own that did not promote cooperation, creativity and “drive.” She came to realize that as important as it was to be self-supporting and have a good income, money was not a sufficient motivator to stay in a “good job.” After 20+ years practicing health law in major hospitals and law firms, she was ready for new challenges. She wanted a change that would renew her creativity and joy in her work. The call of the outdoors beckoned and enticed her to focus on promoting environments that nourish people and their properties. [Read more...]
What Now? What Next?
The career development journey is an exciting one but the overload of new information, opportunities, and ideas can often lead to analysis paralysis. With the myriad of possibilities you can get overwhelmed if you don’t have a system in place for choosing what action to take.
Tai Goodwin, the Career Makeover Coach suggests two simple questions to bring you clarity about what to do when there are too many options.
What now?
What next?
Sometimes it’s important to focus on these baby steps instead of the big picture so you can tie your answers to the above questions with actions. Tai suggests you write down your ideas. Always carry a note pad so you can be ready on the fly and don’t make a decision until you’ve gotten clarity about what really matters to you in life and career.
Big picture clarity can be scary so this is a perfect opportunity to have a brainstorming session with the strategist on your personal Board of Directors. Have someone help you outline your passion, purpose, values, and strengths along with the vision you have of the lifestyle you want.
A career coach can certainly help facilitate this type of session but if you are lucky enough to have a strategist in your circle of trust – have at it with them and map out 3 paths to create the life and work you want.
The map can be realized with a vision board, journal, or simple outline, whatever suits your personal style. By creating 3 paths you won’t stress yourself out with just one way of doing things and you won’t be limited to a single choice. You can mix and match strategies but the first step will get you moving in the right direction.
By answering what now and what next you will be able to realistically narrow your options based on what really matters to you and take the all important first steps forward on your journey.
