Tricks of the trade
Network, network, network
Keys found the job after listening to her former boss lament the fact that the drug company she worked for couldn’t find anyone to fill a marketing position. Despite her five-year hiatus, Keys thought she could handle the role and asked for an interview. Turnbull, meanwhile, simply told everyone she knew she was looking for work. Soon a friend of a friend passed along a lead for the job she eventually landed.
Monita Sen, an employment counsellor at Times Change Women’s Employment Service in Toronto, says networking can’t be underestimated. Forget sending resumés online as your sole job-search technique. Still, when she broaches the subject of networking with clients, many blanch and complain that they don’t have networks to draw upon. That’s rarely true, however, says Sen. Networking doesn’t have to mean handing out business cards in a convention centre. Instead, she encourages women to look at all of their social contacts, former bosses and colleagues, friends, book club members or parent council associates. “These are very simple techniques. You’re just talking to people you know,” she says.
Figure out what you want
Sen says that many women returning to the workforce after an extended leave fear that no one will give them a job, but just as many fear what will happen if someone does. “Just going back to any kind of routine is going to be a shock,” she says.
Ingrid Tilstra, 42, of Kelowna, B.C., learned just that when she took an administrative position at the local University of British Columbia campus about 10 years after she left work to take care of her kids. “I discovered that I really hate to go somewhere and have people expect me to be there four days a week. It was just driving me insane,” she admits.
When she approached her boss with her concerns, her supervisor, motivated by the area’s labour shortage, made a change. “She waved her magic wand, and now I work completely from home while she’s in Vancouver. For me, it’s perfect,” says Tilstra.
Be your own boss
Other women find flexibility by running their own businesses. Linda Clement, 42, of Victoria, incorporated her parenting coach and workshop business in 2002 after being out of the workforce for 13 years. She started slowly, taking on a few clients here and there, and plans to stay small so she can continue spending time with her teenagers. Working full-time right off the bat wasn’t the right solution for her, says Clement. “There were times I had to find ways to resist growing too fast. You can move into the workforce slowly instead of full-time or nothing.”
Accentuate the positive
Whether going back full-time, part-time or somewhere in-between, remember: You have something few other employees can offer — years of professional experience untainted by cynicism or complacency after too many years on the job. In short, you’re happy to be there.
For her part, Keys says she’s so pleased to be back at work, simply turning on her computer is exciting. “I’m re-energized and passionate about what I’m doing because I’ve had some time off. It felt like a complete sabbatical,” says Keys. “I come back to the office now, look around and can tell which people need a break. I’ve been there.”
This article originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of More
