by Carol Fishman Cohen
Last week I had the privilege of participating in two excellent return to work events; one for lawyers and one for computer scientists/engineers. My co-author Vivian Steir Rabin and I have participated in almost 80 return-to-work events in the last three years, and these two definitely ranked among the top.
Last Wednesday, the Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers in Transition Committee held a Career Reentry Primer, organized by relauncher lawyer Lisa Terrizzi. I was the lone non-lawyer among a terrific panel of lawyers with great relaunch stories. Here are highlights:
*Deborah Felton relaunched her career as Executive Director of a senior community center serving 420 seniors after a TWENTY year career break. During her 20 years away from paid work, Deborah was active in her town on community based boards and event committees.
*Joyce Gerber is a family law attorney who took a six year career break after she had her first child while still in law school. Joyce was laid off and REHIRED TWICE in the last six months, an incredible feat in this economy. She credits her rehiring success to intensive and consistent networking.
*Sara Harnish is the Assistant Director for Non-Clinical Trials at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, a position she was hired for AFTER VOLUNTEERING in this Dana Farber regulatory compliance group. She loves that her work is meaningful and interesting.
There were many more highlights from the panelists, but the discussion that ensued was as enriching as the panelists’ remarks. Retired Justice Edward Ginsburg encouraged participants to step back in via pro bono work alongside the Senior Partners for Justice of the Boston Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project. A senior lawyer mentors a returning lawyer as skills are refreshed while working on a pro bono case, and provides introductions to contacts who know about job openings. Great advice!
The next day, BBN Technologies, a leading technology solutions provider headquartered in Cambridge, MA, announced their Technical Relauncher’s Initiative.
*Carol Sabia, VP of Talent Management at BBN, described the innovative program which is specifically for computer scientists and electrical engineers returning to the workforce after a career break.
*Four, three month internships in Sensor Systems, Cyber Security, Advanced Networking, and Speech and Language Technologies are being offered.
*I spoke about the “7 Steps to Relaunch Success” return to work strategy from our book Back on the Career Track, using stories of relaunchers in technical fields to illustrate, and a relauncher who successfully returned to work at BBN after two long career breaks told her amazing story.
Participants were heavily screened for the correct educational background and work experience, and for their desire to return to full time work. BBN Technologies has 700 employees and they are hiring about 80 people, which is one of the reasons BBN created the Technical Relaunchers Initiative. BBN views the pool of talent on career break as a rich resource for potential hires.
Both the BBN Technologies and the Mass Bar Association events re-affirmed my optimism for relauncher hiring success in the midst of tough economic times.
Carol Fishman
Cohen
Vivian Steir
Rabin
Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin are the co-authors of the acclaimed career reentry book Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work , and the co-founders of iRelaunch , a company that produces career reentry programming, events, and content for employers, universities, organizations and individuals. Download our webinar on LinkedIn . If you’re on career break in the Tri-State area, register for our Career Relaunch Forum October 29, 2009 at Seton Hall University in South Orange , NJ . Carol and Vivian can be reached at info@iRelaunch.com.
