Reentering the workforce

Having worked as both an external and internal corporate recruiter, I’ve been asked to review a lot of friends’ resumes lately. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, I believe the following guide will help you both improve your current draft and avoid the worst resume pitfalls. For those seeking to return to work after a career break of three years or more, we highly recommend making contact with a prospective employer first, either in person or through a mutual connection, before forwarding your resume. Most relaunchers do not fare well using only online job boards and application systems. Read More »

Collaborating with a university is an excellent entrepreneurial strategy. Whether you are starting a business as a way of reentering the workforce or as a career transition, consider what universities have to offer and figure out how your venture can be of benefit to them. Successful university collaborations are a win-win for both the entrepreneur and the institution. Read More »

In Friday’s Wall Street Journal former HP Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina wrote “Never have common sense, good judgment and ethics mattered more.” I completely agree with her. In a week that revealed Illinois Governor Blagojevich’s horrifying venality and Wall Street eminence grise Bernard Madoff’s massive fraud, might honesty become valued again? When business was booming, asking questions and raising doubts was not in style. Although employers professed to care about ethics, what they really wanted were employees who would keep the good times rolling. The recruiting mantra from 2004-2007 might be summed up as: “Skeptics and naysayers need not apply.” Now that so many institutions have crumbled, basically due to a lack of questioning and doubt-raising, maybe common sense, good judgment and ethics will come back in vogue. It occurred to me that a renewed interest by business in these old-fashioned values might actually work to the advantage of relaunchers—those who are reentering the workforce after a career break, most often after staying home to raise kids. Now’s the time to emphasize, in a creative way, some of the intangibles that you have to offer.

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