Books & articles
Check out these articles and books to jump start your re-entry into a technical field. One example is the book, Back on the Career Track, which identifies some practical ideas for overcoming obstacles. Many of the titles specify women, since a career break for family is common with women, but the re-entry advice works for men, too.
Career Advice
Cisco Tech Chief Outlines The Advantages of Being a Woman in Tech
A Better Answer for "Tell Me About Yourself" - blog of career advice from 825 Basics
Career Advice - Gayle Laakman McDowell
Job-Seeker, It's Not Your Fault: The Hiring System is Broken - by Liz Ryan
Rod Colon's Extreme Job Search Program: Seven Steps that Could Change Your Life
Recession Moms: Re-Entering the Workforce - Mom Corps video
irelaunch.org, MYOBMoms, BullsEye, BriefcaseToBackpack, and Out and Employed
Back in Force - blog about returning to work after raising kids
Flexible Work Arrangements - templates for telecommuting / flex time proposals
Workforce Studies / Articles
Mind the Gap: Women in STEM Career Breaks
Why so few? - AAUW (American Association of University Women) In an era when women are increasingly prominent in medicine, law and business, why are there so few women scientists and engineers? A new research report by AAUW presents compelling evidence that can help to explain this puzzle. Find power point presentations, video and pdf about this study at AAUW website.
Resources for Retaining and Advancing Mid-career Technical Women - National Center for Women & Information Technology
Women in Engineering ProActive Network - WEPAN Knowledge Center
Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It's Just So Darn Hard)
We know diversity in tech is a problem, but what’s the solution?
More Women Leave Engineering....But Earn Degrees at the Same Rate as Men
Why Women Leave the Engineering Field
Stemming the Tide: Why Women Leave Engineering - Nadya Fouad, Romila Singh University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Women Who Step Out of the Corporate World Find It Hard to Step Back In
Book Recommendations
Back on the Career Track - by Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin, Returning to the workforce can be a daunting prospect. It requires reigniting old contacts, marketing yourself strategically, and building confidence - whether you've been out of the workforce for two, six, or 15 years. Back On the Career Track, offers a prescriptive, seven-step program that includes:
Assessing career options and updating job skills
Networking and preparing for interviews
Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want - by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
Women Don't Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation--and Positive Strategies for Change - by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
As you go through your job search it is helpful to get ideas on how to stay focused and achieve your goals:
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People1 - Read it again or for the first time. Maybe there is a way to think positively about this challenging time - maybe it is an opportunity to take a career path that will help you follow the goals you have for your life.
Habit 1: Be Proactive Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how they align with life's principles) are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the subsequent consequences that follow.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life.
Habit 3: Put First Things First Plan, prioritize, and execute your week's tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.
Habit 4: Think Win-Win Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood Use empathetic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.
Habit 6: Synergize Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone. Get the best performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle.
1. Wikipedia contributors, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People (accessed December 20, 2011).
