Take the "Work" Out of Virtual Networking
If you were able to attend WBW Champion Nehal Mehta’s webinar on networking, you know there was a lot of very useful information for everyone in attendance, not just Returners. But as a Returner organization, I wanted to pull out some of the tips that I feel are useful for Returners so that you can start, or continue, building your network.
A Story of Empowerment: Women Back to Work Program Director, Deepika Chhibber
Deepika took a five-year break to care for her children, something that 43% of working moms do. This gives her the unique ability to empathize and connect with Returners. And though she struggled for about a year trying to get back to work, she knew it was something she needed to feel fulfilled.
Women Back to Work / Farmers Insurance Returnship Event - A Returner's Perspective
It’s been an exciting and busy fall for the WBW team. A good part of the excitement comes from our recent partnership with Farmers Insurance for a Full-Service Returnship. This WBW service is the most comprehensive and effective ways to engage talented, technology-focused women looking to return to the workforce.
On Tuesday, November 5th, thirty-four Returners attended a kick-off event at Farmer’s HQ in Woodland Hills, CA. This special event provided the Returners with the opportunity to learn about Farmer’s unique culture (they were recently awarded as a Best Place to Work), hear from Farmer’s leadership, and meet with Farmer’s hiring managers. Conversely, Farmer’s got to meet and interview some amazing technical female talent that they likely would not have had access to through traditional recruiting channels. It was truly a win-win situation.
Interview Follow-Up Best Practices for Returners
So you’ve spent a considerable amount of time in refining your resume, you’ve landed that coveted interview for the job that will kick-off your return to work journey, and you feel like you’ve aced it! You should be getting your offer any time now. But as the days go by, turning into a week, or maybe two with no response, you might begin to question if your interview actually went as well as you thought. What are your next steps? Should you chalk it down to an unsuccessful attempt and move on to other opportunities?
Contingent Workforce & Diversity: 5 Strategies to Create a Culture of Inclusion
Diversity and Inclusion have become key initiatives at most companies across the US. Executives now know that a diverse workforce is not only a nice thing to have, but statistics show that it also makes for a more innovative and productive company. In fact, a study by the Boston Consulting Group showed that companies with a diverse leadership team deliver 19% higher revenues than those without. Successful businesses in the modern world are built through leveraging diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Balancing Back to School and Back to Work
Making the choice to return to work after a hiatus is a tough decision. In fact, it is often more difficult than the decision to take time off in the first place. You’ve dedicated your time to taking care of your family while sacrificing income. And now your kids are older, more independent, and heading back to school.
Returner Spotlight: Padmini Raghupathi Mendiratta
Padmini is a Telecommunications Engineer with 12 years of enriching experience in Wireless Technologies. She was a Technical Lead at Intel India Pvt Ltd, working on automating Field Testing of test mobiles and reference mobiles, to be tested across geographies.
WBW Focus: Power Hour
Since its inception in 2015, Women Back to Work has been striving to provide women with a career gap a jumpstart in their relaunch journey. WBW tackles the complex task of workforce reentry through a multipronged approach, empowering women to return to work fully equipped with the requisite skills and confidence. With a huge uptake in the number of career relaunch programs, a feature that sets WBW apart from its counterparts is its weekly Power Hour.
How to Positively Approach Your Career Gap in an Interview
A question that we are often asked by Returners is “How do I explain the gap on my resume?”
Taking a break from your career to care for loved ones, raise children, or for any other reason is more common than you think. So it’s important to remember that taking time off doesn’t mean the end of your career, you just need to find the right way to address it.
WBW Co-Founder Sonu Ratra Featured as Community Impact Champion by Silicon Valley Business Journal
The following article first appeared in the Silicon Valley Business Journal
Editor's note: Our Community Impact Awards spotlight individuals and organizations making a real change here in Silicon Valley. This is one of the seven award winners this year.
Sonu Ratra knows firsthand the challenges women face when they return from a career break. The Akraya co-founder confronted those challenges when she left a lucrative job 17 years ago to spend time raising her daughter, Ananya. When she wanted to return to work, she hit a brick wall.