Coaching for People Returning to the Workforce
People choose to break from the workforce for many reasons: staying home to raise children, caring for an aging parent, or following a spouse after a move. When they return to the workforce, they often want to choose a career focus that was different from their previous career. This presents a multi-layered challenge, involving the initial decision to go back to work, the job search or retraining process and, after returning to work, managing work-life balance and family expectations.
Client example:
When in her 20’s, Sarah worked in advertising for eight years, but she never loved it. After having her first child at 32, she stayed home for six years. During that time, she began running marathons and raising money for cancer. She enjoyed being part of a team and was moved by the people she helped with her fund-raising. After taking career assessments and being coached, she understood she did not want to return to a 9 – 5 job. After much soul searching, she decided to become a nurse, returning to school and completing a 18-month post-baccalaureate program. She now works three 12-hour shifts a week, loves her career and can be home with her children more than she ever thought.
For people returning to work, looking at values, talents, work-life balance and interests is of utmost importance. As well, people not in the workforce are not aware of new educational programs and positions. Coaching can help identify values and guide a productive search to find options at each life stage.