Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work
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Product Description
Returning to the workforce can be a daunting job for full-time moms. It requires reigniting old contacts (including co-workers who were once their junior), marketing themselves strategically, and battling the diminished self-image that plagues most women who have been off the career track--whether it's been two, six, or 15 years. Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin understand, because they've been there.
And as women who have successfully relaunched their careers, they know it can be done with careful planning, strategizing, and creativity. Now, in BACK ON THE CAREER TRACK, they offer a prescriptive, seven-step program that covers such topics as building confidence, assessing career options, updating job skills, preparing for interviews, getting the family on board, networking, and much more.
"Finally! A smart, practical, inspiring guide for moms looking to get back to paid work--without losing their minds." --Leslie Morgan Steiner, editor of Mommy Wars and columnist, www.washingtonpost.com
"This comprehensive step-by-step guide to workforce reentry should be invaluable to women seeking to relaunch their careers. Real-life examples of success stories combined with a multitude of practical advice make this book a unique resource." --Constance C. Helfat, professor, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College
"This guide is a wonderful and practical roadmap to 'on ramping' back into the workforce. If you're thinking about that journey, this book is the way forward!" --Anne Erni, Chief Diversity Officer, Lehman Brothers
"Candid, constructive, compelling... The authors provide realistic yet optimistic advice with examples on how to relaunch a career successfully." --W. Stanton Smith, National Director, Next Generation Initiatives/Human Resources, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
"After you have talked your girlfriends to death, bored your husband with all your plans and even, in desperation, consulted your mother-in-law, let Cohen and Rabin show you how it is done. They will help you plan the step-by-step campaign that will get you back into the job market no matter how much time you have taken off." --Lisa Endlich, author of Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success
"A terrific compendium of the issues, trade-offs--and opportunities--that Serious Moms recommitting to Serious Professional life will encounter." --Mary Lindley Burton, president, Burton Strategies, and coauthor of In Transition: From the Harvard Business School Club of New York's Career Management Seminar
Spotlight Customer Reviews:
Summary:
Relaunch is best for those who have taken off previously
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Comment:
As a medical researcher, I was impressed to see that Cohen and Rabin included grant programs for scientific researchers who are reentering careers after time away. They took this approach throughout their excellent book which highlights how women in a wide range of careers and educational backgrounds could realistically approach returning to work after a career break.
There is a flaw in the recent negative review posted by Martin Nemko. His criticism is directed toward the difficulty of building a resume to obtain a job following a break. Obtaining a job is not the focus of the book. Rather, the book is directed to those who seek to relaunch careers or launch new ones.
His comment implying that these authors are not qualified to write on this topic is wrong. Cohen and Rabin have been through this process personally, run a return to work conference that is touring nationally, and have a lengthy press and speakers list. I highly recommend this excellent guide to relaunching a career following a break.
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Summary:
Back on the Career Track
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Comment:
I can't believe reviewer Martin Nemzo read the same book I did. As reviewer Rachel Towle mentioned, I do not have an advanced degree, yet I found Back on the Career Track to be a realistic, refreshing guide to career reentry. Women who had "relaunched" careers in all sorts of fields and work configurations are profiled and the advice and strategy is accessible and I think equally effective for those of us without graduate degrees. In fact, I think the stories from the authors and their subjects were unusually candid, which made the points the authors were trying to illustrate even more compelling for someone in the position of being at home trying to return to work. Looking at Mr. Nemzo's background, he does not appear to be in this situation which is why he might have missed the major points of the book.
Finally, his comment about the authors backgrounds is clearly inaccurate to the point where I wonder if Mr. Nemzo had some sort of agenda to diss these authors. His comment that one of the authors is noted in the NYTimes for marrying a physician happens to be her wedding announcement from 1988! From their company website (www.iRelaunch.com) and some of my own googling, I found out that Cohen, a mother of four, resumed working after 11 years out of the full time workforce in a full time job for an investment company. She left after a year at which time Harvard Business School wrote a case study about her journey back to work after her time at home. Rabin went into the executive search business after seven years at home with her five kids.
These two authors appear to me to be the only authors of books on career reentry who have actually gone through the entire process of working, taking a career break and then returning to jobs unrelated to writing about or starting a company in the career reentry field. They wrote their book and started their company after they went through the entire return to work process. That's why they understand it so well! They now run a company that creates career reentry programming for people on career break and they have spoken internationally on the topic. Just take a look at their list of speaking engagements to see the wide range of audiences they address. Mr. Nemzo - I think you better do more careful research next time before tossing out the ridiculous references you make in this review. I give Back on the Career Track five stars and highly recommend it for those on career break interested in a strategy to return to work after a hiatus.
Nicole, mom of 1 with one of the way
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Summary:
This book fails for the reason so many self-help books fail
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Comment:
The authors generalize from their experience as Harvard MBAs and from superstar women. The message: "If they can do it, so can you."
Well, in the real world, what works for superstars is vastly different from what works with the average person. What works for the average stay-at-home mom who wants to return to work is to simply beg all your friends and relatives for a launchpad job, even if menial, so you can put something on your resume other that stay-at-home mom. Unless really desperate, most employers resumes and cover letters from stay-at-home moms (even when they try to feebly explain how being a stay-at-home mom demonstrates lots of transferable skills) and throws them into the trash.
Laughably, if you google these two authors, supposed examples of stay-at-home moms successfully reentering the workplace, despite their Harvard MBAs, you get the feeling they aren't all that successful. They're mainly noted for pushing their book, and one was noted in the NY Times for marrying a physician.
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Summary:
Long winded authors & unless you have a MBA or PhD leave it on the shelf.
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Comment:
The authors start off with a bit of sisterhood and camaraderie as they speak from the mommy club. They share their experiences as SAHMs transitioning to full time work as high powered career women. This is when those of us looking for a "job" are left out of the book.
I realize that this book can not be everything to all people, but unless you are in a very high ranking position in business, science, finance, medicine, technology, sales or consulting leave it on the shelf.
It offers some nice tips for everyone about networking and reminders about getting yourself back in gear for work. 75% is for women who have the leverage to play hardball with the employer when it comes to negotiating their schedule and salary. It does not offer many great ideas for those of us who are in financial need to return to work, especially if you have very young children.
I am not trying to dump on the book, but it is not for everyone. If you are trying to be a consultant it offers great advice. If you are finding a "job", not returning to a career, this is NOT the book for you.
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Summary:
Like Having a Good Girlfriend Helping You
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Comment:
I almost cried as I read the introduction - the authors described exactly the way I was feeling, and the decisions I was weighing. The authors then walk one through this daunting process with practical advice worthy of a professional career advisor, but peppered with the insights and commentary your best girlfriend might offer up. Wonderfully helpful!
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