Transcript

Episode 7: What Can I Do During My Career Break to Maximize my Relaunch Success?

Carol Fishman Cohen: Welcome to three, two, one. Irelaunch I'm Carol Fishman Cohen, CEO, and co-founder of, I relaunch, the industry leader in career re-entry resources. In each episode of three, two, one, I relaunch we'll be speaking with guest experts in the career re-entry space, to you help make your transition back to work smooth and successful

today, our podcast is on what can I do during my career break to maximize my relaunch success. Our guest today is Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk. Arjan is a certified executive coach. Speaker and facilitator and an expert in leadership development, personal branding, communication, career transition, and positive intelligence as founder and president of inspire shift, LLC Arjan works both nationally and internationally with executives, leaders, business owners, and individuals to define an attain their leadership and career objectives, and is a member of the irelaunch  coaching team.

Uh, so one of the, very frequent inquiries that we get at irelaunch is that people are asking us what they should be doing either during their career break, or now that they're toward the end of their career break. And they're thinking about relaunching more actively, what they can do to put themselves in a better position to get hired.

So did they go back to school? Should they try to get some kind of an internship, like experience? Would they volunteer? So I wanted to really get in deep and talk about that topic and I'm sure you've heard, similar questions in your coaching practice. 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: Absolutely. Carol, and this is such a great question for relaunch to ask, you know, I'm a strong believer in taking a proactive approach in all areas of your life.

But particularly in regard to your career and how you position and prepare yourself to land that dream job is really an important aspect of the entire job search process, because ultimately you will speak to the hiring manager. And I see looking for a job as a marketing proposition, and you want to convince this person that you can do the job and will great and will add great value to the company.

So, where do you start? If you know the kinds of positions you're interested in, you can look this up online. You can go through either LinkedIn, indeed.com or other job search platforms. And typically what is so great about it? Job shirts is that each job description gives you a list with job requirements.

And so you want to compare your qualifications to the job requirements. And the good news is you can just scroll down the list and determine a which skills do I have B which skills are missing and see which skills need updating. So let's start with the skills you have here. It's really important not to underestimate yourself.

Oftentimes I see people minimize. The experience that they have had. And even if you were in a completely different field or position, many skills are transferable, and many people acquire wonderful skills in volunteer and leadership positions. So. Thoroughly consider your past work and volunteer experience to determine which skills you have.

Carol Fishman Cohen: Hang on. Let me just interrupt for a second.  I want to ask you a little bit more in depth about some of the comments that you're making. So,  because I know this also comes up frequently in our bootcamps because it's such a fundamental part of the career assessment on and understanding process. So , I love this idea of looking at  job descriptions and seeing where your skills match up and then what you might need to do to make yourself viable again. And I just wanted to throw in one example that we had that illustrates this so vividly, we had an engineer who, was looking to go back and the person was a manufacturing engineer, ended up wanting to relaunch in quality engineering, looked at all the job descriptions and saw that every single one of them required either lean or six Sigma certification.

So she actually had to go back to a formal  Lean or Six Sigma. She actually tried both of them and ended up with the lean certification process, before she could even be viable as a candidate to apply. So that's a perfect example of seeing where there's a deficit, on the certification or education side, and then having to go back to get some kind of a formal education piece doesn't necessarily have to be a new degree, in order to update those skills.

So can we actually look at this,  gap filling, three different categories and first the education piece, and then maybe, um, some kind of volunteer role and then potentially maybe some kind of a paid consulting role, even though those are really hard to get Carol, 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: that sounds great. Let me answer that question and let me before I do so make, make more and more points about the preferable field, because I really feel that that is such an important.

Component in the job search process. So one of the things that I see is that we launchers don't necessarily appreciate all the work experience and volunteer experience that they have done. And I think it's so important to understand what kind of transferable skills are embedded in that work experience.

And to do that, you sometimes have to think a little bit creatively. So for example, if you've been a fundraiser. For PTSA and you have raised a substantial amount of money. Chances are you have pretty good sales skills. And chances are you have really good people skills. So these are the things you want to understand.

When you look at your past work or volunteer experience, you want to peel away the layers and understand what skills are embedded in those. And then when you start to realize what skills are missing and it skills need updating as you pointed out. So well, Hello, where are the deficiencies? That's when you indeed really can say, how can I, how can I update those skills and experiences and volunteering, augmenting your education or interning is a really great way to do that.

And I love the example you gave about the engineer, because it was very clear to him that there was a deficiency and he jumped right in, looked at the different opportunities. And enrolled in an education. And what I also like about that particular example is that he could see that there were different opportunities for education and he decided which one is the most important for this particular position.

So I see this all the time, with relaunchers. 

Carol Fishman Cohen: Yes. I agree that that is an excellent example. and before I ask you a little bit more about your opinion on the different types of educational opportunities, a relaunch, or might want you to take advantage of, when getting  prepared to, actively relaunch.

I just want to say to our listeners. Who have been on career break and have not done any volunteer work or,  haven't  pursued anything, dvance their education or any of the other avenues that we're going to talk about right now, don't panic and feel that wow, you know, I was on career break for a reason for elder care or childcare or pursuing a personal interest, not so I could then be simultaneously building my resume for returning.

And is it too late for me? I don't want people to worry about that because you can always start now. And you can, follow a number of these strategies concurrently. So for example, we're going to talk about, education options in a minute with Arjan.  but you could also at the same time, be pursuing a volunteer experience side by side, and you can put that on your resume.

even though you've just started it and you're at the beginning of it. So we'll get into that a little more. But early on, I just wanted to make the comment that people who have not done anything related to their career goals during their career breaks so far, should not panic, because there are ways that you can dive in and be effective right now.

So, Arjan, can you just walk through some of the different education alternatives you've seen relaunches take or you recommend for rewatch enters and see what they look like? 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: Yeah. So great question, Carol. So I think it's really important that again, you go back to those job positions and they list a lot of the requirements and that kind of gives you some information about what kind of education you want to pursue and you see there's a gap.

So certain professions actually acquire updated certification. For example, if you want to go into the real estate business, you need a real estate license, or if you want to go into banking or sh or insurance, you may need your series seven. And that becomes really, you know, clear. When you look at the job descriptions in general, you may also require more proficiency in particular computer programs.

So for example, you know, you may not be so familiar with Excel anymore. Or you need to know PowerPoint. And the good news about these programs is that you can find so many online courses or webinars to enroll in these programs and kill. You may see this as well. There are so many local schools or community organizations that offer updates in these computer programs.

So I also always feel that, you know, going to conferences and seminars in the field that you're interested in provides so much opportunity for learning, familiarizing yourself with the newest trends and networking. I actually think that for example, that we lounge, you know, big conference in New York.

Great opportunity to get yourself ready and educate yourself on certain areas in the job search process. And then as you well know care, all, sometimes people really are thinking about, am I go to participate in a degree program? Am I going back to school to get my bachelor's or my MBA or any master's program?

And I see that happen more when people do a complete career change, when they may go into the financial fields and feel that they need that extra MBA, or they want to go and become an interior design and feel that they haven't wanted to have a bachelor's in interior design. So, and the, and the great news about that is that typically when people invest in their education in a field that they really are interested in.

They receive a much greater job satisfaction. Again, those networking opportunities and often times actually a higher income income potential as 

Carol Fishman Cohen: well. 

, let me ask you, Arjan, what your opinion is about certificate programs that might last a semester or a year. And that is they're usually on a very targeted topic.

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: So I think those are fantastic. And I think it's fantastic because you're are receiving allocate additional education, but you're also boosting your confidence at the same time. And another aspect of that hell is, is that when people do these certification programs, often times it's in the area that they're interested in.

So they, they are getting excited about jumping back into that field. And that is an additional component that people often underestimate and you get in touch with other people who have that same interest, which is fantastic for networking opportunities as well. 

Carol Fishman Cohen: And I might add for the signaling,  benefits that it has to a potential employer to put on your resume, that you're taking a certificate program in a very targeted area.

It can be on fundraising and development or landscape architecture. There's so targeted that by putting that on your resume, you are signaling to the employer that you're very, very interested in this particular, subject matter so much so that you're taking a course in it to get completely updated.

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: Yes. And I think what that also does is communicate to the employer that you, a proactive person and people like to hire people that can be part of a solution. So you're saying, I see an issue here, I'm jumping in and I'm making sure that I get the skills needed to move forward. So that's an additional benefit of doing that.

Carol Fishman Cohen: Great. all right. Let's move on to, strategic volunteering as, as we call it taking volunteer roles that are in line with your careers. can you talk about what you've seen in terms of,how people have used strategic volunteering or what you recommend in terms of finding strategic volunteering opportunities?

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: Yeah, I think strategic volunteering is so incredibly important. I see. and I think discernment. And that is a really important component. So many people, men, there is a volunteer opportunity in may say yes to that. But I think it's important to say is this volunteer opportunity actually positioning me for the career direction that I want to go into.

And I think the great thing about volunteering, um, is, is that it is a great opportunity for both the relaunched, her. As well as the company that this relaunch maybe volunteering at, it gives the relaunch an opportunity to acquire additional skills, to learn more about an industry or an organization they're interested in and to get to know the people in the industry that they're interested in.

And it provides the company an opportunity to get to know your, the organization opportunity to get to know you and to work with you. So, and it gives you that opportunity. To show the deal organization, what kind of skills you have and how you can add value to your organization. And so what a lot of people don't necessarily appreciate enough is that there's a whole hidden job market to count on.

And what I mean by that, this is openings that procure in, jobs that people may not be aware of. And that are being filled without these jobs being at the times. So if you volunteer for organization and there's a job opening, oftentimes you're the one maybe blending that position and that's really a benefit to, strategic volunteering and other options for you to get to know a company.

Is by interning consulting on projects or possibly working on a contract basis. 

Carol Fishman Cohen: Yes. And we've seen, a progression sometimes where a person starts as a volunteer and then they move to a paid contract role and then they moved to a permanent role. Um, so, so we've seen that kind of project progression that, originates with the volunteer experience.

We've seen people take, uh, board positions,, in non-profits on a volunteer basis and be involved in the leadership of that organization for a number of years, and then ultimately be tapped for the executive director position. You've seen that that happened, before as well. And we've also seen the situation where people have taken strategic volunteer roles, which belong on a resume because they're unpaid equivalents to the paid role, that they're seeking, nd completely relevant, too, in the eyes of the employer. 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: This is so true. And that's what I was referring to earlier with regards to the transferable skills as well. But like, so let me give you an example.

Of one of my clients who was really interested in public policy and who kind of combined all the things that you were referring to. So she became the president of the league of women voters. And at the same time seemed secure, deeply about education. And so she enrolled at the back of the school of public policy.

We are seeing that so many people boosted her confidence network, really a great experience. And then ultimately C landed a position as chief of staff in a local government that meets exactly. With her interests and values. So C is very, very happy and passionate about disposition. 

Carol Fishman Cohen: That's a great example.

Let me just throw out one other one. I'm remembering. Now this is one of our earliest examples of a relaunch success story we had. Um, the person was a medical social worker who had taken a very long career break. And like it was something like 17 years, like a really, really long one. Uh, and she started back in as a volunteer in a hospice organization and she had been there a few months and then, um, was asked to do a job, share to a paid role to manage the hospice volunteers.

So that was a stepping stone from volunteer role to part-time job share. But what was so perfect about this position was when she was working in these hospice organizations to coordinate the volunteers, medical, social workers were walking in the door every day, um, to work with the patients there. And they were giving her job search intelligence saying where, uh, medical, social workers were being hired.

So that's another great, uh, Benefits of being a volunteer and then potentially having it lead to a paid role is you're in an environment where people will give you job market intelligence. 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: That's so true. And I think this is where the entire job search process can also be a very organic process where you really, if you start to get clarity in your values and your interests and you follow the direction.

That's where you typically ended up in a job where you really want to be. And I think that people underestimate, you know, that thinking and acting at the same time is so important to you, do your thinking and get to know yourself better. And then you start to act and move in the direction of what your heart tells you to move into.

Does that make sense? 

Carol Fishman Cohen: Yes.  Arjan, I want to just jump back to one other comment that you were making about contract consulting and yeah. Do you have any examples or recommendations about how people get those roles? Because they can be pretty elusive 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: sometimes. Yeah. Again, I think that I asked we have a client who just did this.

Right. And it was actually quite an interesting situation because now I like to start with clients and ask them, you know, what does an ideal job life will feel? It's the same thing as we do in our Irene launch bootcamps, you know, Vision, your ideal job. And a lot of people say, are you kidding? My ideal job?

Why would I even start? That's never going to happen. Right? And so in this particular situation, this person says, you know, this person was out of the marketplace for about 75 years. So she said to me that same thing, why should I even go there? And then I said, no, no, no, really let's, let's move there. And so she said, I, my ideal job would look like spending hours.

In a marketing position, but I've been out of this field for 25 years. I'm not sure if I can do that. And so we started to get clarity about what she was really looking for us. She was very interested in market research. He started to simultaneously network and connect with people. And it's doing out that someone in her community actually was the head of marketing of a rather large Velo company.

And this person was short on people and see what a mom with two kids and gave my clients that opportunity to start as a contractor. And she worked for two 20 hours. And, you know, we are now about a year later. And she is ready to take on more. And this company is really infested in hiring her permanent.

Does that answer your question? 

Carol Fishman Cohen: That's a great example. et me throw out one while you were talking. It made me think of this one.  this one is, a lawyer who is in Southern California, had to. I think worked in the public defender's office had taken a five-year career break and was trying to figure out how she was going to get back back in.

Wasn't really sure what she was going to do. And her kid was in preschool and she started having conversations with some of the other parents there. And one of them was a law professor at a nearby law school, who was teaching a clinical judicial education. a, course, which relied significantly on case studies from,  actual examples of what was going on in legal cases, in public defender's offices and, and  other active cases or, but not so much textbook, related.

So they got in a conversation and this lawyer was actually trying to figure out. How to move on to other roles within that law school and wanted to let go of that one piece, that clinical judicial education program and this relaunch, or through that series of conversations ended up moving into that role, teaching that one course, and then ultimately over time getting more and more responsibilities there.

So, um, that is another situation that came up by having conversations, uh, in, you know, just in the course of your daily life. 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: Yeah. And, and I think that that's what people miss, miss understand as well. You know, I think it's, it's a combination, you know, you don't, you don't start out necessarily with complete clarity.

It's actually the conversations that help you get more and more and more clarity. So it's a bit of an organic process. And I think that that's fine, thankfully, the exciting parts of the process. So it is about doing the thinking, doing the acting, adjusting the thinking, doing more, acting, doing more adjusting, and then you end up where you really want to be as your example.

So, you know, brilliantly illustrated. 

Carol Fishman Cohen: I just want our listeners to focus in on some crucial commentary that Arjan just made about this being an organic process. And you don't have that full clarity about what your career goals are right from the get-go it's a process. And part of that process is having conversations with people.

And you get their reactions and you test your reaction to their reactions. And that over time helps you get the clarity that ultimately allows you to then have the language to articulate exactly what you want to do. And sometimes there are just these serendipitous elements, like having that conversation with the law professor, um, you know, at preschool drop-off that starts with thought process that ends up in the actual relaunch.

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: So, yeah. And let me say something to that, Carol. So I hear often people say, especially the people that do our relaunch food cans than they used to or more, you know, and I was so lucky because I met this particular person and the reality is I always think that that has a lot to do with them being more aware of what they are looking for.

You know, when you, when you do the bootcamp, It increases your mindfulness about the whole job search process, and it allows you to get more play on it. So that in a way you create your own luck, because when you start to speak to people, you start to make the connections, which if you did not invest in the thinking around that you actually would miss that opportunity.

So people are actually very good at creating their own luck. If that makes sense, 

Carol Fishman Cohen: excellent point and. Underlying that is, is a key strategy that we talk about a lot at our relaunch, which is get out of the house. Um, you cannot, you know, conduct your job search by simply researching companies online and submitting resumes.

That's rarely successful for the relauncher, and we know so many people who come to us and say, you know, I've submitted a hundred resumes online and nothing's happened and they're so discouraged by it. But the reality is. What makes things happen is when you get out of the house. So if you're getting out of the house to do volunteer work or take a course, or have these conversations that we're talking about, that's what ultimately allows you to get that clarity and to meet people who will then ultimately open doors for you.

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: That's exactly right. Very well put, yeah, couldn't agree more. 

Carol Fishman Cohen: So, um, we're going to be wrapping up in a few minutes, but I just want to touch on a few more topics just to get your opinion. Um, Arjan one of them is the course or the program that includes a field study or some sort of a hands-on experience as part of it.

Do you have any opinions about that one way or the other. 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: So, Carol, I'm a big believer in these programs because all these different options that we're discussing, give you the opportunity to engage in your area of interest, to meet people that are working in that area of interest and boost your confidence.

You're increasing your skill and you start to also understand, is this exactly what I like to do when I'm relaunching? So you you're really. These kinds of problems give you a lot of different benefits. So I'm a big believer in that. 

Carol Fishman Cohen: Great. I am too. I've just seen so many interesting conversations result from a person saying I'm taking this course, but the most interesting part is the field study section.

And here's the problem that we're trying to solve on that we've been learning about in class, but now we're working on a real. Uh, world application of it. And here's what happened. And that kind of conversation is so much more compelling to someone who's in the field or ultimately in the interview than the fact that, you know, you're coming off of a six year career break.

You're enrolled in this course, which is great to talk about what you're learning, but that extra piece about how you're applying it. Um, it can be powerful. So just wanted to point that out. 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: I, it can be powerful for two reasons, because even hearing you speak about it and people are excited about something they have done, they showed us in an interview and the interviewer can, that can then see that this person is really engaged.

What it also does. It allows you to speak about accomplishments and results that you have attained in these kinds of opportunities. And that shows in the hiring manager. This person know what they're talking about. They are complex. They are a go getter and all these different kinds of aspects. Give you a much better way of positioning yourself or hiring managers.

Carol Fishman Cohen: We totally agree. , I, when you were talking about people coming up with their ideal job, There was one other thing I was thinking about that I wanted to run by you. So sometimes we tell people who out there has the job that, you know, you would love to have not necessarily right now, but ultimately what your dream job is.

And then, you know, if you can identify that person and you can then if, even if you don't know them, if you could look at their LinkedIn profile and look at what their path, career path looked like, it's sometimes helpful. To see that, you know, they didn't just jump into that role. They had a number of steps along the way, and maybe it makes it, people feel like, um, makes people understand, not just feel like, but understand that there are steps that you need to take where you can ultimately get there.

and sometimes looking at people's actual career histories is, instructive in terms of figuring out what you need to do now to get there in the future. 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: Yeah. And let me add to that, Carol. So you took hear an example of someone that is unknown to disperse somebody. Even if you go in your own sphere of influence, there may be people that, you know, that have that ideal career job.

And so this is where I think informational interviews become so important because you can be talk to this person, say, let's call this person Petra and say Petra. And I was wondering if you have. You know, some half hour for me to have coffee where, because I'm so interested in the field you're in and I'm at the point of relaunching my career and I'm, you know, exploring different options.

And I would love to hear a little bit more about the feel, but also what I could do. What, what kind of extra experience I need to be able to, uh, position myself. 

Carol Fishman Cohen: Yes. I totally agree and love that. or even if you're concerned that you're going to take to the person's too much, too much time by meeting with them in person suggests they speak to you over the phone for 15 or 20 minutes.

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: That's that's right. That's right. Um, 

Carol Fishman Cohen: and then the final, I think I wanted to ask you before we get to our, ending question that, that we love to ask our guests, is. The idea of seeking out opportunities at small and medium sized companies,, in addition to, you know, potentially looking at the big company and what you think about that kind of strategy.

No, I think that that is a fantastic strategy. And the reason why I'm saying that hell is that a lot of times smaller companies actually really benefit from bringing in extra people who can take on additional projects and they may not. Have the funds to hire someone at that time, full time. And so this is again another opportunity where you can really contribute to a company while at the same time learning tremendous skills for yourself.

So I'm a big believer in that and sort of companies tend to be quite open to that, which is also exciting. 

thank you. Well, let me just,ask you one last question and it is what your favorite piece of relaunch advice is. Even if it repeats something that we already talked about in this podcast. 

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: So I'm, I'm a really big believer in taking a proactive approach and that can quite frankly be anything, you know, as, as you said, Oreo, there's people who say, gee, I've been out of the job search.

I've been out of a job for so long. Where do I start? If they don't know where to start and the process can sometimes be overwhelming. So for example, even signing up for an Ivy launch bootcamp is a great start and a great proactive approach. To first boot camps provide a clear structure of how to work through the process.

And you will work alongside other people or in a similar position, which can be very invigorating. So I feel that, um, when you, when you go to a job search process, being proactive, taking those actions, getting out there, meeting people, starting to explore is just a really important component. 

Carol Fishman Cohen: Wonderful. Well, thank you Arjan for joining us today. If you're listening today, we hope you'll make sure to visit us at irelaunch.com in order to get the most important tools and resources for returning to work. And for more information about Arjan or inspire shift, go to inspire shift.com all one word, inspire shift.com.

Arjan Eenkema Van Dijk: Thank you, Carol.

Carol Fishman Cohen: If you have any comments or questions, please email us at [email protected]. And be sure to visit our website. I relaunch.com.