momgoesback.com

Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and YourOnRamp are hosting a seminar November 18 titled, The Next Generation of Work Flexibility for women and men changing careers or returning to work after hiatus.

who - Northwestern University and YourOnRamp
what - career forum, “The Next Generation of Work Flexibility”
where - Allen Center, 2169 Campus Drive, Evanston, [...]

Photo credit: Hans F. Meier
I am in Boston tonight preparing for a two-day conference at Harvard Business School called “Charting Your Course:  Discovering Working Options,” a conference devoted to the issue of career development for women (and men) re-entering or leaving the work force. 
While excited about the conference, I have mixed emotions about being here.  Traveling [...]

 
 
Photo credit:  Amanda Rohde
I have been back in school for six months and it has not been without some struggle on the home front.  Work/life balance is more like work, work, work, maybe someday I’ll have a life. 
My family handles more of their lives without me or at most with me in my office reminding everyone [...]

Ruth shares more of her story, discussing the benefits and drawbacks of going back to work.  Not surprisingly, work-life balance is a primary concern.  Pride, appreciation and recognition are the biggest benefits.
What are the benefits (besides financial) to working again?
I know I am appreciated in a much different way.  I am told I am appreciated [...]

Photo credit:  Ben Blankenburg
Just how hard is it do re-enter the work force? In the past few years there have been articles and research saying it has gotten easier and there have been articles and research that said it is hard or just not feasible for women to successfully return to their professional careers after [...]

I had an opportunity to discuss the challenges of returning to work with Ruth, a mother of four, who recently returned to working full-time after being home for five years.  Ruth left her 13-year career in sales to be home with her children. She shared with me some of the ups and downs of her transition back to work.
Read [...]

Family support while transitioning back to work, or school in my case, is very important.  Many women feel self-conscious or lack the confidence to succeed in their new environments and worry that their children will not adjust well to mom being away from home.  
I know I was nervous about starting graduate school with students half my [...]

In an article from msnbc.com, CEO John Challenger of the Chicago-based, outplacement consulting firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, stated the following:
          “There is much more understanding today of the choice people make to leave the workforce, whether it is to volunteer, work part-time or put more time into raising their children.  The automatic discounting of that time [...]