The Career Butterfly

Dr. Angela Chien visits today to share her thoughts on the medical issues surrounding a woman's career pause. She dishes on everything from birth control to infertility to maternity leave. She also shares the 3 conversations she thinks everyone should be having before, during, and after a career pause.

A career pause for any reason can create an identity crisis. This was especially true for Dr. Julieta Crosby, who gave up her country, her language, her family, and her culture at the same time she gave up her career working with the indigenous artisans of Mexico. When she moved to America, she lost her voice and, despite having several degrees, was forced back to community college to learn English so she could find her way in her new country. Since then, she's found a passion for education and advocacy for the Latino population. Today, amongst her many community engagements, she is the President of her own foundation, WAGRO Association and serves as a Commissioner on the WA State Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

Co-Founder Sarah Duenwald is on a mission to help women in transition through her company The Swing Shift based in Seattle, Washington. The Swing Shift offers Career Catalyst classes, workshops, job placement, and individual consultations. In this podcast, she shares her own career pause story and dishes out her best advice for staying relevant, getting connected, and modernizing your profile.

Polly Ann Najarian spent 20 years as a high school math teacher and successfully managed her career even with 3 young children. She paused after a family move, but never intended for it to be permanent. Unfortunately, when she was ready to return, there weren't any jobs. She thought she'd substitute her way back to a full-time job, but eventually found the job no longer fit her life. Listen to Polly Ann's journey of discovering her interest in software testing, getting the necessary education, and networking her way through freelance gigs to build her experience. It wasn't the path she intended, but perseverance led to a rewarding and flexible job that she plans to keep until she retires.

Corporations are looking for new ways to attract talent and returnships is one of those ways. Listen to find out about Johnson & Johnson's 4 month returnship programs for qualified people who have been out of the workforce for 2+ years for a variety of reasons from family commitments to military service. For details, visit the Re-Ignite website.