Struggling to re-enter the workforce after a break?
Have you taken time off from your career, perhaps to raise a family, only to struggle to return to work a few years later in a similar role? You’re not alone.
And if you think it’s hard, that’s not just you – it really is.
When seeking to re‑enter the workforce, there are systemic and organisational barriers that get in the way at every turn. Too many people experience being considered overqualified for entry roles and overlooked for roles that match their skills and experience. If only there was an organisation that could help!
Well, there is. Meet Andrea Collins, co‑founder of Zipwire.
Andrea works to break down the barriers ‘returners’ face when they try to re-enter the workforce after a break. And she knows what these barriers are from firsthand experience.
In this interview, we discuss how returners represent an amazing opportunity for organisations. They bring a wealth of professional and life experience, and are highly motivated. In a tight talent market, including a returner framework into a talent acquisition strategy can be a key differentiator for a business.
She also provides her top 3 tips for returners seeking to re‑enter the workforce.
I recommend listening to the whole interview, but if you don’t have time here are so key topics you can jump straight to.
- 2.23 Zipwire’s mission
- 3.55 Andrea’s career path
- 5.30 The catalyst to start Zipwire: highly capable woman, taking a break from work to have kids and study, applying for jobs & not receiving any communication from recruiters, let alone interviews.
- 9.43 Conversations that gave rise to the idea for Zipwire
- 12.50 Andrea’s mini-experiment: connecting with high profile influencers on LinkedIN
- 14.36 “How can we mobilise more ‘returners’ back into the market?”
- 17.24 Top 3 tips for returners seeking to re‑enter the workforce
- 23.55 Opportunities for organisations to improve their approach to ‘returners’
- 25.04 How returners are seen as high risk
- 25.57 Benefit of a returner framework as part of a talent acquisition strategy
- 27.00 Why enabling & supporting returners to re‑enter the workforce is key to achieving greater gender balance in leadership roles
- 31.30 Andrea’s mini-experiment challenge for you.
