If you’re interested in working with Meg, she can be booked privately or you can check out her course, The Resume Key.

Also mentioned in this podcast:

Starting a Business During Your Career Pause with Meg Applegate (her first interview)

Overcoming Impostor Syndrome with Micha Goebig

How Toxic Work Cultures are Driving the Great Resignation with Brene Brown

Kat Price is a perfect example of someone who says yes when the right opportunity knocks at her door. It's how she started her own business. It's how she started substituting. And now it's how she became a full-time recruiter. 

What opportunities are knocking on your door right now? How could you say yes? 

Returning to work after several years away is not a simple task, but the good news is that you do not have to go it alone. 

Amy Dantzler returned as a consultant to the same global health care consulting firm she had worked for several years before, but it wasn't as simple as dropping right back in. In addition to reactivating her network of contacts, she had help along the way from a team of experts for everything from her resume to her interview skills. 

Today, she's expanding her career even further by transitioning her skills into a role leading onboarding efforts for others joining her company. 

Have you ever picked a word of the year? My word for this year is IMPACT. That is the word that I plan to use to guide my decisions this year. 

The Career Butterfly

What’s your thing? You know, that thing inside of you that you’ve always wanted to do. Dona Sarkar, author of #DoTheThing, is here to help you discover your thing, get out of your own way, and get it done. She’s a good one to be giving the advice as she’s had lots of “things” over the years. In addition to her career at Microsoft where she is currently the Director of Technology for Accessibility at Microsoft, she is an author and she runs her own fashion line, Prima Dona Studios.

Dona shares that she has been called aggressive, ambitious and a bit of a diva. Her response? Hell yes. She’s proud to be all those and more! In this interview, she shares the strategies she’s used to #dothething including thinking of herself in the 3rd person on her own Hero’s Journey, ruthless time management, and extending her comfort zone a tiny bit rather than completely stepping out of it.

I did the exercises in her book #DoTheThing and it is that work that inspired me to create this podcast. I highly recommend it for you too. Not sure what your thing is? She has strategies for discovering your thing too!

Mentioned in this podcast:

#DoTheThing

Prima Dona Studios

Desiree Briel Rodi returns to the podcast this week to share her expertise on Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Not only are these skills becoming more acknowledged - and needed - in the workplace, but they are also skills that we all get to work on every day in our personal lives: the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively; the ability to recognize, understand, and manage our emotions; and those of others.

Desiree also shared her own story in a previous interview. 

Also mentioned in this episode: 

Briel Rodi Consulting

Emotional Intelligence by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer

Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More than IQ by Daniel Goleman

Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry

Charting the development of emotion from childhood to adulthood by E. C. Nook et al

Leslie McCaddon found her dream job as an outreach coordinator for a national non-profit mental health clinic serving military families, but not too long ago she was in a very different position. A widowed mom of three children, before she was ready to create the job of her dreams, she had to first get over the story she was telling herself - that no one would want to hire someone who hadn't finished college or worked for a company in 20 years.

In addition to her work as outreach coordinator, she is a certified professional life coach who coaches other women through The Happiest Mom Coach.

Mentioned in the interview:

Reese Witherspoon Woman of the Year speech

Karen Rae doesn't shy away from telling other women her career break was 27 years long. With her kids grown, and facing an empty nest, she knew she was ready for something else. Even though she knew nothing about video production, she decided what she really wanted was to create her own show! That was just the beginning of Fave Lifestyles which has become a vibrant lifestyle community for women. A few years later and with a lot of entrepreneurial experience under her belt, Karen launched Fave Biz Society to help other passionate female entrepreneurs launch their dreams. 

We're still all about inspiring, guiding, and supporting women from the career pause into their next step. Just like butterflies, we honor the cocoon phase and then find our wings. Come check out our new interviews and stories next week!

Remote work used to be unachievable dream for busy parents. The pandemic changed all of that. While remote work definitely has its own set of challenges, it is here to stay and that is good news for all of us! Tune in to here more about how to find your own remote job.

readypausego.com 

I'll explain all about it in this episode, but here are the 2 words: Growth Mindset. If you live your life with a growth mindset, there is no reason that you can't find success after a career pause - no matter how long it's been.