People returning to work after a career break: I call them relaunchers. These are people who have taken career breaks for elder care, for childcare reasons, pursuing a personal interest or a personal health issue. Closely related are career transitioners of all kinds: veterans, military spouses, retirees coming out of retirement or repatriating expats. Returning to work after a career break is hard because of a disconnect between the employers and the relaunchers. Employers can view hiring people with a gap on their resume as a high-risk proposition, and individuals on career break can have doubts about their abilities to relaunch their careers, especially if they've been out for a long time. This disconnect is a problem that I'm trying to help solve.
有些人經過離職長假之後 重新投入到工作中來， 我稱他們為「再從業者」。這些人選擇休離職長假， 有些是要照顧老人， 有些是要照顧孩子， 也有些是追求個人愛好， 或是健康因素。各行各業轉業的人 都與之緊密相關：退伍軍人、軍嫂， 退休返聘的人， 或遣返回國者。離職長假後重返工作 是非常困難的， 因為僱主和再從業者之間 有了隔閡。僱主們認為，僱傭這些 簡歷上工作時間不連貫的人 是風險極高的決策， 而正在離職長假中的人 可能對自己再從業的能力產生疑慮， 特別是那些離職時間較長者。兩者間的缺乏聯繫 是我在嘗試解決的問題。
Now, successful relaunchers are everywhere and in every field. This is Sami Kafala. He's a nuclear physicist in the UK who took a five-year career break to be home with his five children. The Singapore press recently wrote about nurses returning to work after long career breaks. And speaking of long career breaks, this is Mimi Kahn. She's a social worker in Orange County, California, who returned to work in a social services organization after a 25-year career break. That's the longest career break that I'm aware of. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor took a five-year career break early in her career.
如今，我們在各行各業 都能見到成功的再從業者。這位是薩米·科法拉， 他是英國的一位核物理學家， 因為要在家照顧五個孩子 而度過了五年的離職長假。新加坡的媒體最近發表了文章， 內容是有關離職長假後再從業的護士。提到長時間的離職假期， 這位是米米·卡恩, 她是加州奧蘭治縣的一位社工， 她在度過25年的離職長假後 回到了一個社會服務組織工作。這是據我所知最長的離職假期。最高法院法官桑德拉·戴·奧康納， 在其職業生涯早期 度過了五年離職長假。
And this is Tracy Shapiro, who took a 13-year career break. Tracy answered a call for essays by the Today Show from people who were trying to return to work but having a difficult time of it. Tracy wrote in that she was a mom of five who loved her time at home, but she had gone through a divorce and needed to return to work, plus she really wanted to bring work back into her life because she loved working. Tracy was doing what so many of us do when we feel like we've put in a good day in the job search. She was looking for a finance or accounting role, and she had just spent the last nine months very diligently researching companies online and applying for jobs with no results.
這位是特蕾西·莎碧羅， 她度過了13年的離職長假。特蕾西答覆了從「今日秀」節目觀眾中 徵集到的問題， 他們想要重返工作， 卻發現很難做到。特蕾西寫道：自己是五個孩子的母親， 也很享受居家的時間， 但是她歷經了一次離婚， 並且急需回到工作狀態， 另外，她很想把工作 帶回她的生活中， 因為她也很享受工作。特蕾西也曾做過 我們很多人所做的事， 每天不停的搜尋合適的工作。她找過財經、會計領域的職位， 她在那之前花掉了九個月時間， 很努力地調查網上的公司， 然後投放簡歷，卻一無所獲。
I met Tracy in June of 2011, when the Today Show asked me if I could work with her to see if I could help her turn things around. The first thing I told Tracy was she had to get out of the house. I told her she had to go public with her job search and tell everyone she knew about her interest in returning to work. I also told her, "You are going to have a lot of conversations that don't go anywhere. Expect that, and don't be discouraged by it. There will be a handful that ultimately lead to a job opportunity."
我在2011年六月見到了特蕾西， 那時「今日秀」節目 問我可否與她合作， 看我能不能幫她走出困境。我告訴特蕾西的第一件事， 就是她必須走出家門。我告訴她，她必須 公開自己求職的想法， 然後告訴她認識的所有人， 自己再從業的強烈意願。我還告訴她， 「有很多你參與的對話 是對你完全沒有幫助的。你要做好心理準備， 別因為那些而灰心喪氣。找到工作機會之前， 確實要經歷很多瑣事。」
I'll tell you what happened with Tracy in a little bit, but I want to share with you a discovery that I made when I was returning to work after my own career break of 11 years out of the full-time workforce. And that is, that people's view of you is frozen in time. What I mean by this is, when you start to get in touch with people and you get back in touch with those people from the past, the people with whom you worked or went to school, they are going to remember you as you were before your career break. And that's even if your sense of self has diminished over time, as happens with so many of us the farther removed we are from our professional identities. So for example, you might think of yourself as someone who looks like this. This is me, crazy after a day of driving around in my minivan. Or here I am in the kitchen. But those people from the past, they don't know about any of this. They only remember you as you were, and it's a great confidence boost to be back in touch with these people and hear their enthusiasm about your interest in returning to work.
我稍後再告訴你們 特蕾西是如何處理的， 我想先跟大家分享 我的一個發現， 那時我剛剛回到工作中， 結束了自己離開全職工作大軍 11年的長假。這個發現就是， 人們對你的印象凝固在過去。我的意思是， 當你再次開始與人打交道， 與曾經合作過的人重新接觸， 例如跟你一起上學、工作過的人， 他們對你的印象是 離職長假之前的你。我們的自我意識 隨著時間推移逐漸淡化， 我們很多人都會這樣， 我們距離我們的職業身份 也就越來越遠。舉個例子， 你可能把你自己看成這樣。這就是我，開了一天小麵包車， 整個人感覺很瘋狂。這是我在廚房裡的樣子。但是從前的那些人， 他們對這些一無所知。他們只記得你曾經的樣子， 當你重新與這些人溝通時， 真是大大的增強了自信心， 而且他們對你有再從業的興趣 感到非常的開心。
There's one more thing I remember vividly from my own career break. And that was that I hardly kept up with the business news. My background is in finance, and I hardly kept up with any news when I was home caring for my four young children. So I was afraid I'd go into an interview and start talking about a company that didn't exist anymore. So I had to resubscribe to the Wall Street Journal and read it for a good six months cover to cover before I felt like I had a handle on what was going on in the business world again.
我還清晰地記得發生在 我離職長假中的一件事。那時我幾乎完全不關注經濟新聞。我曾是財經行業出身， 然而我在家照顧四個孩子時， 我幾乎不關注任何的新聞。所以我很害怕， 自己去參加面試的時候， 會講到一個不復存在的公司。所以我重新訂閱了華爾街日報， 然後連續看了六個月， 之後我才覺得自己對經濟 又有了點解了。
I believe relaunchers are a gem of the workforce, and here's why. Think about our life stage: for those of us who took career breaks for childcare reasons, we have fewer or no maternity leaves. We did that already. We have fewer spousal or partner job relocations. We're in a more settled time of life. We have great work experience. We have a more mature perspective. We're not trying to find ourselves at an employer's expense. Plus we have an energy, an enthusiasm about returning to work precisely because we've been away from it for a while.
我相信再從業者是 勞動大軍中的精英， 原因如下。想想我們人生的階段：對於那些因為要照顧孩子 而休離職假期的人， 大都沒有產假，或是產假很短。我們早就做過這些了。我們離婚率較低， 也很少因伴侶而調整工作。我們的生活更穩定。我們有很棒的工作經歷， 更成熟的眼光， 我們不會成為僱主的犧牲品。此外，我們有一種能量 - 重返崗位的熱情， 正是因為我們離職一段時間了。另外，我也跟僱主討論，
On the flip side, I speak with employers, and here are two concerns that employers have about hiring relaunchers.
以下是僱主們 關於僱傭再從業者的兩個擔憂。
The first one is, employers are worried that relaunchers are technologically obsolete. Now, I can tell you, having been technologically obsolete myself at one point, that it's a temporary condition. I had done my financial analysis so long ago that I used Lotus 1-2-3. I don't know if anyone can even remember back that far, but I had to relearn it on Excel. It actually wasn't that hard. A lot of the commands are the same. I found PowerPoint much more challenging, but now I use PowerPoint all the time. I tell relaunchers that employers expect them to come to the table with a working knowledge of basic office management software. And if they're not up to speed, then it's their responsibility to get there. And they do.
其一，僱主擔心這些再從業者 技術方面比較落後。我可以告訴各位， 雖然有段時間我自己技術確實落後， 但那只是暫時的。很早以前我用「蓮花123」軟體 來做財經分析， 我不知道有沒有人還記得 那麼早以前的事了， 這些技能我得在 Excel上重新拾起。其實這並並非難事， 很多的操作指令是一樣的。我發現PowerPoint更具挑戰性， 但現在我對PowerPoint駕輕就熟。我告訴再從業者們， 僱主希望找工作的人 對基本的辦公管理軟體 有實踐經驗。如果他們操作速度不夠快， 那他們就必須變得更高效。而他們確實做得到。
The second area of concern that employers have about relaunchers is they're worried that relaunchers don't know what they want to do. I tell relaunchers that they need to do the hard work to figure out whether their interests and skills have changed or have not changed while they have been on career break. That's not the employer's job. It's the relauncher's responsibility to demonstrate to the employer where they can add the most value.
僱主對再從業者的第二種憂慮， 就是他們擔心再從業者 不清楚他們想要做什麼。我告訴再從業者， 他們必須仔細研究， 了解自己的愛好或者技能 在離職長假的過程中 是否發生了變化。這不是僱主的職責。這個是再從業者的責任， 把自己展現給僱主， 來充分展示自己可創造的價值。
Back in 2010 I started noticing something. I had been tracking return to work programs since 2008, and in 2010, I started noticing the use of a short-term paid work opportunity, whether it was called an internship or not, but an internship-like experience, as a way for professionals to return to work. I saw Goldman Sachs and Sara Lee start corporate reentry internship programs. I saw a returning engineer, a nontraditional reentry candidate, apply for an entry-level internship program in the military, and then get a permanent job afterward. I saw two universities integrate internships into mid-career executive education programs.
2010年，我開始注意到一件事。我從2008年開始追蹤 人們重返崗位的情況， 然而在2010年，我開始注意到， 一種短期、帶薪的工作機會開始出現， 不論它是不是名叫「實習」， 但總之是一個很像實習的經歷， 這為重回崗位的專業人士 開闢了一條道路。我看到高盛和莎莉集團 都開始了此類 二次從業的實習項目。我看到一個再從業的工程師， 算是不太傳統的再從業人士， 申請了一個 軍方的初級實習項目， 後來他獲得了一個永久的工作。我看到兩所大學 將實習項目整合到 職業中期管理學教育項目中。
So I wrote a report about what I was seeing, and it became this article for Harvard Business Review called "The 40-Year-Old Intern." I have to thank the editors there for that title, and also for this artwork where you can see the 40-year-old intern in the midst of all the college interns. And then, courtesy of Fox Business News, they called the concept "The 50-Year-Old Intern."
於是，就我所觀察到的現象， 我寫了一篇報告， 後來它發表在了 《哈佛商業評論》中， 名字叫《40歲的實習生》。我必須得感謝編者擬的標題， 還有這個很棒的配圖， 你們可以看到那個40歲的實習生 出現在一群大學實習生中。後來，還得感謝福克斯商業新聞， 他們把這個概念稱為 「50歲的實習生」。
So five of the biggest financial services companies have reentry internship programs for returning finance professionals. And at this point, hundreds of people have participated. These internships are paid, and the people who move on to permanent roles are commanding competitive salaries. And now, seven of the biggest engineering companies are piloting reentry internship programs for returning engineers as part of an initiative with the Society of Women Engineers. Now, why are companies embracing the reentry internship? Because the internship allows the employer to base their hiring decision on an actual work sample instead of a series of interviews, and the employer does not have to make that permanent hiring decision until the internship period is over. This testing out period removes the perceived risk that some managers attach to hiring relaunchers, and they are attracting excellent candidates who are turning into great hires.
五家最大的金融服務公司 都設立了再從業實習項目， 專為重回崗位的金融精英。截至目前，數百人參與了這些項目。這些實習項目是帶薪的， 而且那些晉升到永久崗位的人， 都有極具競爭力的薪資。現在，七家最大的工程公司， 也在推行再從業實習項目， 來幫助重返崗位的工程師， 這也是女性工程師協會 新方案的一部分。那麼，為什麼這些企業 大力支持再從業實習呢？因為這種實習可以讓僱主 基於參與者實際工作成效 來做出僱傭決策， 而非一系列的面試， 而且僱主不必在實習結束之前 就做出永久僱傭的決定。這段試驗期消除了一定的風險， 這關乎某些經理人 對僱傭再從業者的擔憂， 同時，這也吸引了大量再從業人士， 他們成為了出色的僱傭對象。
Think about how far we have come. Before this, most employers were not interested in engaging with relaunchers at all. But now, not only are programs being developed specifically with relaunchers in mind, but you can't even apply for these programs unless you have a gap on your résumé.
各位,想一想我們取得的進步， 在此之前，大多數僱主 根本沒興趣與再從業者打交道。然而現在，有許多項目在開展實施， 特別是針對再從業者的項目， 如果簡歷上沒有一段空檔期， 你根本不能申請這些項目。
This is the mark of real change, of true institutional shift, because if we can solve this problem for relaunchers, we can solve it for other career transitioners too. In fact, an employer just told me that their veterans return to work program is based on their reentry internship program. And there's no reason why there can't be a retiree internship program. Different pool, same concept.
這標誌著一種實質變化， 一種真正的制度變革， 因為如果我們可以 為再從業者解決這個問題， 我們亦可為其他的職業轉型者 解決同樣的問題。事實上，一位僱主剛剛告訴我， 他們的「退伍軍人再從業項目」， 就是基於他們的再從業實習項目。我們也沒有理由不去設立 一個「退休人士實習項目」。不同的對象，相同的概念。
So let me tell you what happened with Tracy Shapiro. Remember that she had to tell everyone she knew about her interest in returning to work. Well, one critical conversation with another parent in her community led to a job offer for Tracy, and it was an accounting job in a finance department. But it was a temp job. The company told her there was a possibility it could turn into something more, but no guarantees. This was in the fall of 2011. Tracy loved this company, and she loved the people and the office was less than 10 minutes from her house. So even though she had a second job offer at another company for a permanent full-time role, she decided to take her chances with this internship and hope for the best. Well, she ended up blowing away all of their expectations, and the company not only made her a permanent offer at the beginning of 2012, but they made it even more interesting and challenging, because they knew what Tracy could handle.
讓我告訴你們特蕾西·莎碧羅 最後發生了什麼。各位回想一下， 她必須告訴她認識的每一個人， 自己對重返工作崗位很有興趣。結果，她與自己社區裡的長輩 進行了一次關鍵的談話， 這讓她找到了一份工作邀請。那是一個金融部門的會計工作。但那是臨時的。公司告訴她， 有可能有崗位晉升的機會， 但是不能保證。那是2011年的秋天。特蕾西很愛那個公司， 而且她喜歡那裡的員工， 從辦公室去她家只需10分鐘。所以即使她後來得到了 第二份工作邀請， 來自另一家公司， 而且有永久、全職的保證， 她決定在這份實習項目中冒冒險， 盡人事，聽天命。最後，她的業績 遠遠超出了所有人的期望值， 公司不但提供了她永久崗位， 那是在2012年初， 而且他們還讓她的工作 更加有趣、有挑戰性， 因為他們知道特蕾西可以辦得到。
Fast forward to 2015, Tracy's been promoted. They've paid for her to get her MBA at night. She's even hired another relauncher to work for her. Tracy's temp job was a tryout, just like an internship, and it ended up being a win for both Tracy and her employer.
時間快進到2015年， 特蕾西獲得了晉升。公司為她的夜校工商管理課程買單。她甚至僱傭了 另一位再從業者為她工作。特蕾西的臨時工作像是一個試驗， 就像實習項目， 而最終，特蕾西和她的僱主 達到了雙贏局面。
Now, my goal is to bring the reentry internship concept to more and more employers. But in the meantime, if you are returning to work after a career break, don't hesitate to suggest an internship or an internship-like arrangement to an employer that does not have a formal reentry internship program. Be their first success story, and you can be the example for more relaunchers to come.
我的目標是將這種 再從業實習的概念 推薦給越來越多的僱主。但是與此同時， 如果你在離職長假後重返崗位， 別猶豫向僱主提議設立實習項目， 或者類似實習項目的想法， 特別是那些沒有 正式的再從業實習項目的公司。爭當他們的第一個成功故事， 而你們都可以成為 未來更多再從業者的楷模。
Thank you.
謝謝大家。