Women who choose to take time off from their career in order to raise a family or pursue their dreams often find re-entry challenging, especially if that gap of time is more than a few years! Our world is rapidly changing before our eyes, and more moms are finding opportunities to work and raise a family. What happens to moms who are ready to pursue a career again once their children are older? With age bias, rusty technology skills, and gaps in work experience against them, women are finding it difficult to dive into a new career, even if it is in the same field. If you are finding yourself in that situation, then you are going to learn so much from my guest, Gayle Rigione. After pursuing her education and building up a successful career, Gayle left the workforce to focus on her family. Once it was time to re-enter, Gayle found the process challenging, but not impossible. Her persistence, resilience, and worth ethic are what makes her the NextFem!
Unlocking Opportunity Through Education
Gayle attributes much of her success to a lineage of hard work ethic and persistence. Giving all the credit to her parents, educators, and advisors, Gayle was able to overcome financial difficulty and pay her way through college. Not only did she focus on developing her mind with a thorough education, but she also decided to become fluent in a second language! As Gayle says, “a second language is a gift of a lifetime!” By learning French and studying abroad to become fluent, Gayle was able to take opportunities international work experience in Brussels. Her work ethic combined with her langue skills was just the ticket she needed to pursue an MBA from Columbia. It is safe to say that Gayle has an impressive resume and a successful career.
A Worthwhile Decision
Deciding to take time off was a difficult decision, but it was one that Gayle knew she needed to make for herself and her family. After struggling with infertility for many years, Gayle became pregnant with her first child at 38. Seeing the miraculous gift before her, she decided to leave her job to be a full-time mother. Gayle candidly discusses all of the influences around this decision, as well as her advice for mothers who might be in the process of making the decision to leave their work. Her only regret is that she did not ask questions to find some kind of middle ground. Gayle’s advice to new working-moms is to find ways to scale back their work or change their role to fit their new lifestyle.
The Biggest Challenges to Re-Entry
Gayle is proof that re-entry after taking time off is not impossible! After 14 years out of the workforce, she made the decision for herself and her family to restart her career. The process began by updating her resume. The biggest challenge for Gayle was accounting for how she used those 14 years away from the workforce. Gayle will share with you how she stayed current on technology skills, used her volunteer experiences, and focused on the facts and figures to market herself as a valuable asset to any team. You can use those same skills to transform your resume into the powerful marketing tool that it is!
It’s Never Too Late
Gayle’s message to all women is to use your network, have confidence in your skills, and stay persistent. Sometimes, you have to patiently prove your mettle. Thanks to her persistence, Gayle is now the Senior Director of Admissions and Marketing for Cornell’s MBA Programs. She is living proof that anyone can begin their career anew again, even after taking time off to raise a family. Gayle has found a balance between caring for her beautiful children and supporting the kinds of educational programs that allowed her to find the success she enjoys today. It might be a long road after taking time off, but it is never too late to climb back in.
Episode Highlights:
- 2:00 Gayle recounts how she learned the value of hard work from her humble beginnings.
- 5:00 Gayle shares her dream to become bilingual.
- 8:00 Why a global perspective can transform our ideas of success.
- 17:00 Gayle was a young but unique candidate for Columbia.
- 20:00 Being a mother gave Gayle an entirely new meaning to her life.
- 23:00 Gayle encourages you to find a middle ground.
- 30:00 The challenges of a dwindling network after a 14-year break from the workforce.
- 33:30 Gayle explains how she minimized and supported her gap while updating her resume.
- 35:00 The best ways to revitalize your network after a break.
- 39:00 Gayle humbly shares an embarrassing moment after re-entry.
- 41:00 Gayle’s best tips for women ready to get back to work.
- 47:00 Open yourself up to new possibilities. Don’t assume you know it all.
The Fem Five:
1. Favorite book for women?
- I Love You Forever I Like You For Always by Robert N. Munsch
2. Favorite self-care hack?
- A walk in the park with my dogs.
3. Best piece of advice and who gave it to you?
- My professor and mentor, Dr. Sedgewick said, “Always act with integrity.”
- This goes back to prioritization, but “If you bungle raising your children, nothing else matters.” By Jacqueline Onassis
4. One piece of advice you’d give your 5 years younger self?
- “Always believe in yourself. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Resources:
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Last Time on The NextFem Podcast
Using Lists to Be More Productive, Successful and Less Stressed: A Conversation with Paula Rizzo
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