This post was originally published September 25, 2019 and has been revised to bring you the most relevant and up-to-date information on the benefits of hiring relaunchers.

In recent years, companies like Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Deloitte, and Microsoft have launched or expanded returnship programs designed specifically for professionals re-entering the workforce after extended career breaks. These initiatives highlight how mainstream and valuable relauncher hiring has become across industries.

What was once treated as an unconventional or even comical scenario is now a strategic talent solution. A growing number of employers are hiring relaunchers, experienced professionals returning to work after a pause, to tap into an often-overlooked talent pool that can help organizations close critical skills gaps.

What are the hidden advantages of relaunchers? What should you look for when hiring them? How do you make a relauncher’s reentry internship a success? 

Benefits of Hiring Relaunchers

Relaunchers have been away from the workforce for multiple years and for multiple reasons such as caring for children, serving in the military, supporting parents, or tending to other personal priorities. During her TEDx talk on the topic, Carol Fishman Cohen, Chair and Co-Founder of iLaunch, highlighted four advantages that relaunchers bring to the corporate table:

1. Relaunchers have a mature perspective and stability. These professionals are in a stable stage of life, who have raised their children and explored their interests are less concerned with questions like, “what do I want to do with my life?” They have a solid understanding of who they are, what they enjoy, and what they expect from a job. They are more apt to have a longer-term view of a role and a company.
2. Relaunchers have more experience and adaptability. This (almost) goes without saying, but relaunchers who step into a new job bring with them a greater understanding of corporate culture, market changes, and communications at work than someone starting in a career. They are well-equipped to anticipate change as an inevitable part of business. 
3. Relaunchers bring high value and productivity. In addition to existing corporate knowledge, relaunchers have more life experience, giving them a perspective that helps understand market shifts, anticipate problems, find creative solutions, and quickly become highly productive, all leading to enhanced organizational output.
4. Relaunchers often help gender balance in the workplace. Since it’s predominantly women who leave the workforce to care for loved ones, more men are represented in leadership positions at work. Returning female professionals present an opportunity to better balance the ratio of men to women in management, fostering better innovation.

What to Look for in Relaunchers

Many employers view hiring relaunchers as a high-risk proposition. Inevitably, the work environment has changed while the professional was away. Technology advancements may have changed how work gets done. And, a person who is able to run a household to meet the needs of loved ones may not be ready (or willing) to reorganize his or her personal schedule to fall in line with full-time work. 

Restarting a career after a break requires collaboration between the employee and employer. When considering relauncher candidates, look for individuals who:

• Stay current in their field. Even during a career pause, many professionals stay engaged with industry trends, news, and thought leadership. Look for candidates who have been actively following developments over the past several months.
• Bring curiosity and initiative. The best relaunchers are eager to learn, contribute, and make an impact. Seek individuals who ask thoughtful questions and show genuine interest in the projects and teams around them.
• Demonstrate humility and adaptability. Returning to the workforce often involves a period of reorientation. Candidates who approach this transition with openness, a willingness to learn, and a strong work ethic are more likely to thrive, even if the role or organization has changed since they last worked.
• Have a clear sense of direction. A relauncher may not want to return to the same level or type of work they did before their break. Look for those who have reflected on what they want next and can articulate how their skills and experience align with that path.

How Reentry Internships Can Boost Success

In 2008, Goldman Sachs coined (and trademarked) the term returnship™ to describe its 10-week program for men and women with career gaps who were looking to get back to full-time work. Since then, many large corporations such as IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Mastercard, JP Morgan, and Intuit have joined in with their own reentry internships. They’ve found that internships help to attract excellent candidates who turn into great hires. 

Here are a few elements of successful reentry internships: 

• Skills and Competency Assessments: relaunchers are likely to have asynchronous skill sets, where they have well-developed communications skills, for example, but lack awareness of some of the communications tools you use. They may know a lot about your industry, but less about current regulations. An early competency assessment will help you – and they – identify the skills and knowledge gaps they’ll need to address.
• Software Training: for essential communications and job tools. While it’s reasonable to expect a relauncher to have a working knowledge of basic office management software, you may need to introduce these employees to communication and collaboration tools such as Slack, Zoom, Teams, Trello, Basecamp or other tools you use every day to manage work with colleagues and customers.
• Personal Learning Plan: to map the path to success in closing skills gaps and getting up to speed in a new job. Depending on your plans for your new employee, you may include learning and experiences to build on management skills they bring to the table.
• Mentorship and Informal Guidance: Some things are best learned from a trusted colleague. Relaunchers will benefit from guidance to help navigate the nuances of your culture. What are the unwritten rules? What’s the best way to get involved without alienating people along the way? A reminder to “drink more water” – to connect with others socially on breaks – can be an essential tip for building long-term relationships at work. 

Internships for relaunchers is a win-win. Companies have the opportunity to test out employees for skills and fit. Interns have a chance to get partially trained in a new role, reacclimate to work life, and gain confidence that they are ready to step back into full-time work. A successful reentry internship delivers employees who are trained and ready to start the job.

 

Key Take-Aways:

Hiring “relaunchers,”experienced professionals returning to the workforce after an intentional career break, offers significant advantages beyond closing skills gaps. These professionals, who often took time off for caregiving or personal priorities, bring a mature perspective and a stable stage of life to the workplace, leading to a longer-term view of their role and the company. Companies can successfully integrate relaunchers by prioritizing reentry internships (or “returnships”) that include skills and competency assessments, necessary software training, and mentorship to help them acclimate to modern corporate culture and bridge any technological knowledge gaps.

Is your company ready to hire professionals who are ready to get back to work? Contact us to find out how Avilar’s WebMentor Skills™ competency management system can help you identify and support your relaunchers. Or schedule a demo to see how it works. 

 

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