I call them relaunchers.

離開職場一段時間後 再重返職場的人

These are people who have taken career breaks for elder care,

我稱他們為： 「重新出發者」。

for childcare reasons,

這些人因為一些原因 必須長期離職，

pursuing a personal interest

例如，照顧長輩、照顧小孩、

or a personal health issue.

追求個人興趣

Closely related are career transitioners of all kinds:

或個人健康因素。

veterans, military spouses,

還有各式各樣類似 相關的轉職者：

retirees coming out of retirement

老兵、軍人配偶、

or repatriating expats.

退休返聘的人、

Returning to work after a career break is hard

或遣送回國人士。

because of a disconnect between the employers

離開職場後，再回來工作 會相當困難，

and the relaunchers.

因為再出發者與雇主之間，

Employers can view hiring people with a gap on their resume

會有一種無法銜接的感覺。

as a high-risk proposition,

雇主在應徵者的履歷表上 看到一段空窗期，

and individuals on career break can have doubts about their abilities

會認為他們是高風險的族群，

to relaunch their careers,

而且一個人離開職場太久，

especially if they've been out for a long time.

可能會對自己重返職場的 工作能力產生懷疑，

This disconnect is a problem that I'm trying to help solve.

特別是，如果他們已經 離開職場好一段時間。

Now, successful relaunchers are everywhere and in every field.

這種無法銜接的問題就是 我正在嘗試幫忙解決的事情。

This is Sami Kafala.

如今，我們在各行各業 都能見到成功的再從業者。

He's a nuclear physicist in the UK

這是薩米．科法拉，

who took a five-year career break to be home with his five children.

他是一位英國的 核子物理學家，

The Singapore press recently wrote about nurses returning to work

因為要在家照顧五個孩子， 他離職了五年。

after long career breaks.

新加坡媒體最近在報導

And speaking of long career breaks,

一位護士離職後 重返職場的故事。

this is Mimi Kahn.

提到長時間離職，

She's a social worker in Orange County, California,

這位米米．卡恩女士，

who returned to work in a social services organization

她是一位加州橘郡 的一位社工，

after a 25-year career break.

在離職25年後，

That's the longest career break that I'm aware of.

她現在已經回到 社會服務機構工作。

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

這是我所知道的 最長離職時間。

took a five-year career break early in her career.

最高法院法官 桑德拉．戴．奧康納，

And this is Tracy Shapiro, who took a 13-year career break.

從她的前一個 工作離職了五年，

Tracy answered a call for essays by the Today Show

這是崔西．莎碧羅， 她離職了13年。

from people who were trying to return to work

崔西在 Today Show 的節目中， （一個談話性節目）

but having a difficult time of it.

回答了一個重新找工作，

Tracy wrote in that she was a mom of five who loved her time at home,

卻困難重重的問題。

but she had gone through a divorce and needed to return to work,

崔西寫信說，她是五個孩子的媽， 也很享受居家的時間，

plus she really wanted to bring work back into her life

但她剛經歷一場離婚 必需回去工作賺錢，

because she loved working.

加上她真的很想把工作 帶回她的生命中，

Tracy was doing what so many of us do

因為她熱愛工作。

when we feel like we've put in a good day in the job search.

崔西當時也做了我們 大多數人曾經做過的事，

She was looking for a finance or accounting role,

每天不停的 搜尋合適的工作。

and she had just spent the last nine months

她在尋找一個財經 或會計領域的職位，

very diligently researching companies online

她在那之前已經 花掉了九個月時間，

and applying for jobs with no results.

很努力地調查 網路上的公司，

I met Tracy in June of 2011,

然後遞履歷， 但都沒效果。

when the Today Show asked me if I could work with her

我在2011年6月遇上崔西，

to see if I could help her turn things around.

當時Today Show 節目 問我可否與她合作，

The first thing I told Tracy was she had to get out of the house.

看看我是否可以 幫她扭轉局勢。

I told her she had to go public with her job search

我告訴崔西的第一件事， 就是她必須走出家門。

and tell everyone she knew about her interest in returning to work.

我告訴她，她必須 公開自己求職的想法，

I also told her, "You are going to have a lot of conversations

然後告訴她認識的所有人， 說自己很有興趣再重回職場。

that don't go anywhere.

我也告訴她， 「你將會有很多的對話

Expect that, and don't be discouraged by it.

對你是完全沒有幫助的。

There will be a handful

你要做好心理準備， 別因此而灰心喪志。

that ultimately lead to a job opportunity."

找到工作機會之前， 會有很多棘手的事。」

I'll tell you what happened with Tracy in a little bit,

我稍後再跟各位說明 崔西後來發生的事。

but I want to share with you a discovery that I made

但我想先跟各位分享，

when I was returning to work

在我離開全職工作後的11年， 當我再回去工作後的一個發現。

after my own career break of 11 years out of the full-time workforce.

就是，人們對你的印象 是停留在以前的狀況。

And that is, that people's view of you is frozen in time.

我的意思是， 當你再次開始與人打交道，

What I mean by this is, when you start to get in touch with people

並與過去這些人連絡上後，

and you get back in touch with those people from the past,

像是，在你離職前的 工作夥伴、上學的同學

the people with whom you worked or went to school,

他們對你的印象

they are going to remember you as you were

就是停留在 你離職前的狀況。

before your career break.

就算你的自信心 隨著時間已經消失了，

And that's even if your sense of self has diminished over time,

我們很多人都會有 一樣的狀況，

as happens with so many of us

時間越久遠，我們對我們的 專業認同會越沒信心。

the farther removed we are from our professional identities.

舉例，你可能會認為你自己

So for example, you might think of yourself

像是這樣的一個人。

as someone who looks like this.

這就是我，開了一天小麵包車， 整個人感覺很瘋狂。

This is me, crazy after a day of driving around in my minivan.

或者，這是我在廚房裡的樣子。

Or here I am in the kitchen.

但這些過去的朋友，

But those people from the past,

他們對這些一無所知。

they don't know about any of this.

他們只記得你以前的樣子，

They only remember you as you were,

當你重新與這些人接觸後， 就會大大地增加了自信心，

and it's a great confidence boost to be back in touch with these people

而且他們對你有再從業的興趣 感到非常的開心。

and hear their enthusiasm about your interest in returning to work.

從我離職後， 有一件事，我印象很深刻。

There's one more thing I remember vividly from my own career break.

我當時幾乎跟不上 財經新聞的腳步。

And that was that I hardly kept up with the business news.

我的背景雖然是財經，

My background is in finance,

但當我在家裡 照顧四個孩子時，

and I hardly kept up with any news

我卻幾乎 跟不上任何新聞。

when I was home caring for my four young children.

所以我很害怕， 自己去參加面試的時候，

So I was afraid I'd go into an interview

會講到一個 已經不存在的公司。

and start talking about a company that didn't exist anymore.

所以，我必須重新 訂閱華爾街日報，

So I had to resubscribe to the Wall Street Journal

然後每一本從頭到尾好好地 連續看了六個月，

and read it for a good six months cover to cover before I felt

之後我才覺得自己 對財經又有點解了。

like I had a handle on what was going on in the business world again.

我相信重新出發者 是職場上的一顆鑽石。

I believe relaunchers are a gem of the workforce,

原因如下。

and here's why.

想一下我們的人生階段：

Think about our life stage:

我們這些因為要照顧 小孩子而離職的人，

for those of us who took career breaks for childcare reasons,

大都沒有產假， 或是產假很短。

we have fewer or no maternity leaves.

我們也是這樣度過了。

We did that already.

我們也經歷過一些 配偶或夥伴的調職。

We have fewer spousal or partner job relocations.

我們在生命中 已經處理安置過很多事。

We're in a more settled time of life.

我們有很好的工作經驗。

We have great work experience.

我們有更成熟的眼光。

We have a more mature perspective.

我們不用再花雇主的成本 來嘗試尋找自我的定位。

We're not trying to find ourselves at an employer's expense.

加上因為我們 已經離開一陣子，

Plus we have an energy, an enthusiasm about returning to work

我們對重返職場 充滿著一股熱情的能量。

precisely because we've been away from it for a while.

另一方面， 我跟雇主談話時，

On the flip side, I speak with employers,

雇主對聘雇重新出發者

and here are two concerns that employers have

有兩個主要考量點。

about hiring relaunchers.

第一，雇主擔心重新出發者，

The first one is, employers are worried that relaunchers

有技術上的銜接問題。

are technologically obsolete.

現在，我可以告訴你，

Now, I can tell you,

因為這方面 我已經經歷過了，

having been technologically obsolete myself at one point,

這只是暫時性的。

that it's a temporary condition.

很久以前我做財務分析時 用的是Lotus 1-2-3。

I had done my financial analysis so long ago that I used Lotus 1-2-3.

我不知道還有沒有人記得 這個很久以前的軟體。

I don't know if anyone can even remember back that far,

所以，我必須重新學習Excel，

but I had to relearn it on Excel.

它實際上沒這麼難， 因為很多指令都是相同的。

It actually wasn't that hard. A lot of the commands are the same.

我發現Power Point 比較有挑戰性，

I found PowerPoint much more challenging,

但現在我對PowerPoint 駕輕就熟。

but now I use PowerPoint all the time.

我告訴重新出發者， 雇主希望他們

I tell relaunchers that employers expect them to come to the table

要有基本的辦公室管理軟體的知識， 好應付每天的工作。

with a working knowledge of basic office management software.

如果他們沒有趕上速度，

And if they're not up to speed,

那他們有責任要趕上。

then it's their responsibility to get there.

而他們做到了，

And they do.

第二個雇主 對重新出發者的考量點是：

The second area of concern that employers have about relaunchers

雇主擔心他們 不知道他們想做甚麼。

is they're worried that relaunchers don't know what they want to do.

我告訴重新出發者 他們必須仔細研究，

I tell relaunchers that they need to do the hard work

了解自己的興趣與能力 在離職長假的過程中

to figure out whether their interests and skills have changed

是否發生了變化。

or have not changed

這不是雇主的職責。

while they have been on career break.

這個是重新出發者的責任， 把自己展現給雇主，

That's not the employer's job.

來證明自己 可以創造的價值。

It's the relauncher's responsibility to demonstrate to the employer

回到2010年， 我開始注意到一些事。

where they can add the most value.

我從2008年就開始追蹤 重回職場工作的方案。

Back in 2010 I started noticing something.

在2010年，我開始注意到，

I had been tracking return to work programs since 2008,

一種短期、帶薪的 工作機會開始出現，

and in 2010, I started noticing

不論它是不是名叫「實習」。

the use of a short-term paid work opportunity,

但總之有一個 很像實習的經歷，

whether it was called an internship or not,

對專業人士而言， 是重返職場的方式。

but an internship-like experience,

我看到高盛和莎莉集團，

as a way for professionals to return to work.

已經開始找人合作 二次從業的實習項目。

I saw Goldman Sachs and Sara Lee

我看到一個重返職場的工程師 算是不太傳統的再從業人士，

start corporate reentry internship programs.

申請了一個軍中初級的 實習工作項目。

I saw a returning engineer, a nontraditional reentry candidate,

之後也得到了 一個正式的工作。

apply for an entry-level internship program in the military,

我看到兩所大學，把實習工作與 在職管理教育課程合併在一起

and then get a permanent job afterward.

所以，我把我看到的 寫成了一篇報告。

I saw two universities integrate internships

它後來被刊登在 哈佛商業評論中。

into mid-career executive education programs.

名稱叫「40歲的實習生」。

So I wrote a report about what I was seeing,

我必須感謝主編 幫我取的文章標題。

and it became this article for Harvard Business Review

還有這張美工圖，

called "The 40-Year-Old Intern."

你可以看到那個40歲的實習生 站在全部是大學實習生的中間。

I have to thank the editors there for that title,

然後，還要感謝福斯 商業新聞的好意，

and also for this artwork

他們取名新聞內容是 「50歲的實習生」。

where you can see the 40-year-old intern in the midst of all the college interns.

（笑聲）

And then, courtesy of Fox Business News,

所以，5個最大的財經服務公司，

they called the concept "The 50-Year-Old Intern."

已經有提供重返實習生計畫 給準備重回職場的財經專業人士。

(Laughter)

截至目前，已經有數百人參加了。

So five of the biggest financial services companies

這些實習工作是有支薪的，

have reentry internship programs for returning finance professionals.

而當他們 轉正式員工後，

And at this point, hundreds of people have participated.

老闆給的薪資都還不錯。

These internships are paid,

現在，七家最大的工程公司，

and the people who move on to permanent roles

也開始導入重返實習的項目， 提供給重回職場的工程師。

are commanding competitive salaries.

這也是女性工程師協會 新方案的一部分。

And now, seven of the biggest engineering companies

現在，為什麼公司會開始 大力支持重返職場的實習項目呢？

are piloting reentry internship programs for returning engineers

因為這種實習可以讓雇主

as part of an initiative with the Society of Women Engineers.

以實習生實際工作的成效 做出聘僱決策，

Now, why are companies embracing the reentry internship?

而非一系列的面試。

Because the internship allows the employer

而且雇主也不用在實習期間

to base their hiring decision on an actual work sample

做出雇用正式員工的決策。

instead of a series of interviews,

這種測試期，可以移除

and the employer does not have to make that permanent hiring decision

少數經理人對重新出發者 的認知風險，

until the internship period is over.

而且他們還可以吸引到

This testing out period removes the perceived risk

準備重回職場 的優秀人士。

that some managers attach to hiring relaunchers,

各位，想一想我們 已經走多遠了。

and they are attracting excellent candidates

在這之前，多數的雇主 完全對重新出發者沒興趣。

who are turning into great hires.

但現在，不僅那些 特別為重新出發者

Think about how far we have come.

發展出來的專案大受歡迎。

Before this, most employers were not interested

如果你簡歷上沒有一段空檔期，

in engaging with relaunchers at all.

你還不能申請這些項目呢！

But now, not only are programs being developed

這是改變的指標，

specifically with relaunchers in mind,

一種制度上實質的變革，

but you can't even apply for these programs

因為如果我們可以解決 重新出發者的問題，

unless you have a gap on your résumé.

我們也可以為其他的職業轉型者 解決同樣的問題。

This is the mark of real change,

事實上，有一位雇主 剛剛告訴我，

of true institutional shift,

他們的「退伍軍人再從業項目」

because if we can solve this problem for relaunchers,

就是參考他們自己的 重返實習項目的。

we can solve it for other career transitioners too.

我們再也沒有理由， 沒有退休實習的聘僱計畫。

In fact, an employer just told me

不同的對象，相同的概念。

that their veterans return to work program

所以，讓我告訴各位 後來崔西．莎碧羅怎麼了。

is based on their reentry internship program.

還記得她必須 告訴每個她認識的人

And there's no reason why there can't be a retiree internship program.

有關於她有興趣 重返職場的事嗎？

Different pool, same concept.

是的，她與社區裡的長輩 進行的一次關鍵談話中，

So let me tell you what happened with Tracy Shapiro.

為崔西帶來了 一個工作機會。

Remember that she had to tell everyone she knew

那是一個在 財務部門的會計工作。

about her interest in returning to work.

但那是暫時性的工作。

Well, one critical conversation with another parent in her community

公司告訴她，

led to a job offer for Tracy,

有機會可以轉成某個 正式的職位，但不保證。

and it was an accounting job in a finance department.

當時是2011年的秋天。

But it was a temp job.

崔西很愛這家公司 也很愛她的同事，

The company told her there was a possibility

而且公司離她家 距離不到10分鐘。

it could turn into something more, but no guarantees.

所以即使她在另一家公司 有一個資深工作的機會，

This was in the fall of 2011.

可以給她一個 永久、全職的保證。

Tracy loved this company, and she loved the people

她還是決定要接受 這個實習工作的機會。

and the office was less than 10 minutes from her house.

並期望可以達到最佳狀態。

So even though she had a second job offer

最後，她跌破大家的眼鏡，

at another company for a permanent full-time role,

那一家公司在2012年初，

she decided to take her chances with this internship

不僅給她一個正式員工的職位，

and hope for the best.

甚至讓她的工作變的 更有趣、更具挑戰性，

Well, she ended up blowing away all of their expectations,

因為他們知道 崔西可以辦得到。

and the company not only made her a permanent offer

時間快進到2015年，

at the beginning of 2012,

崔西被晉升了。

but they made it even more interesting and challenging,

公司付費讓她 晚上去上MBA課程。

because they knew what Tracy could handle.

她甚至雇用了另一個 重新出發者替她工作。

Fast forward to 2015,

崔西的短期工作 只是一個嘗試。

Tracy's been promoted.

雖然像是一個實習生，

They've paid for her to get her MBA at night.

但最後證明，那份短期工作是 她和雇主雙贏的開始。

She's even hired another relauncher to work for her.

我的目標是將這種 再從業實習的概念，

Tracy's temp job was a tryout,

推薦給更多更多的雇主。

just like an internship,

但是與此同時，

and it ended up being a win for both Tracy and her employer.

如果你離職一段時間後 想重返職場，

Now, my goal is to bring the reentry internship concept

別猶豫向雇主提議設立實習項目， 或者類似實習項目的安排，

to more and more employers.

特別是那些沒有正式的 再從業實習項目的公司。

But in the meantime,

當他們的第一個成功故事，

if you are returning to work after a career break,

而你會成為更多重新出發者 再度重返職場的楷模。

don't hesitate to suggest an internship or an internship-like arrangement

謝謝各位！

to an employer that does not have a formal reentry internship program.

（掌聲）

Be their first success story,

and you can be the example for more relaunchers to come.

Thank you.

(Applause)