A Crash Course on Workplace Re-Entry

By Rebeldad Brian Reid

One of the classic arguments against taking time away from career to raise kids is that even a few short years out of the workforce is enough to seriously damage long-term earning potential and professional advancement. For some, it's getting mommy-tracked (or daddy-tracked), and others don't even make it that far -- just getting back into the workforce is a significant obstacle.

But if you have three days open in January, an advanced degree (MBA, JD, MA, or MBA) and $1,175, Baruch College in New York has a program for you: "Opting Back In," a program designed to allow participants to leave with:

• A professional-looking updated resume
• A personalized plan of action to return to work
• A personal pitch
• Refreshed negotiation skills
• A support network of like-minded individuals looking to return to work

The cynical part of me scoffs at the whole deal: I can't imagine that advanced degree holders are being held back by rusty negotiating skills or crude resumes. I can see the point of doing some continuing education and boning up on advances in your given field, but penning "a personalized plan of action?" And while I'm sure everyone will go home energized, I have to wonder if there are better ways to spend three days and 1,200 clams.

But on a society-wide level, I Iove this. The bottom-line goal is an out-and-out rejection of the idea that people who take a few years out of the paid workforce are somehow damaged goods. It builds off one of my favorite books of the last few years, "If You've Raised Kids, You Can Manage Anything," by Ann Crittenden. Convincing parents that they'd make stellar employees is only part of it. The Baruch program includes some perspective from panelists who come from the "hiring side" of things, and I sure hope that those people on the hiring side are also spreading the word to their colleagues.

As usual, I'd love it if washingtonpost.com could save you readers the $1,175 -- feel free to comment below on any successful strategies you've seen on "opting back in."

Brian Reid writes about parenting and work-family balance. You can read his blog at rebeldad.com.

By Brian Reid |  November 29, 2007; 7:00 AM ET  | Category:  Tips , Workplaces
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