Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work - Books

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
For full-time moms, going back to work doesn't mean returning to your old job and easing back into the life you had before staying home to take care of the kids. Instead, it means reigniting old contacts (even those who were once your junior), marketing yourself, and getting over the intimidation that plagues most women who have been out of the workforce, whether it's been two, six, or fifteen years.
Carol Cohen and Vivian Rabin, who have successfully pulled it off themselves, know that it can be done--with careful planning, strategizing, and creativity. In BACK ON THE CAREER TRACK, they offer a seven-step program for going back to work. These steps are:
-Relaunch or not? You decide
-Learn confidence
-Assess your career options
-Update your professional and job search skills, and prepare for the interview
-Network, market yourself, and clinch the opportunity
-Channel family support
-Handle the job (or find another one)
Cohen and Rabin also offer advice on maintaining the balance between work and home, and navigating the inevitable sticky situations with family and friends that arise when you return to work. This is a comprehensive, inspiring guide that is sure to become the classic resource in this field.

Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent! October 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

A very helpful book with the potential to change lives--for the better. An absolute page turner I could not put down until the very end. Have recommended it to a number of people.

4 out of 5 stars

Relaunch is best for those who have taken off previously September 2, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

As a medical researcher, I was impressed to see that Cohen and Rabin included grant programs for scientific researchers who are reentering careers after time away. They took this approach throughout their excellent book which highlights how women in a wide range of careers and educational backgrounds could realistically approach returning to work after a career break.

There is a flaw in the recent negative review posted by Martin Nemko. His criticism is directed toward the difficulty of building a resume to obtain a job following a break. Obtaining a job is not the focus of the book. Rather, the book is directed to those who seek to relaunch careers or launch new ones.

His comment implying that these authors are not qualified to write on this topic is wrong. Cohen and Rabin have been through this process personally, run a return to work conference that is touring nationally, and have a lengthy press and speakers list. I highly recommend this excellent guide to relaunching a career following a break.

5 out of 5 stars

Back on the Career Track August 17, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I can't believe reviewer Martin Nemzo read the same book I did. As reviewer Rachel Towle mentioned, I do not have an advanced degree, yet I found Back on the Career Track to be a realistic, refreshing guide to career reentry. Women who had "relaunched" careers in all sorts of fields and work configurations are profiled and the advice and strategy is accessible and I think equally effective for those of us without graduate degrees. In fact, I think the stories from the authors and their subjects were unusually candid, which made the points the authors were trying to illustrate even more compelling for someone in the position of being at home trying to return to work. Looking at Mr. Nemzo's background, he does not appear to be in this situation which is why he might have missed the major points of the book.

Finally, his comment about the authors backgrounds is clearly inaccurate to the point where I wonder if Mr. Nemzo had some sort of agenda to diss these authors. His comment that one of the authors is noted in the NYTimes for marrying a physician happens to be her wedding announcement from 1988! From their company website (www.iRelaunch.com) and some of my own googling, I found out that Cohen, a mother of four, resumed working after 11 years out of the full time workforce in a full time job for an investment company. She left after a year at which time Harvard Business School wrote a case study about her journey back to work after her time at home. Rabin went into the executive search business after seven years at home with her five kids.

These two authors appear to me to be the only authors of books on career reentry who have actually gone through the entire process of working, taking a career break and then returning to jobs unrelated to writing about or starting a company in the career reentry field. They wrote their book and started their company after they went through the entire return to work process. That's why they understand it so well! They now run a company that creates career reentry programming for people on career break and they have spoken internationally on the topic. Just take a look at their list of speaking engagements to see the wide range of audiences they address. Mr. Nemzo - I think you better do more careful research next time before tossing out the ridiculous references you make in this review. I give Back on the Career Track five stars and highly recommend it for those on career break interested in a strategy to return to work after a hiatus.

Nicole, mom of 1 with one of the way

1 out of 5 stars

This book fails for the reason so many self-help books fail August 1, 2008
1 out of 6 found this review helpful

The authors generalize from their experience as Harvard MBAs and from superstar women. The message: "If they can do it, so can you."

Well, in the real world, what works for superstars is vastly different from what works with the average person. What works for the average stay-at-home mom who wants to return to work is to simply beg all your friends and relatives for a launchpad job, even if menial, so you can put something on your resume other that stay-at-home mom. Unless really desperate, most employers resumes and cover letters from stay-at-home moms (even when they try to feebly explain how being a stay-at-home mom demonstrates lots of transferable skills) and throws them into the trash.

Laughably, if you google these two authors, supposed examples of stay-at-home moms successfully reentering the workplace, despite their Harvard MBAs, you get the feeling they aren't all that successful. They're mainly noted for pushing their book, and one was noted in the NY Times for marrying a physician.

3 out of 5 stars

Long winded authors & unless you have a MBA or PhD leave it on the shelf. December 31, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

The authors start off with a bit of sisterhood and camaraderie as they speak from the mommy club. They share their experiences as SAHMs transitioning to full time work as high powered career women. This is when those of us looking for a "job" are left out of the book.

I realize that this book can not be everything to all people, but unless you are in a very high ranking position in business, science, finance, medicine, technology, sales or consulting leave it on the shelf.

It offers some nice tips for everyone about networking and reminders about getting yourself back in gear for work. 75% is for women who have the leverage to play hardball with the employer when it comes to negotiating their schedule and salary. It does not offer many great ideas for those of us who are in financial need to return to work, especially if you have very young children.

I am not trying to dump on the book, but it is not for everyone. If you are trying to be a consultant it offers great advice. If you are finding a "job", not returning to a career, this is NOT the book for you.

Good Grape Wine Company