SWE - Winter 2008 - (Page 44)

Importance of Flexible Work Options by Age Source: The New Career Paradigm: Flexibility Briefing, American Business Collaboration and WFD Consulting, 2007 Examining the importance of flexibility for different age groups, younger workers value flexibility somewhat more than older workers. who ask about Lehman’s Encore program, which the company started two years ago. She said the company readily shares its successes and failures in the program. Program participants network, learn about industry trends, and look at possible jobs at Lehman Brothers. They must have been out of the work force voluntarily for at least a year and have worked in the financial services industry for at least five years. They also must be at the vice-presidential level. Lehman has met with more than 150 onrampers at Encore events and hired 35 people globally. The program has spread to the United Kingdom, Europe, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Goldman Sachs has already held four installments of its “New Directions: The Next Step in Your Career” program for women who have off-ramped. “The program helps women think about what their work parameters are, the type of roles they should seek, how to network, and how to prepare for interviews, all from the perspective of managers and corporate recruiters who make hiring decisions,” Crawford said. Other companies piece out projects in chunks, rather than assign an entire job to one person from start to finish. Shiller, from the Center for Work-Life Policy, notes how some companies offer high-potential employees work in pieces over a specified period of time that can be done from home or in a shorter time span in the office. Part-time employees, rather than temporary workers, take on parts of projects. As the workplace continues to grapple with factors that cause women to leave, more solutions will emerge. In the process, corporations are seeing the monetary gain and success of more autonomous employees. The off-ramp and on-ramp revolution is just beginning. I NOTE: The next issue of SWE Magazine will discuss academia’s response to off-and on-ramping and work/life balance issues. If You Want to Flex With many companies developing and implementing flex options, women should be aware of their part in these new arrangements. Planning ahead, networking, and keeping current are essential. Proactively plan for reentry. Before leaving, focus on how you will step back into your career. Talk to your manager about your return strategy. If your company doesn’t offer flexible work arrangements or reentry programs, ask about a trial period. Expecting her first child in 1980, Kathy Trentacoste, current director of Corporate Diversity at Lockheed Martin, approached her manager with the idea that she wanted to work part time. It was a startling request in 1980. There was no company precedent, much less conversations by women engineers about their children or families. But she knew she was in a strong position in software design and architecture. She proposed a six-month pilot arrangement. The experiment thrived as Trentacoste, working part time, continued advancing into more senior positions in systems engineering, then into program management and strategic planning. It was a natural progression from developing skills in previous strategic planning projects to applying them to human resources management strategy. Three children later, she has been with the company for 32 years, 26 of which were part time. She returned to work full time when her youngest child entered college. Know your strengths. Focus on what you do well and parlay that success when you return. Karen Morgan, manager of GE Aviation’s Edison Engineering Development Program, was a hands-on project manager before she left the company for 10 years to raise her children. After doing contract engineering for two years, she approached GE Aviation looking for a career, not just a job. After working in project management for three years, she took advantage of her work and mentoring experience to move into leading the company’s new entry-level engineering program. Keep current. “It is your personal responsibility to manage your career,” counsels David Crawford, vice president in the Human Capital Management Division of Goldman Sachs. “This can be done through refresher courses, periodicals and news articles, researching the Web, and attending conferences to keep up with the latest business trends and information.” With online education, pursuing certifications and vendor training is accessible, as are technology blogs and professional society Web communities such as SWE’s. Business schools from Harvard and Dartmouth’s Tuck to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton offer retraining courses with more joining the trend. Patricia Stevens, chief engineer for Advanced Combat Systems at Boeing, left the company to pursue a doctorate full time. She started an educational leave of absence, but when it took longer than expected, she officially terminated her job. While away, she kept in touch with specific industry courses, published papers, and kept up her contacts at Boeing. “I had something to offer when I came back so the transition was a smooth one,” she recalled. Keep your network active. Because she kept in contact with her network at GE Aviation, Morgan built credibility with people, many of whom had risen into management positions when she returned after 10 years. She had a well-established informal mentoring network from attending company events and social relationships. “I had credibility with people,” she said, “so when the company had positions open, they contacted me because they liked the work I was doing part time.” At Boeing, Stevens built relationships through a professional society. She advises to keep professional involvement strong at every career level. 44 SWE WINTER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SWE - Winter 2008

SWE - Winter 2008 Heritage Club President’s Note View from the Executive Suite Editor’s Page Readers’ Forum EWeek 2008 New Faces of Engineering The Leaky Science and Engineering Pipeline Why Do Women Leave the Engineering Work Force? A Greener America = New Growth Fields for Engineers The Off-On Ramp Revolution Recognizing the Historic Contributions of African-Americans Membership Information & Calendar A&B Women in Tune with Technology: SWE 2007 Conference Overview Keynote Address Achievement Award Region, Section, and Collegiate Awards SME Bowl and SWE Anniversaries Engineering World: Point of View: Why I Blog Career Toolbox Book Review SWE Smiles Opportunity Index SWE Scrapbook

SWE - Winter 2008

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