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“I don’t think you can necessarily have it all. I don’t even know if there’s a work-life balance out there.”
Nancy Jensen and Sarah Duenwald are co-founders of The Swing Shift, the destination for women in career transition.
Sarah spent the last decade focused on business development and sales operations in the software and high-tech consulting industry. Nancy is also a tech industry veteran, including many years overseeing operating system, server and early SaaS products for Microsoft. They both believe that women should not be penalized for taking care of their families, and that they should be able to re-enter the workforce on their own terms after career breaks.
So they created The Swing Shift to equip women with the tools they need to get back in the career game.
We talked about the vital skills needed by women re-entering the workforce; why women can’t “have it all” (at least not in the way most people mean); and how to create personal boundaries at work to allow for family time. We also revealed some of our “guilty pleasures,” because – well – why not?
Highlights
- Common hurdles encountered by women re-entering the workforce after a career break – and what skills they need to brush up on
- How combining your passion and your profession can help you achieve both career and financial goals
- Why Nancy and Sarah don’t believe women can “have it all” – and what true work-life balance means to them
- Why your definition of balance and self-care should change in different phases of your life
- The unique challenges faced by women in tech when it comes to self-care – and the impact they had on Nancy personally
- How Sarah created (and enforced) personal boundaries at work after she had kids, and the conflicting emotions that came up for her
- Sarah’s mental checklist that allows her to identify her personal sources of imbalance (and correct them)
- Nancy’s “guilty pursuits” that count as serious self-care for her
- The commitment Sarah made in her 20s that fundamentally changed the way she approached self-care – and helped her realize “wow, THIS is how you can feel if you’re taking care of yourself!”
- Nancy, Sarah, and Lara geek out over young adult and fantasy fiction, and other book genres they love (ie, NOT business books)
- Nancy and Sarah’s top three “can’t live without” items for self-care
Action Tips
- Get clear your self-care non-negotiables, Then, create a “mental checklist” to determine how to get back to balance.
- Don’t feel guilty about enforcing boundaries at work that allow for personal time. People will adapt.
- If you’re getting back into the workforce after a break, seek out resources like The Swing Shift to brush up on skills that will make you more competitive.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Connect with The Swing Shift: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
Check out Lara’s free monthly online workshop series – designed to help you get out of your own way and make being healthy feel easy and intuitive instead of stressful and overwhelming.
Thank You for Listening!
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xo,
