If you&rsquo;re anything like a lot of our partners, you have diversity hiring goals and you need help hitting them. Or maybe you&rsquo;re passionate about diversity, but need to get your stakeholders on board with its value. Or you might be aware that<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/championing-dei-in-tech-creative-ways-to-source-candidates-from-underrepresented-groups" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank"> diversity in the workplace</a> is great, but you have no idea where to start.
That&rsquo;s where we come in. 
Let&rsquo;s start off with the basics around diversity hiring. 
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">What Is Diversity Hiring?</h2>
Diversity hiring is a recruiting strategy that aims to actively seek out candidates from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds and decrease bias in the hiring process.
It&rsquo;s important to note that diversity goes far beyond race. It can include education, gender, sex, age, disability, and more. Embracing diversity means embracing the differences between people and valuing them for what they individually bring to the table.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/gxxR3wElQiCkHFDUuXzl" alt="undefined" width="342" height="342" class="butter-float-left">
Contrary to popular belief, diversity hiring as an idea and practice existed long before the social justice movements of 2020. But as we progress as a society, we&rsquo;re always identifying the gaps between what we&rsquo;ve done and what we need to do which has led to the increase in diversity hiring talk in recent years.
One of the largest misunderstandings when it comes to diversity is the belief that it happens in a vacuum. The reality is that diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are interconnected and need to be treated as such.&nbsp;
We often imagine diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (<a href="https://www.aihr.com/blog/diversity-equity-inclusion-belonging-deib/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">DEIB</a>) like a flywheel that keeps the engine of your hiring process moving at a stable pace. In order to keep everything afloat, you need to invest in all of them to really see change. 

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Why Is Diversity Hiring Important?</h2>
First and foremost, diversity hiring is important because it provides opportunities for people to live a more successful life. It helps to build a community within the workplace that reflects the world outside of it and ensures that all are welcome.
But there are even benefits beyond the social good.
In a 2019 analysis, McKinsey found that, &ldquo;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.</a>&rdquo;
The Boston Consulting Group also found that, &ldquo;<a href="https://hbr.org/2018/01/how-and-where-diversity-drives-financial-performance" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">The presence of enabling conditions for diversity &mdash; such as fair employment practices, participative leadership, top management support, and open communications &mdash; is worth up to 12.9% in innovation revenue.</a>&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not just financial gains your company will see, you will also increase your employer brand and team retention.
<a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/inclusion-in-the-workplace-research#:~:text=Here's%20what%20we%20found%3A,inclusion%20should%20be%20developed%20simultaneously" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Quantum Workplace</a> found that when employees believed diversity and inclusion wasn&rsquo;t valued at work they were less engaged than those who worked at companies that did value diversity and inclusion.
And if you&rsquo;re looking to increase your employer brand and appeal to the top candidates, a <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/resources/hr-and-recruiting-stats/#diversity-inclusion-and-belonging" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Glassdoor study</a> found that 76% of employees and job seekers report a diverse workforce is an essential part of evaluating a company.
Investing in diversity hiring will drive results across all areas of your business from hiring to revenue. 
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">How CareerCircle Supports Diversity Hiring</h2>
Regardless of where you&rsquo;re at on your diversity hiring journey, everyone needs a partner.
We&rsquo;ve been that partner since 2019, so we know how overwhelming it can feel to do diversity hiring effectively. Since our inception, 75% of our placements are veterans, women, and people from underserved communities. Here&rsquo;s how we make it happen. 
<h3 dir="ltr">CareerCircle Was Built For Diversity Hiring</h3>
CareerCircle originated from Allegis Group&rsquo;s desire to bring equity to every step of the hiring process. Our goal has always been to close the skills gap and help people from underrepresented communities get access to the skills they need to change their lives. From educating employers on the importance of diversity hiring to increasing diversity in talent pools through our membership platform or supporting employers with traditional staffing support, we&rsquo;re with you every step of the way. 
<h3 dir="ltr">A Focus on Equity Since Day One</h3>
Equality is great, but the way to real, impactful, sustainable change is equity. Equity at work and in the hiring process means giving people whatever support they need for their specific needs, rather than giving the exact same treatment to all people like equality dictates.
Since our inception, we have focused on equity over equality because we believe that equity allows us to actively seek out those who need support and provide them with the resources that they specifically need to be successful, like scholarships for certifications or one-on-one career coaching.
We do the same for employers by bringing our expertise to every interaction to provide the partnership with whatever resources and support will most benefit your goals. 
<h3 dir="ltr">A One-Stop-Shop for Diversity Hiring</h3>
Sourcing, screening, <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/build-a-diverse-candidate-pool-and-grow-your-talent-pipeline-with-careercircle" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">building your diverse talent pipeline</a>, and even traditional staffing support &ndash; we can do it all! We&rsquo;d love to talk through your goals, roadblocks, and how we can help you reach all of your diversity hiring goals.&nbsp; 
<a href="https://go.careercircle.com/request-a-demo" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Get in touch with us to get the details on how we can serve your team!</a> 
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">We Practice What We Preach</h3>
We know that investing in diverse, upskilled and reskilled candidates works because we do it ourselves. 30% of the CareerCircle team came from a certification or course offered by our educational partners. Since joining the CareerCircle team, they have become some of our top performers.
It can be a difficult switch to go from relying on a resume and on-the-job experience to a 360&deg; view of a candidate, but as a partner, we&rsquo;re happy to guide you through that process. 
Ultimately, diversity hiring may feel overwhelming, but with the right partner on your side, you can feel confident making the changes that you need to make.

Diversity hiring may feel overwhelming, but with the right partner on your side, you can feel confident making the changes that you need to make.

How CareerCircle Supports Your Diversity Hiring Goals

It seems like you can&rsquo;t go a day without being inundated with headlines and stories about layoffs, cutbacks, or hiring freezes. According to <a href="https://layoffs.fyi/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Layoffs.fyi</a>, over 110,000 people have been laid off from work in the tech industry in 2023 so far. If you&rsquo;re one of those 110,000, this blog series is for you.
Over the course of the next few weeks, we&rsquo;ll be giving you a step-by-step guide about how you can handle a layoff including what to do, how to stand out in a tight job market, <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/quizzes/interview-prep" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">ace your next interview</a>, and more.
We're starting off with the most common question people have: "What should I do if I get laid off?"

<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">What To Do After a Layoff</h2>
Each company handles layoffs differently, but regardless of how they go about it, there are a few things that you need to do to make sure you have all of the information you need to move forward.

<h3 dir="ltr">When You&rsquo;re in the Moment</h3>
Even when facing the emotional turmoil that a layoff causes, there are some practical things that need to be covered.
Get the information about the layoff in writing. Some companies choose to deliver the news via personal calls and while that is the better way to handle it emotionally, you will want a paper trail of the situation.
Your company should be responsible for communicating with you about any severance pay, health benefits like COBRA, and 401k management. But if they don&rsquo;t proactively communicate, don't be afraid to ask.
Take some time to note down any accomplishments you&rsquo;re particularly proud of so you can add them to your resume. For example, &ldquo;Expanded platform member base by 35% in 60 days&rdquo; or &ldquo;Increased profitability by 7% by reducing operations overspending.&rdquo; Those numbers help to back up the story on your resume and help companies to see the value they can expect from you. You could also ask any existing managers for reference letters or simply connect with them (and your coworkers) on LinkedIn so you can reach out when the need arises.

<h3 dir="ltr">Take a Breath</h3>
<a href="https://hbr.org/2023/01/managing-your-emotions-after-being-laid-off#:~:text=Getting%20laid%20off%20can%20feel,out%20your%20next%20career%20move." rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Going through a layoff often feels like a personal insult</a>. For many, it&rsquo;s not just the anxiety of being out of work that hits hard, it&rsquo;s the abrupt change to your routine, stability, and even your identity.&nbsp;
After you&rsquo;ve taken care of your initial needs (all those steps above), give yourself a little bit of time to process and take care of yourself mentally.&nbsp;
This is harder than it seems.&nbsp;
Most people want to jump into action and begin polishing their resume and getting back on the job search, but giving yourself time to process will help you handle the rest of the journey better.&nbsp;
And remember, it will take you more than 24 hours to fully process it, but taking at least some time for yourself to acknowledge and name your feelings can help you approach the rest of this journey with the compassion that you deserve.

<h3 dir="ltr">Think About Your Next Move</h3>
That&rsquo;s right, we said &ldquo;think.&rdquo; Don&rsquo;t jump immediately into job searching, networking, and promoting yourself until you know exactly what you want to do. Dealing with a layoff is one of those times in life when you&rsquo;re essentially forced to consider what your next move should be.
Here are some prompts to help you plan your next step:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
What did you like or dislike about the responsibilities of your last role?
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
What accomplishments are you most proud of throughout your career?
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Are there any roles or career paths you&rsquo;ve always wanted to go for, but never gave yourself permission to?
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Are there any dream companies you wish you could work for?
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Have you ever considered working for yourself? If so, what would you do if you were your own boss?
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Is there anything you&rsquo;ve had on your to-do list that you&rsquo;ve wanted <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/courses" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">to learn</a>, but just haven&rsquo;t found the time for?
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
What sort of pay, flexibility, and work environment do you need to feel most content with your life?
</li>
</ul>
One of the things you may discover is that it&rsquo;s not just time for a new job, it&rsquo;s time for a break or a career change. We recently sat down with our Head of Product, Cecily Guggisberg, to highlight <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/careercircle-career-journey-cecily-guggisberg" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">her story of taking a career break after facing burnout</a> and if you&rsquo;ve been feeling overwhelmed, her story will resonate and give you the inspiration you need.
Once you are more confident about the path you want to take, you can share your goals with others.

<h3 dir="ltr">Update Your Network and Get To Work</h3>
When you&rsquo;ve worked through the emotional impact (and that may take a bit) and considered what you&rsquo;d like your next move to be, it&rsquo;s time to update your professional networks so that everything public is up to date.
We've shared some suggestions about how to announce your layoff on LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/careercircle_how-to-write-a-layoff-post-for-linkedin-activity-7041448228424138752-KBis/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">here</a>. But first things first, remember to update your experience, open to work status, and make a post about what sort of role you&rsquo;re looking for and what your experience is.
Make sure you update <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">your CareerCircle profile</a>, too! Remember to include any extra experience, training, or certification you went through at your last role.&nbsp;
From there, <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/resume-builder" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">rebuild your resume</a>. Add in any concrete data and results that you have from the projects you worked on at your role.
We&rsquo;ll be diving into how to search for a new job and stand out in the crowd in our next installment of this series, but as you start your job hunt, try to schedule it like you&rsquo;d schedule your work hours. It can be easy to get completely absorbed in job searching when you need a new role, but if you go too hard, you&rsquo;re just going to burnout.
Schedule your hours of working (because job searching is work), and try to limit your efforts to those times. Remember to take time off, too! You deserve vacation days just like any other worker does.

We know that being laid off is never on anyone&rsquo;s career plan. It can be emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting, but please remember that you are not alone. We hope that this series will be a resource to help guide you through this tough time and always remember that the <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">CareerCircle team</a> is here to support you. In the next installment, we&rsquo;ll be looking at how you can kick off your job search in the right way and stand out in a crowded applicant pool. Stay tuned!

Each company handles layoffs differently, but regardless of how they go about it, there are some things that you need to do to move forward.

The Layoff Series: What To Do After a Layoff

We're starting off our new layoff series with the most common question people have: "What should I do if I get laid off?"

Our mission has always been to find jobs for underserved communities. We currently serve over 70,000 members with resources that have helped them upskill and reskill their way to a new job. But we always love a new goal.
Last year, we introduced the <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/equity-in-hiring-introducing-careercircles-employ-1000-challenge" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Employ 1000 challenge</a>. We worked all year to connect 1,000 of our members to the right role for them. This year, we&rsquo;re aiming even higher.
In 2023, we&rsquo;re going to change 3,000 lives. Here&rsquo;s how we&rsquo;re going to do it. 
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">The Why Behind #Employ3000</h2>
Our Operations Manager, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-meighan-751b407/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Lindsey Meighan</a>, said it best, &ldquo;Our team has some big goals for 2023, but that is what excites us each and every day! It all starts from the why.&nbsp; When you have a clear mission and set out to change 3,000 lives, the people behind the goal really are your driving force. Nothing is more powerful than knowing we&rsquo;re serving our communities.&rdquo;
But we know that this is going to take hard work. To say that the current hiring world is a bit difficult is probably an understatement. It feels like everyday there are stories about layoffs at another major company, and smaller companies aren&rsquo;t immune either. Beyond that, job seekers are still fighting for good pay, less burnout at work, and a job that they&rsquo;re passionate about.
This goal isn&rsquo;t just about reaching further than we ever have before. It&rsquo;s personal.&nbsp;
Our Customer Success Manager, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lancekoenig1/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Lance Koenig</a> shared, &ldquo;Making an impact to even one life in a positive way is an achievement, let alone 3,000. Being able to support people and to help them achieve success is something that has driven me for over a decade and it is something that I plan on doing the rest of my life. If it wasn't for people helping support me, I would not have made it this far in life and in the spirit of that I will always pay it forward.&rdquo;
For some of our team, like <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastino-annamaria/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">AnnaMaria Sebastino</a>, our National NPO Outreach Lead and Member Experience Coordinator, it was CareerCircle&rsquo;s work that changed their own life. &ldquo;As someone who always held multiple jobs in order to make a comfortable living wage, I know on a personal level how important it is for employers to see your transferable skills. As someone who returned to my three jobs four weeks after giving birth to my daughter, I see the repercussions underemployment causes. I lost valuable time that I will never get back with my daughter because I was in the wrong jobs.&rdquo;
She went on to share how her life has changed since investing in upskilling. "I have seen for myself the doors that have been opened to me by upskilling with CareerCircle through the RISE Program and having the right advocates in your corner, like our recruiters. Suddenly, I was no longer siloed in one sector that had a &lsquo;ceiling&rsquo; and didn't allow for growth. Our goal to place 3,000 individuals in jobs this year means a better quality of life for individuals and opportunities to live a life that they may have only dreamed of.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not just our customer-facing team members that are ready to work. The passion starts with the team that builds our platform. Our Enterprise Architect,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentferree/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Brent Ferree</a>, ignites that effort when he leads our development team. &ldquo;I am proud to say that I have the privilege of building a platform that is making a significant impact on people's lives. By helping individuals find new job opportunities that support their personal and professional growth, CareerCircle is changing the trajectory of their careers and improving their overall quality of life. It is incredibly fulfilling to know that the work I am doing is making a positive difference in the world.&rdquo; 
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">Where We&rsquo;ve Been and Where We&rsquo;re Going</h2>
The average demographic makeup of the IT industry today leaves quite a bit to be desired when it comes to representing the diverse workforces that we know succeed. This goal of helping 3,000 members find new roles goes beyond changing those 3,000 lives. It is tied directly to our overall mission to <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/impact" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">change the landscape of talent</a> in the IT industry and beyond.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/RkWgsBz5Sd6kZs4e0w6p" alt="Graphic and percentages depiction" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 737px; width: 100%;">
Source: <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/special-report/diversity-high-tech" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission</a> and <a href="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/02054435/0224_2022_BTN_FullSize.pdf" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">The National Center for Women and Information Technology</a>
 
Here at CareerCircle, 75% of our member placements are veterans, women, and members of underserved communities and we intend to keep growing that number through efforts like our recent job fair on February 16th.
With 38 organizations and nearly 2,000 registered attendees, our inaugural job fair helped to facilitate conversations and build relationships between employers and our members with the right skills to excel. By the end of our fair, there were:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
3,533 resumes submitted
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
64,495 total booth visits
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
2,285 conversations
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
And 16,432 total chats!
</li>
</ul>
It blew our expectations completely out of the water! To stay in the loop of when our next fair will be happening, remember to keep an eye on our <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/careercircle/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">social media</a>. 
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">How To Get Involved</h2>
If you&rsquo;re an employer:
We partner with employers to help connect our skilled candidates with open roles. If you&rsquo;re invested in equitable hiring and bringing upskilled candidates to your roles, let&rsquo;s work together!
Embrace the<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/how-the-360deg-candidate-view-helps-hiring-managers-find-the-right-fit" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank"> 360&deg; Candidate View</a>: Go beyond the resume to look at other attributes and characteristics of candidates. The 360&deg; view will allow you to better understand the whole person and what both their on-the-job experience and transferable skills can bring to the table.
<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/employers#overview" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Join the CareerCircle platform</a>: If you want to get your roles in front of our members and directly source talent from our platform, <a href="https://go.careercircle.com/request-a-demo" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">schedule a demo</a> today!&nbsp;
&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re a job seeker:
We know it&rsquo;s rough out there, but we&rsquo;re here to help!
<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Join the platform</a>: First and foremost, sign up! You&rsquo;ll get access to discounts on courses, unstoppable advocates in your corner, and a community here to support you. The best part? It&rsquo;s totally free!
Follow us on social media: We&rsquo;ll be sharing all the updates about our Employ 3,000 challenge and everything you need to know about the CareerCircle community on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/careercircle/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MyCareerCircle/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MyCareerCircle" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@careercircle" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">TikTok</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mycareercircle/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Instagram</a> so head over there and follow along.
Set up job alerts: Nobody has time to scroll through job postings, but you do have time to set up job alerts so the right jobs are delivered right to your inbox. <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/how-to-set-up-job-alerts-to-find-the-right-job-postings" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Here&rsquo;s how to do it</a>.
&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">Now we&rsquo;re going to get back to changing lives.&nbsp;</h3>
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">We&rsquo;ll see you in the circle!</h3>

In 2023, we're aiming to connect 3,000 members with new job opportunities with our Employ 3,000 challenge.

Employ 3,000: How CareerCircle Is Changing 3,000 Lives

Last year, we introduced the Employ 1000 challenge. We worked all year to connect 1,000 of our members to the right role for them. This year, we’re aiming even higher.

In 2023, we’re going to change 3,000 lives. Here’s how we’re going to do it.

CareerCircle&rsquo;s Head of Product, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/csguggisbergsphr/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Cecily Guggisberg</a>, is sharing her story of taking a career break, investing in transferable skills, managing anxiety, and ultimately, finding a career path that she loves.&nbsp;
On a day-to-day basis Cecily is working alongside developers to define the work that needs to be done in their next sprint, reviewing marketing materials, brainstorming with our member experience team to design new features, and more&hellip;and that&rsquo;s just before lunch. 
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">Starting a Career Journey Fresh Out of College</h2>
When Cecily had to figure out what she wanted to study in college, she realized that helping people and solving problems was really what drove her.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always tried to be the friend that people come to for advice, so when I went to college I decided to explore psychology and communications. Ultimately, I did my undergrad in psychology and didn&rsquo;t realize that what I was interested in translated to human resources and organizational development,&rdquo; Cecily shared when asked how her education has shaped her career.
In college, she was on a scholarship program that kept her busy working. She also carved out the time for an internship at the Boston Museum of Science. It was during her internship that she first gained experience in recruiting and sourcing.
&ldquo;Looking back, I can see that my internship gave me the chance to explore my skills in a professional setting. Whenever you can, I always recommend finding an internship, temporary job, or pro bono work if it&rsquo;s a chance to explore an area of interest. You never know what you&rsquo;ll end up learning about what you&rsquo;re good at and how it aligns with your goals. It&rsquo;s great for resume building, too!&rdquo;
As she neared the end of her college era, she set a goal to have a job lined up before graduation. At a college career fair, she was introduced to a life-changing recruiter from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aerotek.com/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Aerotek</a>. With the guidance of that recruiter, and after impressing in the interview process, she started a job as a recruiter. 
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">The Power of a Career Break</h2>
Cecily spent the next ten years at Aerotek working in recruiting, sales, and national program management roles. She excelled at building out systems for the unknown and solving problems at scale.
&ldquo;I was the person who got called in with the idea that, &lsquo;Well, we&rsquo;ve never done this before, but I wonder if someone could help figure it out.&rsquo; I was the one who figured it out.&rdquo;
That experience at Aerotek would end up building the foundation for the rest of her career. But with all that learning, and a decade of effort, she realized something else: she was burned out. 
&ldquo;If there was a checklist of, &lsquo;Here&rsquo;s what burnout looks like,&rsquo; I had every box checked. As much as I loved what I was doing, I struggled with perfectionism and found myself struggling to delegate or set boundaries.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s what led her to what she now calls the best decision of her career: <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/your-return-to-work-three-ways-to-address-a-gap-in-employment" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">she took a break</a>.
Instead of pushing through burnout, she took a full career break. During which, she got married, started a passion project designing apparel, and explored what it is that she really wanted to do. 
A tip for you: A career break, if it&rsquo;s available to you, could be a great way to develop your career journey. It can give you time to <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/building-the-360deg-view-of-you-how-to-develop-a-job-skills-inventory" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">discover your skills</a> and space to <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/navigating-your-career-journey-5-ways-to-reach-your-career-development-goals" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">align your career goals to an action plan</a>. If a career break isn&rsquo;t feasible, you consider finding a lower stress temporary position or something that allows you the time you deserve to invest in yourself. 
Cecily realized she wanted to continue working in recruiting, but wanted to gain experience working internally at an organization versus at a third party. She decided to hit the books to make sure she stood out in the hiring process and started working to get her Sr. Professional in HR (SPHR) certification.
&ldquo;Taking on that certification process was worth every moment, but it was really hard. That&rsquo;s why I have such respect for everyone who joins the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">CareerCircle community</a> because they&rsquo;re coming in knowing that they want to change their life and it will be hard, but they do the work because it paves the way for a new chapter.&rdquo;
Many hours of studying, quizzes, and a grueling certification test later, she passed and accepted a job that aligned with her goals as the Manager of Convention Staffing for Visit Orlando.
After two years in that position, she gave birth to her first child, Sadie, and took maternity leave with a plan to head back to work after a few months. That return to work date came and she realized she wanted to spend more time at home with her daughter. &ldquo;I was so lucky to be able to take that time to learn how to be a new mom. I ended up taking 6 months off of work and it will always be one of the most special times in my life.&rdquo;
It was this second career break that led Cecily to question what she was looking for in the next part of her journey. It was important to her to work somewhere where she didn&rsquo;t just love the day-to-day work she was doing, but that she was able to bring all of the skills she learned through her internships, her time at Aerotek and Visit Orlando, as well as her new skills as a mom. She wanted to bring her whole self to work, on her terms. 
A tip for you: When exploring the next stage in your career, try building out a list with the things you loved and those you don&rsquo;t love for each of the roles you&rsquo;ve had. Then bring that list as you start your job search to find a role that encompasses more of the things you love and less of the things you don&rsquo;t. 
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">What To Do When Opportunity Comes Knocking</h2>
When CareerCircle called, she was ready.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-sneeder-a49a723/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Kim Sneeder</a>, CareerCircle&rsquo;s Managing Director and past colleague of Cecily from her Allegis days, was building a team for this new platform and needed people who were willing to dive headfirst into a totally new company. After building her reputation at Aerotek as someone always willing to take on a new challenge, Kim thought of Cecily first.
&ldquo;Cecily was the first name that came to my mind. Her deep sense of integrity and compassion is fundamental to who she is. She&rsquo;s also brilliant and what she didn't know, I knew she would learn. She is a lifelong learner and I knew she would find mentors and industry experts to get us where we needed to go. She is a problem solver and always brings others with her. I also knew she would give me feedback and challenge me which is so important to me as a leader. Being equal parts heart and results, I knew Cecily would be my partner and, with her, we would never fail,&rdquo; Kim shared when asked why she chose Cecily. 
A tip for you: Never underestimate the importance of maintaining your connections throughout your career journey. Even if a role doesn&rsquo;t work out long-term, those connections could pave the way for a new future working together. 
While she was ready to return to work, she also wanted flexibility. She joined CareerCircle as a part-time contractor allowing her to ease back into the work world postpartum. Before long, she had moved through the ranks to become the Business Operations Manager.
Since the team was small at the time, she took the chance to better understand different departments that she was interested in including sales, product, marketing, and more.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The best career advice I ever got was, &lsquo;Do the job before you get the job.&rsquo; You need to find someone who has the job you want or find the area of business where you see a deficit, raise your hand for stretch assignments to gain experience.Then when an opportunity comes up in that area, you can advocate for yourself. If you see a gap that is affecting the business and a new position is needed, don&rsquo;t be afraid to share your thoughts - that has created a lot of my opportunities in the past,&rdquo; Cecily shared. She took that advice when the chance came up to cover for the product owner.
When she became pregnant with her second child, she sat down with her boss, Kim, to define what she wanted when she came back from maternity leave.&nbsp;
After chatting, she realized just how much she loved working in product. It let her use her logical problem-solving skills to build processes, but also scratched the desire for a creative role by supporting UX design and marketing.
Taking on the product role meant a lot of on-the-job learning. &ldquo;While I had a passion for product development and I was able to bring in my existing skills, like communication from my recruiting and sales days, project management from being a mom, and my natural desire to build processes out of the unknown, I still needed support and a community as I learned.&rdquo; Cecily reached out and found internal and external mentors and became intentional about mastering the skills while doing the work. 
A tip for you: If you&rsquo;re not sure what you want to do, <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/acing-the-modern-workplace-how-upskilling-promotes-personal-career-development" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">joining community groups</a> on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. can help you to explore new professions in a low-pressure way.&nbsp; 
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">A Career Journey Built on Community</h2>
When Cecily first started feeling burnout earlier in her career, she felt a lot of shame because she thought she was alone. It felt like no one else felt like that, or at least talked about it openly. When she started working with a therapist and sharing what she was feeling with her friends and family, she learned that everyone had experienced what she had in some way. When Cecily started having those conversations, it even ended up inspiring others around her to re-evaluate their own careers. &ldquo;I realized I had this whole community of people around me that I could lean on for support when days were hard or to celebrate with on the good days.&rdquo;
That feeling of community is what drives Cecily in her career today to make sure that CareerCircle isn&rsquo;t just a tool to <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/resume-builder" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">build a resume</a> or <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/quizzes/interview-prep" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">prepare for an interview</a>, but rather a place where people feel empowered to <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">build a community for their own unique career journey</a>.
Beyond building that community, Cecily also suggests keeping a kudos folder in your inbox or on your desktop filled with all of the times that someone has complimented the work you do or some incredible results from a particular project. It&rsquo;s a great resource to pull from when you&rsquo;re asked for some of your achievements on a job application or just when you need to battle <a href="https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-different-types-of-imposter-syndrome-and-5-ways-to-battle-each-one" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">imposter syndrome</a>.
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to your own career journey is that every part of yourself deserves to be represented in your goals. It&rsquo;s never too late to evaluate what brings you joy in your work and take the risk of making a career switch. Your skills, experience, personality, and dreams are what make you you and those things deserve to be celebrated.

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">When you&rsquo;re ready to get started on your own career journey, you can sign up for CareerCircle <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">here</a>.</h3>

Want to try something different in your career? You're not alone. Our team is sitting to share their stories and get their advice.

How Burnout Led to a New Path: A CareerCircle Career Journey

CareerCircle’s Head of Product, Cecily Guggisberg, is sharing her story of taking a career break, investing in transferable skills, managing anxiety, and ultimately, finding a career path that she loves.

Devyn Gaydos

Learn HTML

Learn CSS

Learn Javascript

*UPGRADE IN PROGRESS* -- CareerCircle platform upgrades will occur between Monday June 27th 10PM Eastern Time through Tuesday June 28th 4AM Eastern Time.&nbsp; The system may be intermittently unavailable during this timeframe.&nbsp;&nbsp;

*UPGRADE IN PROGRESS* -- CareerCircle is upgrading its capabilities and as a result the system may be temporarily unavailable as we bring new capabilities and infrastructure online to better serve our members.&nbsp; If you receive an error during this timeframe please bear with us as we're working to improve our system and you may need to retry that operation at a later time.&nbsp; &nbsp;