Have you been wondering how to get yourself back on track with your STEM Career? Look no further. We have a comprehensive, in depth toolkit to help you construct an action plan and build your confidence along the way. The toolkit will take you through various activities and peer stories to help you piece together your action plan. As you work through the interactive it will generate you an action plan to use to remind yourself of the things you have learned and built upon along the way.

Whilst the toolkit is mainly aimed at women, it would be useful to anyone thinking of returning to a STEM career after a break. You will need to create an account and login, allowing you to return to your action plan as and when you need.

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Click on the image above to launch the interactive toolkit.

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Please note: If you sign up for an account, your data will be stored according to our Privacy Policy. You will only be contacted regarding your account and your data will not be used for any other purpose, or shared with any other organisation. You will be contacted for the following reasons: sign up, forgot password and your account will be automatically deleted after 6 months of inactivity, you will be warned via email before the closure. By signing up, you agree to these communications and data storage.

This toolkit helps you think about and build on the following areas:

Life Balance

Before you begin your return to work, it’s useful to recognise what you value most in life. By understanding your motivations and priorities, you will be in a better position to start making key decisions. The interactive will help you to identify your motivations, complete a work-life balance calculator, create an action-plan for achieving your work life balance and identify support mechanisms.

Professional Skills

Professional skills, or rather a lack of them, can be a barrier to securing the ideal job. It’s vital then to know what your skills are and how these match up with an employer’s criteria. This section will enable you to complete a full skills audit and help you to evaluate your next steps, whether that’s further training, an internship or getting a mentor.

World of Work

Understanding the current job market, employment trends and new legislation relating to labour rights will put you in a strong position when job searching. Subsequently, this section focuses on empowering you to make specific choices about your style of working and the types of employer you would like to work for. It will also offer an introduction to labour rights and employment contracts to equip you with the knowledge and links necessary to negotiate your terms.

Presenting Yourself

Giving some thought as to how you present yourself to prospective employers is well worth the investment. Employers are increasingly using different strategies to find out more about you, so it’s critical that you craft a profile that showcases your talents across different mediums. This section will explore different presentation methods as well as prompt you to start considering the image you want to portray.

Job Search

There are many aspects to finding a job – as you will see from this resource. This section focuses specifically on the physical job hunting that you will soon undertake, offering advice on using the internet, tailoring your CV and drafting cover letters. If you are yet to determine your career path or are considering a career change, this section will also guide you in mapping out your employment future.

Networking

Networking is the building and nurturing of professional and personal relationships. Through on-going input, networks can offer you a chain of information, contacts and support. This section will look at how you can expand your network, both on and off-line and use it to enhance your job search.

If you'd prefer a more traditional approach to planning your return, you could try our Return to STEM free course