--- title: "Daily Buzz: How to Jump Back Into Your Career After Parental Leave" id: "49855" type: "post" slug: "daily-buzz-how-to-jump-back-into-your-career-after-parental-leave" published_at: "2020-04-16T21:05:26+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-17T03:18:04+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2020/04/16/daily-buzz-how-to-jump-back-into-your-career-after-parental-leave/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2020/04/16/daily-buzz-how-to-jump-back-into-your-career-after-parental-leave.md" excerpt: "Clear goals and communication can get you back in the professional groove. Also: Take advantage of LinkedIn’s new Featured section." taxonomy_category: - "Career Development" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "careers" - "parental leave" - "Professional Development" - "Workplace" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Employee (Non-Manager)" taxonomy_persona: - "Early Career" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Daily Buzz: How to Jump Back Into Your Career After Parental Leave Is your parental leave time almost up? Finding your footing again in the professional world may prove to be a difficult task. “Navigating a system that was not designed for career paths that balance work with family can easily feel like a mission-practically-impossible even in the best of times,” says Lisa Quest [in Harvard Business Review (opens in a new tab)](https://hbr.org/2020/04/ramp-up-your-career-after-parental-leave) . Continuing your career successfully will take several steps, Quest suggests, and the first is setting clear goals. Think about what your immediate and long-term career objectives are now that you’ve returned from parental leave. “If you’re not sure what your dreams are, no one can help you realize them. So step back and ask yourself: What is it that I *really* want?” Quest says. And don’t just communicate, but over-communicate, your aspirations with your employer, colleagues, and family. “Share a detailed maternity plan with your boss that lays out what you want to achieve and the clients and areas that you want to cover,” Quest says. “Schedule meetings with your boss before you leave, about a month before you come back, and monthly afterward to discuss how things are going.” When you’re back at work, take stock of the plan you created and be prepared to course-correct. “It’s impossible to know what it’s like to juggle your family and your career until you’re in the thick of it,” Quest says. “You may find that you can do more than you expected.” Conversely, you might have to take a step back if you’re taking on too much. ### Using LinkedIn’s Featured Section > Learn how to use the Featured section for LinkedIn profiles to showcase your most notable and up-to-date work samples and media mentions 👩🏻‍💻📰 [https://t.co/6I3mS1cHAA (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/6I3mS1cHAA) > by [@valerielmorris (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/valerielmorris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#linkedinmarketing (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/linkedinmarketing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#digitalmarketing (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/digitalmarketing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — Social Media Examiner (@SMExaminer) [April 15, 2020 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/SMExaminer/status/1250448693297381376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Trying to distinguish yourself on LinkedIn?** Good use of the Featured section can leave others with a strong impression of you and your personal brand, suggests Valerie Morris on *[Social Media Examiner (opens in a new tab)](https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-use-linkedin-featured-section-on-your-profile/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=TwitterPage&utm_campaign=sme20-week16-wed)*. The [recently launched feature (opens in a new tab)](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/linkedin-launches-new-featured-section-on-profiles-to-highlight-key-achie/572483/) lets you highlight select posts and add links to external websites, images, and documents. “Small business owners can use this space on their profile to feature their top offerings. Thought leaders can share their best articles or videos. Employees can highlight notable projects,” Morris says. ### Other Links of Note **If you struggle with delivering content on time,** your team probably hasn’t [defined its workflow (opens in a new tab)](https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2020/04/define-workflow-content-team/) , says a post from the Content Marketing Institute. **Knowing how to use hashtags** will [boost brand engagement (opens in a new tab)](https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-hashtags) , suggests Karin Olafson on the Hootsuite blog. **Need to spread the word about your virtual event?** A recent post from MemberSuite offers [ways to communicate (opens in a new tab)](https://www.membersuite.com/blog/communicating-with-prospective-attendees-about-your-new-virtual-event) with prospective attendees. (yacobchuk/iStock/Getty Images Plus) [Michael Hickey](https://associationsnow.com/author/michael-hickey/) Michael Hickey is a contributor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/michael-hickey/) Tags: [#careers](https://associationsnow.com/tag/careers/) [#parental leave](https://associationsnow.com/tag/parental-leave/) [#Professional Development](https://associationsnow.com/tag/professional-development/) [#Workplace](https://associationsnow.com/tag/workplace/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoLaurie Gussak Shares Her CAE JourneyOctober 26, 2023](https://associationsnow.com/2023/10/26/laurie-gussak-shares-her-cae-journey/) - [VideoLisa Rackstraw Shares Her CAE JourneyOctober 26, 2023](https://associationsnow.com/2023/10/26/lisa-rackstraw-shares-her-cae-journey/) - [VideoDeb Callahan Shares Her CAE JourneyOctober 26, 2023](https://associationsnow.com/2023/10/26/deb-callahan-shares-her-cae-journey/) - [VideoShelby Couch Shares Her CAE JourneyOctober 26, 2023](https://associationsnow.com/2023/10/26/shelby-couch-shares-her-cae-journey/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2020%2F04%2F16%2Fdaily-buzz-how-to-jump-back-into-your-career-after-parental-leave%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !