Hi Jennifer,

Thanks so much for reaching out to Cancer and Careers! I will pass along your inquiry to one of our career coaches, but in the meantime I wanted to provide a few resources that may be helpful.

It sounds like it's been a frustrating process for you even finding roles that would be suitable for what you're feeling up for at the moment. Have you been finding positions primarily through recruiters? Or have there been specific websites you've been using? It might be time to consider alternative methods of finding positions. As I'm sure our career coach will mention as well, networking is really the best way to get connected with potential jobs these days. We have a number of resources on best practices for effective networking in the Networking section of our website. The benefits of networking of course are that you can often have a bit more information about a role before applying, get a bettter sense of what to expect and what may be expected of a candidate they're looking for. In that same vein, it can be a good idea to do some research prior to applying for companies. This is where websites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn can come in handy. You can see what level of flexibility there may be. For instance, if the reviews mention accommodations or flexibile schedules, you may have better insight as to whether requesting a part-time position wold be feasible. Definitely take a look at our article on Flexible Work as well, as this may spark some ideas for you.

Perhaps it is the type of work that you are looking for that's limiting the part-time versus full-time opportunities? Is there any way you may be interested in exploring alternative titles that may be more conducive to a part-time schedule? Not to say you have to completely change the work you're doing, but perhaps taking on a role with fewer responsibilities, so the fewer hours you'd be working wouldn't have as much of an impact? 

These are just a few considerations as you look at your current approach and see where you could maybe adjust some things in order to find a role that is suitable for both your needs and your interests. The section of our website on Exploring Your Options houses a good number of articles aimed at helping you look at circumstances after a cancer diagnosis in a different light.

Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or if you would like any further information or resources! You can always email us at cancerandcareers@cew.org.

Best of luck.

Sincerely,

Nicole Jarvis, LMSW

Assistant Director of Programs

Cancer and Careers

Hi Jennifer,

Sorry that you are having this experience. I wish I knew what you do specifically work wise (title, functional expertise, and industry) so if you don't mind writing back to tell me this, I may be able to customize my response more.

Meanwhile, Nicole is exactly right that networking is the way to find a part-time or job share situation because recruiters are not typically hired to find part-time employees. Also, I wonder if you would be open to a contract position or a situation where you are covering for someone out on maternity, paternity, or medical leave? These situations are not posted or promoted as often either so this is why reaching out to people on LinkedIn in your industry makes sense.

I suggest creating a target list of companies in your industry and building your network in these organizations. You may already have a robust network in which case you will want to communicate with your contacts more regularly. Also, if there is a professional/trade association related to your industry, the board members will often know about hiring and people leaving their jobs. 

I look forward to hearing back from you with more information.

Take care,

Julie

Hi Julie,

I submitted my resume last week to the resume review service, so you should be able to get a good idea of what I did for a living - assuming I am the only Jennifer who recently submitted a resume! It has been a struggle to even work part-time due to chemo brain, and I had to scale back significantly on my responsibilities. In a sense this would have to be somewhat a career change, as there is no way I can take on a similar position at a new company with the same level of responsibility I had previously, and considering the fact that learning anything new takes longer and I am limited on how much I can take in at a time, just starting any new job will have an unusual level of difficulty.

I have been reaching out to some people in my network, but the answer is always that the companies they work for do not have part-time positions. I will continue to reach out, but was mostly wondering what the best approach is to do when I am approached by a recruiter that found me on LinkedIn or from a referral that may not have mentioned I need part-time work. I was wondering if it makes sense to have initial conversations with recruiters and possibly interviews before broaching the part-time issue.

Thank you,
Jennifer