Description
- Typical Scenario: Many women return to the workforce after raising kids, and it's a prevalent and respected trend. Harrison shares a remarkable story of a woman who, after raising three children, returned to Davis Polk as an attorney after 22 years, showcasing the industry's acceptance.
- Positive Perspective: Law firms often view mothers returning to work as positive for several reasons. They presume that these individuals won't have more children, ensuring stability. Additionally, they recognize the need to support existing children, making candidates more focused and committed.
- Reduced Distractions: Moms returning to work are perceived as having fewer distractions, already married, having a family, and possessing established social networks. This stability is seen as an asset by law firms.
- Presumed Stability Benefits: Law firms appreciate the presumed stability that comes with candidates who have homes, properties, cars, and an established social network. This stability suggests a lower likelihood of job-hopping, increasing the candidate's attractiveness.
- Gratitude and Loyalty: Returning candidates are expected to be grateful for the opportunity, fostering a sense of loyalty and dedication to their work. Law firms often believe that candidates who appreciate the chance to return to work will be more committed and hardworking.
- Realistic Outlook: Harrison emphasizes that while returning to work after raising children might not work for everyone, it has proven to be a successful and positive experience for many individuals.
- Neutral Age Consideration: Acknowledging that age might be a factor, Harrison underlines the overall positive impact of returning to the workforce after raising kids, highlighting the potential benefits for candidates despite age considerations.
Transcript:
Okay. I've been home raising three kids after working full-time in a boutique firm for eight years. What mistakes should I avoid, and how can I emphasize I can learn fast? Okay. This is very common; by the way, lots of women have children and then come back to the workforce. It's widespread.
One firm that I thought is, it's one of the most unusual stories I ever heard, but Davis Polk had, I'm not going to tell you the person was, but. This woman had not stopped working there as a second-year associate, had raised three children when the last one turned 18, asked if she could come back, and they said, sure, this is 22 years later or something.
It was just incredible. What the heck? What a great firm. And you got to hands off to hats off to Davis Polk. But the point is that the people. I respect women who have kids and want to return to the workforce. There's a bunch of reasons for that. One is that they know they're not going to leave to have kids again, but also, they presume that they need to support their kids now because they need to put them through college, and they need to start saving for retirement if they haven't been working.
Law firms love it when moms come back; they get more interviews, they get them, they do well, and I don't think it's a problem at all. In the past, I would have thought, oh, law firms don't like that. But in my experience, it's a positive thing. So, I'll just list these reasons why law firms love it.
When moms return, they will probably not have kids again. So, they'll stick around. They, which is not a bad thing. I have to be very careful here. They will not have kids again. They will need to support the kids. They will; they won't have distractions. They will have fewer distractions.
They will, meaning they're already married. Already married, have kids, et cetera, whatever, et cetera. And again, I'm not taking sides here politically. I'm just saying these are some things people can say, what else they will, they will not, or just think about how to answer them.
They will, yeah, they will. Be thankful if it's an opportunity. There are tons of reasons why they like this, but it works. So, it did. I used to think it didn't, but now it benefits people who have done this. In my experience, they get more interviews than people not similarly situated.
I don't. I'm assuming that these are some of the reasons. I wonder if these are all the reasons. I'm just putting myself in the shoes of a law firm. They also, and I guess the big one would do, you would say it would be, there's going to be presumed stability means, and this is a big deal to law firms, presumed stability means house.
They have a house, which means they have a house, a house, or property; they have what else, cars, friends, networks, social networks, all these things that mean the person is established. They're unlikely to take off, that's the idea, and they're more likely to stay. They're more likely to believe that and these, by these messages, if you're a woman watching this, I'm just telling you, this is how it works when you come back, if you're, I don't know, but it applies to everyone.
And then you'll be thankful for the opportunity. So, it means for the opportunity and, therefore, be more loyal and work harder all that stuff. I want everyone to understand the logic behind this and why it's positive. So, there's nothing negative about it.
It may be negative that you're older or whatever your age, but at the same time, I think that this actually can work very well. Now, does it work for everyone? No, but it can definitely; it does work for many people.
