AUSTIN — In the U.S., women are the primary caregivers, often quitting their jobs to care for children, ailing parents or relatives.
But when they want to re-enter the workforce, many have a hard time doing so.
That's why the non-profit group, HERdacity, held a women's LinkedIn and career networking workshop on Wednesday in downtown Austin.
The group's goal is to help attendees learn best practices when it comes to their resumes that will attract recruiters, all while networking with other women.
Cindy Hatton was one of 13 women who attended. She sat in the back and listened intently. She learned she needed to update her LinkedIn resume after discovering that 90 percent of recruiters use the job site by searching specific terms.
"Making sure that we have information in our title line in our linked in profile that are key words," said Hatton.
The 54-year-old is once again ready to enter the job force after taking 10 years off to raise two children. The former pharmaceutical sales representative also had to care for her father who had stage four lung cancer. Looking for a job hasn't been easy.
"It's been difficult trying to transition back in not knowing what employers are looking for," Hatton said.
HERdacity President Mary Flanagan said just because women take time off to care for loved ones doesn't mean they don't have skills.
"Women don't give themselves enough credit for stuff, right? If I can raise $200,000 with absolutely no money, if I could pull that off in the corporate world, I'd be a magician right? But women do this all the time through their kids' schools or their volunteer activities," said Flanagan.
Flanagan said the workshop's goal was to help these women put those skills into searchable terms on their resumes.
She suggested using a lot of details.
For Hatton, it was a lot to take in.
"A lot has changed about the job search," Hatton said.
Another piece of advice Flanagan gave?: Do not include your college graduation date on your LinkedIn account. The president of HERdacity said that's because of ageism, especially in the tech industry.
For more information, visit HERdacity's website.