KIRO NEWSRADIO

ReBoot Seattle gives skills to moms returning to careers

Sep 20, 2016, 6:30 AM | Updated: Oct 11, 2024, 9:57 am

Reboot Seattle...

(Courtesty of rebootaccel.com)

(Courtesty of rebootaccel.com)

After four years of being a stay-at-home mom, Nancy Jensen’s son marched off to kindergarten last week. Now it was time for Jensen to reboot — ReBoot Seattle.

“I thought, ooh, I think I better go get a job!” she said. “When I went on interviews I have a good poker face and people would say, ‘Oh, are you using Techology X or Technology Y?’ And I would say, ‘Oh, yes, of course. That’s very important!’ Then they would go on a break and I would go to the lady’s room and Google these things crazily, like, oh my god, what is this? And so it dawned on me that I needed to skill up.”

Jensen needed to get her mind back into the career zone and, with technology changing so quickly, she needed to know what tech skills to update and what employers are looking for these days. A friend told her about ReBoot Career Accelerator for Women in Silicon Valley, started by two moms who wanted to reenter the work force after raising their children. After taking the course in the Bay Area, she decided that Seattle women could benefit from this as well.

ReBoot Seattle

So, with Jensen as the newly appointed program director, this Wednesday is the launch of the first ReBoot Seattle.

“Reboot Seattle is an eight week training program for women who are returning to the work force or are looking to make a career pivot,” Jensen said. “You get career counseling, but mostly it’s technical training on things like social media, LinkedIn, how do you use cloud computing?”

“What’s the right way to present yourself?” she continued. “One of the things that happens when you go on interviews, more and more companies are asking for things like presentations and demos. These are skills that people need.”

Jensen said it’s not exclusively for women, but that’s who ends up filling 99 – 100 percent of the seats, since women are the ones who tend to take time off to care for a small child or an elderly parent. Women from all fields attend, and it’s not just about beefing up on tech skills.

“A great deal of it is confidence,” Jensen said. “A lot of CEOs and hiring managers will tell you that the biggest barrier that a lot of women face when they go back to work is not their skills. They have skills. The ReBoot cohorts typically have 10 years of professional experience, they’re highly educated, very successful. But they lack confidence. So we give them this training as a way to boost their confidence back up.”

On the ReBoot Seattle website, it says that 43 percent of working moms pause their careers and 90 percent of them will want to go back to work eventually.

“Some absolutely just want to go back to what they were doing,” Jensen said. “But most say, ‘I want to take what I learned when I was on my career break and I want to combine that with my professional experience and then move forward.’ I want to say that 70 percent of the people at Reboot want to do that in some way, shape or form. Some are going to work part-time, some are entrepreneurs, some of looking to use this in their volunteer or community work.”

The 8-week ReBoot Seattle course starts this Wednesday and there’s also a one week accelerated course coming this winter.

KIRO Newsradio

Photo: Citizens march in Seattle to commemorate MLK Day....

James Lynch

Marches held throughout Western Washington to commemorate MLK Day

On this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, rallies and marches were held all over Western Washington.

18 hours ago

Image: President Donald Trump finishes his inaugural address as Vice President JD Vance applauds du...

The MyNorthwest staff with wire reports

Trump inaugural speech: President rips past leaders, makes promises; KIRO hosts react

Trump inaugural speech: The president’s second address contained an indictment of the country he inherits and promises to fix its problems.

18 hours ago

Photo: Attendees watch at an Inauguration parade as a screen shows President-elect Donald Trump tak...

Julia Dallas

‘Like winning the Super Bowl:’ KIRO Newsradio host gets firsthand look at Trump inauguration

John, host of "The John Curley Show," on KIRO Newsradio flew to Washington D.C. to attend the Trump inauguration.

22 hours ago

Image: President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump are greeted by President Joe Biden and first ...

Steve Coogan

‘Trump will deliver a strong message:’ KIRO, KTTH hosts offer Inauguration Day thoughts

It is Inauguration Day and Donald Trump who won another White House term in November, will be sworn in Monday as the 47th U.S. president.

1 day ago

Everett stabbing...

Sam Campbell and Luke Duecy, KIRO Newsradio

Boy, 13, stabbed near Everett school; person of interest was in custody on separate charge, report says

A 13-year-old boy was walking to class in Everett when the Everett Police Department said an unknown man committed the stabbing.

1 day ago

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza react as they gath...

Tom Brock

Local Jewish leaders “overwhelmed with emotion” but not celebrating release of three Israeli hostages

Local leaders of Seattle's Jewish community are reacting to this weekend's release of three Israeli hostages.

2 days ago

ReBoot Seattle gives skills to moms returning to careers