Hitting the pause button on a career is a tough decision people may make for a variety of reasons: starting a family, caring for elderly or sick relatives, or attending school. Restarting a career with a gap on your resume can be even tougher.

Lear developed the JumpStart program to help mid-career professionals update their skills, return to work, and pursue new opportunities. More than a return-to-work or placement program, JumpStart is designed to help people succeed wherever their careers take them. 

The JumpStart program provides the opportunity to develop real-world skills combined with one-on-one coaching to help participants throughout their career journey. During the paid program, participants receive custom onboarding and orientation sessions, professional development, and technical training. To help them succeed as job candidates, Lear provides headshots and offers practice on interviewing techniques, coaching on resume writing, and instructions on how to set up or update a LinkedIn page. Roundtables provide exposure to leaders across the company. 

One of the most effective elements of the program are the weekly coffee meetups. Casual conversations help build a sense of unity. Even though participants work with different teams, the weekly meetups give them a support group where they can discuss what they learned and create a built-in network.

Recognizing that stepping back into the workforce can create logistical issues for many families, we also designed the program’s structure to be as flexible as possible. Participants can work as many hours as they like. Remote work is available, although we encourage them to come into the office at least one day a week to help them build teamworking and networking skills.

Participation is not limited by past experience. In fact, prior experience in the automotive industry is not required. We find that many skills are transferable. One participant was encouraged to think about changing careers from insurance to purchasing. It was something he’d never considered before, and he was grateful for the opportunity.

Although the JumpStart program does not promise a full-time position at Lear, past participants now support IT, talent acquisition and purchasing at Lear’s headquarters in Southfield, Michigan. After completing JumpStart, one participant said, “Before this program, I had to lower my expectations. I was an IT professional, but with a gap on my resume, I could not even get an interview. I was working in a middle school kitchen. Now I am working in a field I love.”