By Carol Park, Special Project Coordinator-Returnship
Last year, The City of Frederick launched the nation’s first Returnship program, an initiative designed to support experienced professionals who have a resume gap in returning to the workforce. I fit the bill as someone with many years of professional experience on my resume, but who had intentionally stepped out of the job market to decide what was next for me. When I began applying for jobs again, I found myself stymied in how to apply my wide range of skills in order to position myself competitively. I applied for the City of Frederick Project Coordinator Returnship with the Department of Economic Development despite having no experience with Economic Development or local government, but I was intrigued by the unique opportunity. When I accepted the job, I didn’t know what to expect or exactly what I would be doing, but for me, that was part of the adventure!
City of Frederick: Returnships
“Returnships are one of the many ways we’re reimagining workforce opportunity in Frederick. Seeing Carol’s journey has reinforced our commitment to building programs that welcome experience, embrace career pivots, and support our community’s diverse talent.” - Ericka Rohrbaugh, Manager of Opportunity and Transformation.
Within DED, I was welcomed by my colleagues as a member of the team and eagerly supported by Mary Ford-Naill, my immediate supervisor, and if I had any concerns that my skills might stagnate in a new-to-me field, those were dispelled immediately. The “returnship” model allowed the space and flexibility I needed to explore how my previous experience might apply to future work, and the sheer variety of the work of DED provided the opportunity to see how those skills might be used in widely different contexts.
Carol attending a ribbon cutting for a local business.
My two children were always curious to hear about mom’s “field trips,” as I jokingly called them: one day, it would be learning about our Black business community while tabling with Kennedi Wilson at the Soul Street Black Business Resource Fair; another, it was hearing the hopes and successes of local women business owners at the “Coffee & Connections” event hosted by the Maryland Women’s Business Center; still another, it was fumbling with frozen fingers to take pictures for the kids of an excavator removing a roof at the start of a “demolition day”—during our early December cold snap! I handed out hard hats to busloads of High School students who were exploring the construction career at the MCCEI Construction Career Day, welcomed entrepreneurs to the joint DED/FCOED Innovation Through Collaboration in BioTech networking event, and flitted about City Hall during the Chamber of Commerce Business Card Exchange, doing whatever needed done. In the midst of this activity, I connected with other professionals, expanded my knowledge and understanding of local government, and took ownership of multiple projects to support the DED team in their everyday work.
Since I had no previous direct experience with Economic Development, all of this resulted in an experiential understanding of the meaning of “transferable skills,” a critical element for anyone seeking to shift career paths. I suspect I stumbled across a rare opportunity—especially while being paid!
As this chapter in my life closes, I am thrilled to begin a new chapter as Director of Development at a small non-profit dedicated to developing community leaders for peace. I came to the City of Frederick not quite sure where I would end up, but I can say without a doubt that my time here helped provide the confidence I needed to risk blazing a new path.
Interested in learning more about future returnship, apprenticeship or internship opportunities at the City of Frederick? Reach out today to 301.600.6360 or businessinfrederick@cityoffrederickmd.gov and we will connect you!