Arthi has worn many hats, from IT project manager to UN volunteer. During the pandemic, she took a career break to care for her parents, volunteer for water and sanitation hygiene projects with the United Nations, and mobilize vital blood donation drives. So how has the Career Relaunch program helped her harness that unique experience?

“The mentorship, acceptance, and support have been phenomenal,” she shares. “My CV is not very conventional, but no one here questioned whether I was serious about my career because I’d taken a different path; I use those learnings every day. In fact, Oracle believes that diverse experience enriches the work that we do.”

Arthi credits her team at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure for their amazing support, especially Sathesh Murthy (Vice President of Product Development), her manager, Bhuban Das, and colleague Sandhya Vasu. “Sathesh is quite passionate about the work we do and the Career Relaunch program, and his faith keeps me going.”

Arthi believes that this supportive workplace culture can really help career returners succeed. She adds, “Inclusivity is a way of life here. Everyone has a seat at the table. You just need to claim it.”

After taking a career break to spend time with her family, Binu faced a challenge. She had spent 21 years building her career from software developer to senior manager. So where to begin again?

With the Career Relaunch program, Binu found the mentorship, training, and support she needed to get back in her groove as a Senior Software Development Manager. “It was a fantastic experience. And the other thing was the community. When you have 20 career returners joining the program together, we could ask each other questions and form some friendships.”

Her advice to candidates ready to return to the workplace? “Keep yourself abreast of the latest technologies, and don’t hesitate to apply for positions even if you don’t tick all the boxes – you never know behind which door your opportunity lies. I see women in leadership positions here, and I see the respect that they get.”

After a 19-year career break, Dawn wondered if she’d ever re-find her place in the fast-paced tech industry. Then she found our relaunch program.

“During the program we were introduced to amazing people who had returned to Oracle after an extended career break,” she shares. “It was really encouraging to hear about their careers and what it was like to work for Oracle.”

Now a data center technician at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Dawn’s excited to learn the systems and technologies that will allow her—and our customers—to really thrive. “There’s a real sense of teamwork at Oracle,” she shares. “The customer is the top priority so it’s all about gaining the right skills to make sure their issues are successfully resolved.”

Her advice for others considering a career relaunch: “Sometimes we can get too comfortable and only see ourselves in defined roles. Don’t overlook any opportunity,” she cautions. “Honestly, just go for it: Apply for a role even if your skillset doesn’t directly match the requirements, because attitude is just as important as experience.”

Elizabeth left her job on Wall Street after the birth of her second son and spent seven years volunteering at a non-profit. She has since channelled her passion for doing good into a career in corporate social responsibility at Oracle.

“My resume shows multiple volunteering experiences from leadership teams, to founding a school committee,” she says. “These experiences show up first on my resume, not at the end. I treat them like a job, owning the break in my career.”

She’s also been deeply involved in designing our Career Relaunch program. “I think I have a unique perspective that’s adding a lot of value to our long term goals. It feels empowering to be leveraging my volunteering experience—it means I can earn a salary doing what I love.”

Oracle values relaunchers’ hard-earned talents. “Creativity, flexibility, time management,” she lists. “The hard skills you can teach, the soft skills are the jewels that returners bring with them. These can’t be taught—they’re developed and honed over time.”

Renae’s journey is typical of other military spouses—career restarts and employment challenges that result from frequent moving. She overcame these obstacles as one of the first military spouses hired into Oracle’s Veteran Internship Program, and is just as passionate about helping others tap into their resiliency.

Now a full-time technical program manager at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Renae continues to advocate for military spouses and the amazing qualities they bring to the workplace. “So many of us are unemployed or underemployed, and yet the only thing that sets us apart from our peers is the careers of our spouses. We possess hopes and dreams, the ability to start over repeatedly, and a drive to create our own success,” she adds.

Ranae’s experience as a relauncher has taught her the importance of knowing her worth. “Many times, we take jobs just to take jobs and not really to advance at the rate that we should. Especially as a military spouse, and sometimes just as women, this is the norm. Knowing your worth gives you the confidence to stand up for what you deserve to ultimately create a happier you.”

When Sandhya graduated in 2016, she began to build her career with Microsoft. After taking a year’s career break to care for her son, she was ready to return to work. Sandhya had heard about Oracle’s start up culture through friends, and decided to take a chance.

“I’m very new to cloud engineering,” she admits. “The Career Relaunch program gave me a structured training course to help make that transition. Now I’m fine-tuning my skills and becoming a more independent engineer.”

She credits the amazing support of her team and a strong support system at home with helping her overcome any self-doubt about relaunching her career. “There are so many questions that make you doubt your own talent, but it's important to believe in yourself and take that first step. Once I got back to work, I realized that this is where I was meant to be.”