What is terrific about job sharing is that there is no one way that everyone must job share. There is no one best way — each has it's pros and cons, some being more direct than others while others build valuable skills you will use *in* your job share on Day One!

That being said, often we like someone to show us the exact best way to do something. 

In each lesson in Module 2, we give you each path to job sharing:

1. Job sharing your full-time position
2. Take parental leave, come back in a job share
3. Career change as a job share
4. Relaunch after a career break into a job share

Within each path are several pathways, or ways to job share. We will give you the advantages and challenges to each along with the step-by-step way to create your job share, which sometimes even includes landing a J-O-B in the process. 

Even if you’re pretty sure you know how you’ll job share, I want you to go through each lesson. Don’t skip ahead. The reason I teach all possible ways to enter a job share is that a career is not a straight line. Obstacles, pivots, and unforeseen circumstances happen. People move in and out of jobs and so do partners. 

Module 2 is specifically designed for you now and later, so years down the line when your work or life situation changes, you can deftly move in and out of job sharing at the exact moment you want to. 

Your Job Share Superpower

One of the hardest things job sharers face is feeling stuck in a job or even a job share that's no longer working for them.

Many end up staying in a stagnant position or a toxic workplace or even partnership for far too long due to the flexibility and the income job sharing has given them. 

Yes, my friend, I have been there too. That’s why learning each path and pathway, and knowing how to decide which to take, will be your superpower for career fulfillment and job share happiness now and down the line. The lessons to follow will give you absolute clarity to choose which path and pathway is right for you.

Here are the four paths to job sharing:

• How to job share in a full-time position at your current company, whether in your current job or applying for a promotion even as a team. 
• How to take maternity leave and come back in a job share. Take it from me, starting your job share during your leave means priceless peace of mind while you soak up time with your newborn baby. It’s one of my personal favs and the way I started my second job share. 
• How to take your second shift to make a career change in a new position or at a new company job sharing. A stellar strategy to bypass landing the interview woes with built-in upskilling, thanks to your partner.  
• How to relaunch from a career break into a job share. Maybe the most brilliant of them all. If you’d like to bypass ageism and career step backs due to resume gaps — while scoring on-the-job training to quickly onramp with a supportive partner.

The final lesson will help you solidify your decision for which path and pathway to take.

You might be tempted to skip ahead to the path you’ve got an inkling is right for you. Don’t do it. Trust me, there is a specific reason for learning each before deciding which to take and you’ll miss the big picture if you do.

In Lesson 1, you'll learn two pathways to do this: A) How to Interview with a Fellow Employee for a Promotion Together and B) How to Interview with a Partner from Outside of the Company for a Promotion

If you validated your job share in Module 1 and found that in order to afford to job share initially, you need to make more overall in your position, this might be a good option for you. Be aware, it will take deft skills to pull it off, but we will share ways to do so.

Your best option may be if the Ideal Partner Candidate (IPC) you want to job share with is in a similar role as the position you want to land at the competition. 

The more competitive the market and higher up the rung, the more difficult it is to steal top talent, especially without a sizable competitive salary. Your job share could be your company's competitive advantage to bring in top talent, even if the salary for the overall full-time position is not higher. 

A big win for your company, but the bigger win could be for you: Your new job share partner will professionally develop you in your new role while you on-ramp them into a new company, culture, and office setting quickly. WIN-WIN.

As we've shared, no path or pathway to job sharing is the easiest or the best. They are as individual as you and your specific situation. 

However, job sharing your current full-time position with a partner outside of the organization can be the most direct path to job sharing in less time, especially if you have the trust and respect of your manager. Depending on the situation and the trust factor of your manager, another option that could be equally direct is job sharing with a trusted and respected fellow co-worker.

This is a great question! We understand the stress of sharing your big news and your desire to job share with your boss can be tricky if you plan to take parental leave, especially if you are going to be a new mother.

Plenty of research shows women face career setbacks when they become parents while men are promoted. If you are a new father, let this buoy you to take your full leave and get your job share!

Planning to job share when you take parental leave is a brilliant idea! One that will not only give you peace of mind, but your manager too! They may even jump at the idea. Who better to cover for you than your new job share partner who will have it 💯!

We know navigating both BIG MOVES might be tricky. It's why we've partnered with Alea Frankwick of FrugalNesting who created 2 guides exclusively for JSA students in our Resource Area: 

• Quick Start Mini Guide to Planning Your Parental Leave
• Tips for Sharing the News with Your Boss 

Use these guides and our training in Lesson 2 to deftly Take Parental Leave, Come Back in a Job Share to experience the best of both worlds — time with your new baby and a fulfilling supported career with your awesome partner! 

Are you kidding? There are SO MANY.

No matter the size of your company, the first worry your boss will have when you reveal you’re pregnant or going on parental leave is how your work will be completed during your absence. The smaller the business, the harder this can be for an employer. 

Generally, this means your work is being completed by one of three ways:

• Other employees are asked to do all or a portion of your work, paid or unpaid,

• Your boss is directly covering your work, or

• Your company has brought in a contractor to temporarily fill your position until you return.

In all three instances, the people temporarily covering your work do not have your institutional knowledge, client relationships, or depth of background into your projects. 

It’s unlikely they have the time to learn and implement your day-to-day systems and because they are temporarily doing the work, they’re unlikely to do it well. While well-meaning, they just don’t have the incentive or the know-how. In fact, if they’re an unpaid employee asked to cover your work, it can even create resentment when you return.

Job Share Tip: Job sharing helps your employer with continuous coverage while ensuring work is performed at the highest level and in stellar condition for your return during your leave.

We do. Piloting a job share as a trial (for example, a 6-month trial) is a sure-fire way to win approval from a manager and company. 

It feels less risky for the manager and company, with an agreement that if it doesn't work out, no harm, no foul. It also brings a higher degree of accountability to your new job share for both partners to make it work (which we know will be no problemo since job share teams are highly accountable to one another and their role). 

Confidence Boost

It can be really hard to see yourself as a professional when you’ve spent years, sometimes a decade or more away from the workplace, living in yoga pants. Finding your Ideal Partner Candidate and planning your job share together will boost your confidence and help you re-engage with your professional self.

Make-Up Lost Income & Career Growth

Not only is finding a position and pay that values your experience an uphill battle, but ageism thrown-in can make it seem impossible. That’s why finding a partner who is already in a senior position to job share with, is priceless to help you make up the deficit in your retirement and long-term income earnings. 

Champion DEI At Minimal Cost

Increasingly, employers are interested in programs to recapture educated, talented women who’ve left the workforce. The problem lies in upskilling and training them. If this is a priority for the company, it’s a strong selling point for your job share — one of the fastest, lowest-cost solutions to training a returner with hands-on professional development.

We always advise future job sharers to pilot their job share as a pilot for the green light. But if you are introducing your job share during a parental leave, proposing it as a pilot is a must. Let’s be honest, your boss needs to figure out how to prevent loss of results or revenue during your leave of absence. 

Make them feel good about this solution — your job share — by allowing your company to try on an innovative talent practice while ensuring continuity of work during your leave at very little cost. They’ll be trying out your job share partner risk-free and ultimately, sold on your job share by the time you rejoin them to begin working as a job share team. 

It also gives your partner space to learn the culture and role themselves first.

OK wonderful! YES, there is one pathway that is easier: Finding your job share partner in your dream job.

But first, we've got to have a convo! Changing careers is HARD. You might be feeling nervous about interviewing after years off of the job market or changing the plan at this stage. And let’s talk about the elephant. If you’re near your forties or older, ageism is a thing.

But I have very good news for you. Job sharing is a genius way to pivot into a brand new career. And if you’re on the more mature side, it can save you great pains in rejection due to age discrimination, a tight job market, or the perception you don’t have the skillset for the job. 

The best part? You don't have to do it alone. How great will it be to do it with your partner? (A: So great!)

Plus, one silver lining of the global pandemic is that mass layoffs have made career moves the norm for many folks. A career change no longer brings raised eyebrows from employers.

On the downside, it can be harder and take longer to job share this way. But don’t fret, this is because you are landing a J-O-B in the process. It takes up-front skills, like interviewing and strategizing, to get the job share while you get a job. You can do it! And it can be faster and easier than changing careers solo.

Here the pathways are, in order of ease of entry:

1. Find your job share partner in your dream job.  
2. Find your dream job, then your job share partner.
3. Find your job share partner, then find your dream job together.

For the brave of heart (I know you are!), here is the reason you might decide, "I'm going for it!" — You’ll gain so much in the process that will uniquely make you a better job share team. You can do it if you treat it with the same care, focus, and commitment you would a paid job. 

Plus, you’ll have a partner to interview and land the job with, which can make a normally grueling job hunt bearable. Just like job sharing, divide and conquer the interview process, lean into your strengths and support each other as you strategize how to do it. 

When you win, you’ll do it as a team and it’ll make your job share so much sweeter. And if you pull it off, you’ll land your dream job at your dream company with your dream partner.

We created an 8-step approach to prepare you if you choose this option. Follow it to a tee and you might find a career partner and professional fulfillment in your dream job for decades even.

We've partnered with some incredible businesses that specialize in helping humans make big career moves! Here are some resources for extra support:

• Check out JSA Resources Career Change area
• Check out JSA partner discounts with career coaches who specialize in big moves!
• Check out JSA partner Coaching 4 Good expert coach Sharanya Rao's exclusive training Interview A GPS for Career Transition
• Check out our favorite places to find flexible work opps!

Finding the right partner is key to every job share’s success, but it’s even more important to yours. Your partner will lead the process and confidently sell not only the job share but you to their boss. They’ll need to frame the conversation in terms of the skills you’ll bring and their willingness to upskill you on-the-job.  

In addition, they need to be excited to work with you and ready to train you. This is your partner’s unique opportunity to share their knowledge to ensure a similar approach and philosophy for the job you’ll share. This is why making sure they have a flexible and willing attitude matters. 

It’s why I want you to aim for five (5) Ideal Partner Candidates or three (3) who you feel are very solid when you do this work in Module 3.

We've partnered with some incredible women-led businesses who specialize in leveling up caregivers who are ready to relaunch their careers! There's no more brilliant way to do it than in a job share, but we know how important extra support is to get there!

• Check out JSA Resources Returning from a Career Break area with Prowess Project's Finding Joy in Your Career course
• Check out JSA partner discounts with career coaches who specialize in returners!
• Check out JSA Resources Interviewing area and JSA partner Terawatt coach Katheryn Johnson's exclusive training Interview Mastery: Confidence & Credibility Through Non-Verbal Communication
• Check out our favorite places to find flexible work opps!

In Module 2, Lesson 5 you will select the path and pathway you’ll keep in mind when doing the work to find your job share partner in Module 3.

But should you experience a boulder you can’t budge, it’s okay to shift your plan. We know it might be frustrating, but remember, any setback can lead to positive change. Doing it with your future partner will make it easier to handle and all worthwhile.

That's why you need to choose several backup paths and pathways by the end of Module 2. It will help you stay flexible and smoothly transition to a new path and/or pathway if needed. The important thing is to keep going!