Hi Randy,

Thanks for writing to us. I’m sorry to hear that your cancer diagnosis temporarily sidelined your professional pursuits, but it’s great that you’re feeling ready to pursue a new career path after putting in years of hard work towards your degree!

I’ve reached out to our career coaches to get further insight into your questions, but in the meantime, the following resources might be helpful:

• Resume review service: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/resume_reviews/new
  


• Resume & Cover Letter advice: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/resume_reviews/new
  


• Job Search webinar: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/job-search
  


• Career Change Webinar: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/career-change
  


• Job Search Toolkit (2nd Edition): http://www.cancerandcareers.org/publication_orders/new (features advice on improving resumes, cover letters; interview and networking tips and other useful tools to help you during a job search


• Article on job-hunting after cancer treatment: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/looking-for-work/exploring-your-options/job-hunting-after-cancer-treatment
  

I’d also like to mention that CAC offers a Professional Development Micro-Grant program that provides cancer patients and survivors professional development opportunities to build or enhance their skillsets. Although the application period for the 2018 grant year has closed, we would be happy to notify you when the next application opens (sometime this coming fall)! More information can be found here: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/resource/micro-grants

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at cancerandcareers@cew.org or 646-929-8032.

A coach will be in touch soon!

Kind regards, 
Nicole Franklin, MPH 
Manager of Programs 
Cancer and Careers

Dear Randy,

I am so sorry about your frustration and am glad that you feel well enough to explore and start a new career.

Essentially you are talking about making a career change which many people are successful at doing despite the circumstances that led them to need to do this.

I would take some self-assessments to identify your key skills and competencies, your values, and to frame the lifestyle you want to lead. There is a lot of similarity between restaurant management and human resources (if this is even what you want to do). You have recruited, interviewed, hired, and reviewed employee's performance. You have managed large numbers of people which involves employee relations and training. 

You have P&L, budgeting, and cost containment experience as well as branding experience. I could go on and on. Once you are clear about what you are willing to do in your next job, you can research actual jobs to read the postings and descriptions to see which types of jobs are in alignment. 

I wrote a book called I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work which could be very helpful to you in this discovery process.

Once you know what you want to do, it is then time to start networking, go on informational meetings, and hone your resume and LinkedIn profile to add the appropriate keywords and accomplishments that will garner attention from recruiters and companies.

I hope this is helpful as a beginning!

Take care,

Julie