After struggling to return to the workforce after devoting over 15 years to raising children, Tracy Peña, a college-educated former news anchor, was at her wit’s end. She had tried so many things, including applying to roles where she was clearly overqualified, and began leaving out her education and experience in hopes of being hired. She was even turned down by Chick fil-A.

Eventually she learned about returnships, paid internship programs for folks who have been out of the workforce for some time, often for caregiving. She typed returnship into Indeed.com, and “like a blessing just straight from the sky,” stumbled upon the Employee Engagement Coordinator role at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas).

In September of 2022, she was hired! In the last year she has trained in three different areas of the Human Resources department across the bank, putting her strong can-do attitude, organizational and planning skills to work, building out employee appreciation events, conducting applicant screenings, reviewing candidate resumes, and more.

“Every aspect of recruitment — I’ve had a chance to be a part of,” Peña said. “It’s just been an incredible chance to grow some new skills.”

As her time at FHLB Dallas ends, Peña is excited for the future with her new experience and skills, and is passionate about the value of returnships.

“I just think we need to get the word out. People too often think that… if you can’t find work, it’s all a woman’s problem,” she said.

“The reason why we need returnships is because we’re all part of a community. Women do most of the caregiving. We are the ones that take care of the children, primarily. We are the ones that care for spouses that are ill or injured. We are the ones that care for aging parents and grandparents. And so, if the kids are doing well, we all benefit. It’s a community thing. And we need to support women and we need to say go ahead, get your degrees. Do it, and it’s not going to be a waste.”

We couldn’t agree more, Tracy, and are thrilled to tell all of you more about FHLB Dallas below, and showcase their programs designed to bring women back into the workforce.

IT IS YOUR TURN! 

xo, Stacey

DISCOVER RETURNSHIPS AND RESTARTS AT FHLB Dallas

FHLB Dallas offers two programs to encourage women to re-enter the workforce with upskilling, development and mentoring: Restarts and Returnships. The key difference is the Restart program is a job offer with benefits, and the Returnship program is a paid internship for a dedicated period of time. Both programs provide solid development plans, internal mentoring and external coaching to help get employees up to speed on the latest developments in your specific career.

FHLB Dallas is hiring for these roles, and encourages you to apply!

Employee Engagement Coordinator – Returnship

Collateral Verification Analyst I

Explore all open roles at FHLB Dallas here »

ABOUT FHLB Dallas

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) is a part of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, created by an Act of Congress and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on July 22, 1932, to provide capital for mortgage funding during the Great Depression.

The System has 11 banks around the United States, serving as an affordable, flexible source of funding for some 7,000 financial institutions. FHLB Dallas is one of these 11 banks.

  • FHLB Dallas offers a plethora of learning and development opportunities not only for its returnship and restart employees, but also all its full-time employees. We offer several workshops and professional development sessions around interoffice skills such as critical thinking, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, communications skills as well as technical skills like PowerPoint, Excel, PowerAutomate, PowerBi, SQL and more. Additionally, FHLB Dallas provides a great culture that includes monthly employee appreciation and a hybrid work schedule.
  • Benefits include a hybrid work environment, tuition stipends for children, personal happiness day stipends, monthly employee appreciation events, tuition reimbursement, certification reimbursement,
  • Employee resource groups include a walking club, cooking club, running club, gardening club, toastmasters club and an emerging professionals club.