Life at Cadence Blogs

Sanjita Chokshi’s Journey

There are many reasons why working professionals take time off from their careers. It can be a daunting experience to re-enter the workforce after a long break. To help ease the transition, Cadence offers a 16-week returnship program for electrical engineering professionals. The program consists of technical training, mentoring and coaching support, hands-on projects, and opportunities to interact with customers so that returnees feel prepared to continue their careers.

I am thrilled to share another success story in this returnship journey spotlight of one of our returnees, Sanjita Chokshi, who is now employed at Cadence as a full-time Lead Application Engineer.

Prior to leaving the workforce, Sanjita took on multiple engineering roles at high-tech companies. As a mom of two, she left the workforce to care for her children during important transitions in their lives. During that time, Sanjita continued to keep up with the industry trends by attending a number of events centered around technology and the semiconductor industry. Through her extensive networking, she met many technology leaders who shared their experience of how the industry was transforming.

We interviewed Sanjita about her experience in the returnship program. Here’s what she had to say about the program and why returnship programs are instrumental for professionals who are looking to re-enter the workforce.

What were some of the challenges you experienced as you were looking to re-enter the workforce after your career break?

I would say the biggest one was to get into the mindset of being at work again after being away from the corporate world to raise a family. Once I addressed that challenge, next was finding a starting point and catching up on the technology.

What did you think of the returnship program?

When I came across the returnship program at Cadence, I knew this was the right program for me. It was a great experience. Building on what I already knew, the training gave me a platform for a quick ramp-up. Cadence’s management team trusted me to follow up with real-life projects, giving me confirmation and confidence that I am ready to take on the challenges of current-day technology.

What skills were you hoping to gain being part of this program and do you feel that you accomplished that?

My goal was to get back into chip design, and the returnship program offered training and time to ramp up on that while being coached from great people at Cadence.  

What do you feel was most valuable about the returnship program?

People! Cadence’s management team has created a great culture of collaboration. The notion of One Cadence–One Team trickles down to every level. The support I felt in my journey back to work was priceless. I have found a great guide and mentor in my manager, who made this experience very rewarding for me.

If more returnship opportunities existed or were the norm, do you think working professionals would be more inclined to take a break due to caregiving?

Given the number of people who have told me, “I wish I knew [returnship programs] like this would be available,” or “I wish I had the courage to [take a career break],” I would say, definitely yes. I know a number of women who have taken the courageous step of pressing pause on their careers. Sometimes, the stress of a high-demand job while trying to raise family makes things almost impossible to balance. If options were available to restart their careers, employees may choose to take a break in search of a better balance.

Given the positive feedback we have received from our returnees about the program, Cadence opened up additional returnship roles. Please refer to our current open returnship positions. To learn more about our Returnship Program, read our previous blogs:

• The Returnship Journey: Part I 
• The Returnship Journey: Part 2
• The Returnship Journey: Part 3