Tips on Landing a Great Job after Time off Raising Children
Every parent’s perfect combination of childcare and work will be unique. Concentrate on the following strategies to land that great job, and you will find re-entering the workforce is a very positive experience.
Who are you now?
Parenting is extremely challenging and creates numerous opportunities for personal growth. Although your core personality will be the same, you have probably learnt a lot about yourself and what works for you. You may have discovered that a highly structured schedule makes you the most productive, or that you need to get outdoors as much as possible. Think about the skills you enjoy using most, the ones that make time fly and leave you wanting to do more. This is a tremendous help when deciding which industries, organizations and roles to target.
What do you need?
Your priorities have probably changed significantly from your pre-parenting days. Flexibility and adequate vacation time may be worth more to you now than prestigious titles, or perhaps you suddenly need to make as much money as possible. Carefully identify your top needs, your wants and your deal breakers. Not only will this help you feel more in control of the process, but also you will be more likely to find a great job for the long-term.
Practice your pitch
Parents often get so used to discussing their children’s accomplishments that it can be difficult to shift the focus back to personal strengths. What makes you a great employee? Dig deep and avoid canned answers. Go back and read old performance appraisals to remind yourself what previous employers valued about your work. It is one thing to say that you are creative, but far better to prove it by saying that you designed and built small carpentry projects or worked on posters for a community fundraiser. Put a corporate spin on everything you have been doing; imagine how you might describe it if you were getting paid for the work. Update your resume with those demonstrable skills.
Use your network
You may have decided that you need a career change, but your existing professional network can still help you land on your feet. Make sure you get back in touch with previous managers and colleagues and catch up with what they have been doing. The conversation will naturally come around to your future plans so be prepared with a few short sentences about your new job target. People love to be helpful and will gladly connect you to their contacts.
Tight targets
Being as clear as you can about what you want helps you concentrate your job search efforts and make good decisions when negotiating. By all means use the computer to research and apply for your target jobs online, but reaching out to companies in person helps you stand out from the flood of electronic applications. Time is best spent on learning about the industry and forging strong relationships in a few places rather than filling out endless web forms.
Stand strong
A confident manner is critical, even if you do not feel on top of your game. Remember that the majority of employees and employers are also parents and have once been where you are now. Show that you are in control and can handle the challenges of being a working parent; fake it if you have to. It will all come flooding back once you are actually on the job. Underneath, you are still the same competent professional that you always were.
