Today we have the first guest post in the return to work series. Please welcome Allison Tait as she gets us thinking about the first steps in the process of returning to the paid work force – before we even send out our first CV or a chat with an agency.
Like to go back to paid work? Here’s where to start
“Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…” sings Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, before launching into Do-Re-Mi etc. All well and good, but what happens if you’ve forgotten how the song goes and can’t remember the first notes.
One of the first questions asked by women who’ve been out of the workforce for a while is this one: where do I start? There is something about living in that parallel universe called ‘Being At Home With Children’ that can make re-entering the workforce seem like joining another planet. It can all seem so difficult.
The good news is that the first step is, in fact, the easiest. If you’re looking for work, the best thing to do is to tell the people you know. Use your networks. If people don’t know that you’re looking, they won’t think to tell you about the job that’s going at work, and they won’t think of you if a position suddenly becomes vacant. Let them know. And by them, I mean ‘everyone’. The mums at school. Your former colleagues. The people at the soccer / netball/ gymnastics club. In short, anyone you can think of. Put the word out.
Another great place to start is by immersing yourself in your old industry. If you’ve been out of the loop, get yourself back into it by joining industry associations, signing up for newsletters, subscribing to any relevant trade publications. This helps in two ways – it gets you up to speed with current industry movements, and it helps to remove the ‘foreign’ feeling that can accompany going back to work.
All of which leads to one of the most important starting points of all: confidence. It’s one of the most difficult things to hold onto when you’re at home with kids, and it’s essential for getting you back and running in the workplace. While it’s not an easy thing to foster, you can do it – if you work on it.
Firstly, get yourself feeling good. If you’re fit and healthy and feel good about yourself, it’s a lot easier to take on new challenges. Try a new fitness regime, get a new haircut, buy some new clothes – in short, anything you can to bolster your spirits.
Secondly, work on how you project yourself. Most of us find it difficult to talk about ourselves, but practice can really help. Find someone you trust, and practise talking about your strengths. Sit down and write down a plan of attack for the kind of work you’re after, and how you’re going to go about getting it.
Dust off your CV. Take a long hard look at which bits are relevant and which are not. Write down all your skills – including any new ones you may have picked up due to volunteering at the school or in industry organisations – and look at how you might use them to apply for jobs you’re interested in. Skills are transferable things and – and here’s an important point – they don’t disappear just because you haven’t used them in a while. Have a look at yourself on paper – you might be thrilled with what you see!
What it comes down to is preparation. While many of us think that the first step back into paid work is ringing a recruitment agency or scouring the paper, in many cases it’s more about working out what we really want – and working on our confidence.
You can’t sing an aria without a warm-up.
Allison Tait is the co-author (with Kate Sykes of careermums.com.au) of Career Mums, a guide to returning to work post-kids (you can buy it here). You can find out more about her at http://allisontait.com or visit her blog http://lifeinapinkfibro.blogspot.com
We are lucky enough to have a giveaway of 3 copies of Allison and Kate’s wonderful book which has:
“excellent tips and advice on how to:
- make your job work for you
- negotiate flexible hours
- start a whole new career”
To enter: comment below with your best piece of advice for someone on a job search (could be anything you’ve learned about writing a CV, handling an interview or balancing work and kids – pass on your knowledge). (If you have absolutely no advice to give I hope you win the book so tell me your best job related story!)
Updated to add: the giveaway is now closed. The comments contained so much good advice it was hard to select the winners, but they are Lela, Cyndie (Mademoiselle Slimalicious) and The Mindful Mum.
Find your simple,
Deb
The whole series is here:
You can read the first post in the series to see my story of nine years at home with my children and my planned return to offline work next year.
While on leave - career breaks
On Flexibility - temp jobs, flexible hours etc
Diary of a mother returning to work
{ 19 comments }
Twitter: emhawkerblog
July 5, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Great article, thanks Deb and Allison! My best advice is to remember that the interview is a two-way street. They’re trying to work out if you’re right for the role; similarly, you need to work out if the role (and organisation) is right for you. Remembering this helps me get past nerves in an interview.
Emily recently posted..It’s all fun and games until…
I haven’t managed to return to a regular job yet, but have managed three contract positions. My advice is to try and regard each application as an exercise – keep doing it, and you’ll get great at applications. That’s my theory anyway! My main concern at present is how to fill that 8 year gap on my resume.
Leah recently posted..Rainbow party for Miss 8
During an interview, be yourself & don’t be afraid to laugh! Employers like it, and it has secured me several positions.
Beware of companies continually advertising the same position. It’s obviously not a nice place to work, for many possible reasons….pay, the people, their expectations, the hours etc
I work and have two kids and organisation is the key. I always cook big batches of food and freeze the extras in portion, then on sports training nights for the kids etc, I can get something home cooked and healthy out of the freezer.
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Twitter: Withgraceandeve
July 8, 2012 at 1:00 am
Great article Deb! Look forward to reading more. The best tip I have is to go into an interview remembering that you are interviewing them too – it’s a chance to notice what the employer values (in their questions) and ask questions too. This always makes me feel less nervous! x
Elisa recently posted..The longest days
My advice would be to seek out volunteer work. Not only is it great for your community, but it builds on/expands your skills, gives you a wider level of experience and enables you to get references.
Twitter: findyoursimple
July 10, 2012 at 10:13 am
Great tips so far – thanks so much!
Debra Dane recently posted..Moving from paper to digital
Twitter: DTlilsquirts
July 15, 2012 at 12:06 pm
I have alot of qualifications and done alot of courses. Keep them simple and bullet pointed. Don’t go into details – they more than likely know what each qualification is (ITIL and Prince2 not so much in Perth!) But they will be intrigued and either look it up themselves or contact you for more information.
Yvette @ DTlilsquirts recently posted..Husband and Wife Segment #2
My best advice is to have a few different set of resumes depending on the job you apply for. For example if you apply for an administrative job with a slight focuss on marketing activities, you must reflect any creative experiences you may have had in your previous jobs. Another example, if the job you apply for has a focuss on event coordination, then forget about detailing how good you are at taking meeting minutes, instead highlight your organisation and time management skills.
Mademoiselle Slimalicious recently posted..Caramelicious French Recipe for Bastille Day: Apple & Salted Butter Caramel Aumonieres!
I have one resume set up that has every single, little thing I’ve done over the past ten years (beyond that is too unimportant for the things I’m applying for) then I cut and paste to create a new one for each job I apply for. It means that each job is applied for specifically so the person hiring doesn’t have to read unrelated information.
Kate @ Our Little Sins recently posted..day 53 | 100 Pantone postcards project
Twitter: kylieofiu
July 16, 2012 at 5:55 pm
Tailor your resume to each application. Rather than send the same resume to everyone, read the job application carefully and word your strengths/experiences carefully to reflect the role you are applying for. Have a basic resume that you just tweak a little for each application. If you don’t have much experience for your resume consider volunteer work or if you have a blog you have social media and networking experience which most employers I know value highly, but when people consider themselves ‘just a mummy blogger’ that is how the employer will see them. If you view yourself as a writer/experience in social media/networking/organisation, you’ll soon realize you have more experience than you thought.
Kylie Ofiu recently posted..Blog To Book
Been silently reading along Deb.
Great giveaway will be returning to work myself sooner rather than later. Quietly, afraid of the balance (home/work/family) and how to manage it all.
But my faith has to be firmly implanted in the notion of ‘one day at a time’ – you can only do the best you can do in any given moment at any given time.
Thanks again Deb as always for being the shining light in what will be some challenging times ahead.
Amz@nurturing progress recently posted..Hello world!
Twitter: themindfulmum
July 18, 2012 at 8:22 am
Hi, I’m afraid have absolutely no advice to give on the job search after children topic as I have yet to get out there. I am very interested to read your story as your number of years out will be the same as mine I think – by the time I stage my attempted entry back in to the workforce I will have been home for 10 years *and* in my mid-40s… HELP! I really need this book! A job search-related story…I used to work for a massive multinational and once interviewed for a new job on the phone at home (we rarely met colleagues in person and mostly worked at home). This (final stage) interview went longer than expected and I really needed to go to go for a wee (I would not have said wee in those days lol). It was distracting me from selling myself, so I decided to try and go to the toilet while on the phone. In endeavouring not to make any sound, I leaned forward too far and peed all over my legs and the floor!! But, ever professional, I kept going with my pitch…and I got the job
My best advice for career mums is do what you can to prepare the family the night before. Get clothes ready before going to bed, do a load of washing each evening and hang it inside to dry so you don’t spend your weekends doing housework but can spend quality time with family instead. Do meal plans so you don’t arrive home hungry and not knowing what to make for dinner. Work out a way to share chores with your partner and get the kids involved as well.
My best advice for returning to work is to make sure you are 100% happy with the childcare you have organized. Leaving your children the first few weeks can be extremely difficult and stressful for all. But if you are confident with the carers it makes it much easier to stay focussed at work and do a great job!
Just remember that everyone’s situation is different and don’t let others comments make you second guess yourself
Twitter: Mixedgems
July 18, 2012 at 9:53 pm
I’ve gained quite a bit from the advice shared above already. One thing I’d add about the interview process is to always make sure you have concrete examples up your sleeves to demonstrate any skills you purport to have. Don’t just say I can promote a program. Specifically say how you did that in your last job using a specific schedule, tools, and what the outcomes were. Also, having been knocked back a few times, even in jobs I was acting in, you have to learn not to take it personally. Sometimes they are looking for a specific package and you may not be it. And it may even turn out to be a blessing not to get the job since your core values may not ultimately align with theirs. In any case, always pick yourself up and keep trying.
Veronica @ Mixed Gems recently posted..Birthday reflections
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