Click here to read “How Your Boss Can Ruin Your Health” by Liz Wolgemuth on the U.S. News & World Reports website.

You need energy. Energy to work hard at your career or part-time job hunt. Energy to be an active parent. Energy to maintain a semblance of order and calm in your home. Energy to take on all the little things that life throws at you. Yes, we all need energy; however most of us, including many very successful people, have no clue that they are toiling through this world inefficiently and without an energy game plan. You need one.

While there are no wind turbines or solar panels that will generate your internal energy and focus, there are things you can do every day that will rejuvenate your mind, body and soul; and leave you best prepared for all of life’s challenges. Think of it as your own little “Sustainability Project.”

Click here to read “10 Tips for Re-energizing Your Day, Every Day” by Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project, on OpenForum.com

“Find a job you like and you add five days to every week.” ~ H. Jackson Browne

My mother was an intelligent, funny and, quite honestly, gorgeous woman. She was a wonderful writer (from a long line of wonderful writers) and had the class and poise of royalty. Before she had children, she had great success working in various capacities. When I was about ten, my mom was faced with a failing marriage and the necessity to return to the workforce after spending years raising children. Pretty scary for a mother of four.

As daunting as it must have been, what do you suppose her biggest obstacle was? Finding job postings in the paper? Nah. Writing her resume? Nope. Then what? I truly believe that my mother’s most profound stumbling block when faced with going back to work is that she had spent so much time raising my siblings and me that she had no real friends. Not a single one. It certainly made her job hunt all the more difficult; and thinking back, it breaks my heart.

Friends are an important commodity when it comes to both life and work… and they can be worth their weight in gold. Friends are not only there to lean on during troubled times, but can also be an extra set of ears to the ground when you are embarking on a life change… like returning to the rat race or seeking a part-time job.

A friend doesn’t need to be the CEO of a multinational corporation to help you on your way to your next career (but that would be nice, wouldn’t it?) Even a small core group of pals can help you make your transition by volunteering to watch your kids during your job interviews, dropping you a job lead or introducing you to potential employers in your field.

Friendships are symbiotic; and the many ways that friends can aid in each others’ successes are truly limitless. So help a friend out… her daughter just might remember it many years from now.

This blog welcomes your comments on the power of friendships!

You are looking for a part-time job. You have the skills. You have the resume. And you have a job interview. You think you are set, but then you flash forward to a million little variables that might make or break your job candidacy. It can be a little scarey

After being out of the workforce for several years, it is common for job seekers to lose sight of the evolving “best practices” for the hiring process.

But knowledge is power; and this great article will explain all those “little things” that might mean a lot in your hunt for the perfection of part-time. Click here to read “21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew” by Alison Green on UpdatedNews.ca

“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”
Theodore Roosevelt, (1858-1919)

We all know that before embarking on the hunt for that perfect part-time job, you need all your ducks in a row. So you do a load of industry research, incessantly nose around online job boards, painstakingly update your resume, whip up a snappy cover letter… and then you’re set, right?

Ideally, your work pays off, your potential employer likes what they see and they schedule an interview. But you can’t simply show up for that interview with your resume in tow and an elevator speech on how you are a “team player and a real go-getter.” The art of interviewing is a give and take, to-and-fro process that requires conveying your strengths and background while listening closely to the information that the hiring manager is providing you. Make no mistake, having a healthy repartee with your interviewer just might be the thing that sets you apart from all the other applicants in line for the job.

To read more on how to have a successful job interview, click here to read “Using Your Noodle in Hiring Interviews” by Carrie Pinsky on the Northern Colorado Business Report website.

Considering that the stories of mothers struggling to balance work and family are so universal, especially in this day and age, it is still amazing how compelling these stories truly are.

Click here to read a great article on More.com by Leslie Morgan Steiner entitled “Back in Business: Stay-at-Home Moms Return to the Workforce.”