Top Tips For Professional Mothers Returning To Work

CREATE A GREAT RESUME. Your first touch point with any potential employer is the obligatory resume and it has got to look knock-their-socks-off-awesome. It doesn’t matter if you are an astrophysicist or an administrative assistant, it is mandatory that your resume not only contains the nuts and bolts of your career, but also is compelling and pleasing to the eye. If you are not a natural wordsmith or have trouble in document layout, you have three options: Surf the internet and find a resume template that you can use as a starting point. There are a ton out there so take ten minutes and do the research. There might even be a template or two in your computer software. Your second option is to ask for help from someone who has “the gift” of resume writing. It might be a friend, your hubby or a prodigious babysitter. I have whipped out probably a dozen resumes and cover letters over the years for friends and family. Lastly, if all else fails you can always hire a professional resume writer. It might cost you a few bucks, but with the alternative being a lousy resume, it is money well spent.

ASK YOURSELF WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. Reentering the workforce is the perfect time to reevaluate where you truly want to be. Is your background in copywriting, but you always wanted to get into graphic design? Were you an accountant who secretly had a passion for architecture? Take the time to plan your future. Sign up for classes that will either allow you to catch up on your industry’s trends and technology or acquire the skills in the new career you desire.

CONSIDER A PART-TIME JOB. A great way to segue back into your career is by seeking and obtaining a part-time job in your selected field. More and more often these days, companies are considering the option of hiring career people into long-term, part-time positions. This emerging trend allows employers to have talented, capable employees who, because of the flexibility that part-time allows them, are often more efficient and productive. Part-time jobs can offer mothers (or others) returning to the workplace a chance to flex their career-muscles, increase their family income and maintain a more satisfying work-life balance.

AVOID THE MOMMY TABOO. For a mother returning to the labor force, probably the single most intimidating aspect of writing a resume or sitting in an interview is the big fat hole in your resume that reflects your time raising your family. Don’t address this in your resume, as the resume should simply document your work history. When it comes to your cover letter and interview, never equate the time spent with your family as a job. Yes, it was work and it was challenging and it took incredible balancing skills, but employers will frown upon the suggestion that it was a job. The inclusion of “My Work as a Mommy” will also likely diminish how a potential employer views your actual career work. The best way to address the dreaded gap is to simply say or write “I took time off to raise my family.” Enough said. This also gives you the opportunity to mention some of the things that you may have accomplished during your time out of the workplace. Which brings us to…

REMEMBER THAT VOLUNTEERING COUNTS. When you are struggling to compose your resume keep in mind that all those school committees you sat on, every community fundraiser you spearheaded, even the field trips you chaperoned, might just be worthy of inclusion. I probably wouldn’t wax poetic on playing scooter-hockey with my kid’s gym class or the school clothing drive in which I amassed piles of sweats for kindergarteners who wet their pants, but you should certainly evaluate your past volunteer positions and determine if they might add value to your career gravitas.