If you plan on getting back into your profession after time as a stay-at-home parent, you don’t want to wait until the children are grown to think about it. Our local journals recently published an article focusing on a couple of local stay-at-home dads. It was very complimentary about the dads sharing how they didn’t miss a child-care beat while maintaining a conversation with the reporter. It got me thinking about my family, in particular my husband who has been at home with our son for the last eight years. Our son is grown now and is about old enough to stay at home alone. Conversations have turned to how to get back into the work force.
Being able to stay at home with your children is a great privilege. It is likely though that you will, at some time, go back into the workforce. Whether dad or mom, you need to have a plan to return to the workforce that you can work into your new stay-at-home life. Ask any of the 9.5% unemployed in Missouri (10% in Illinois) what is needed to find employment today and they will tell you a good network. No matter what you do in life - life is all about relationships. You need to keep your professional network in tact because when you go back to work it is critical to have contacts to help you. So that becomes a priority in your plan of action.
Make a return-to-work plan
1) Retain your professional relationships.
- As a stay-at-home parent you will be using your planner as much as you did at the office. Add to that planner a recurring phone call to those important contacts that you have built up over the years. As the time approaches, let them know you will be looking for a new position soon.
- Maintain your professional memberships and read the materials they send. In the office we tend to have a reading stack that we sometimes get to. In the stay-at-home world we can’t afford to not keep up on the profession. Make time to read.
- Linkedin.com is a great resource to stay connected to your professional peers. It also allows you to see what career movement is going on in your profession. Brightfuse.com is another website dedicated to interacting with other professionals.
2) Create new relationships.
- As you meet new friends, don’t just discuss formula or playground activities. Seek out professionals that are also planning to return to work. You will have much in common and can help each other in many ways.
- Find someone and plan mommy-daddy days out. Use these times for professional seminars, networking activities or classes in your field.
- If not already a member of your profession’s organization, join now. Participate in the activities to maintain old and cultivate new relationships.
3) Track things you do for home and school which relate to your profession.
- Administrative professionals may coordinate fund-raisers, work on a newsletter, maintain the sports rosters, scout awards report or arrange field trips.
- Marketing professionals may work on promoting school or church activities. Keep records on your projects so you can refer to them at a later date.
- Financial professionals may volunteer to maintain the fund-raiser accounts or help with costing of special projects or trips.
- The bottom line is the fact that in many of the everyday things we do we use our professional skills. Employers will want to know what you have been doing during your time away from the workforce that kept your skills fresh and current.
4) Training to stay current is a must.
- Are you a Certified Professional? You will need to maintain your status, so don’t wait until you are heading back to work to check into your certification credits. Use the time you are off, whether one year or many years, to maintain your certification.
- Do not let yourself get out of the loop on current versions of common office environment software. Anyone that has gone through a version upgrade understands there will be a learning curve. This doesn’t mean you need to go out and purchase every new upgrade for your home PC. When you are ready to start looking for a position, take community college courses that will allow you to upgrade your skill set to the current packages. This is one area that you can be prepared for and that, in turn, will allow you to concentrate on your orientation into proprietary systems used by your new employer.
5) Technology! Depending on how long it has been since you last looked for work or interviewed for a position, you may not be up to speed on the changes the internet has brought to the job search.
- You need to be internet savvy now. Most large companies will not even accept resumes or applications that are not completed via their website opportunity pages. There are many resources for resume writing, cover letters and all aspects of job hunting that will help you in this area.
- The internet also provides you many networking opportunities. As mentioned earlier, Linkedin.com and Brightfuse.com are websites that allow you to interact with other professionals.
- Blogs are another way to keep in touch with your industry or profession. Whether reading them or writing them, you are staying current. There are many types of blogs and just as many methods of delivery. Corporate blogs can help you learn about corporations from their perspective. Blogs dedicated to specific subjects, industries or organizations will help you to stay up on news, ideas, opinions and opportunities within your field. You can access these from your PC, a mobile device, mobile phone or PDA so keeping in touch while standing in line or waiting for the pediatrician can be the answer to multi-tasking with ease. As you are likely well aware as a stay-at-home parent, multi-tasking is your way of life.
These tips will keep the return to your professional life from being overwhelming. It will simply be the next step in your career. In the coming weeks we will also explore looking, applying and interviewing for your perfect position. These processes have completely changed in the last 5-10 years and you will need to understand the current process to be successful.
If you’ve recently rejoined the workforce please share with our readers any recommendations you have.
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