CareerMums Blog Entries
Mums and recruiters
Always ask your employer about workplace policies
The stages of a working parent
Traps mums face when going back to work
Are you getting knock-backs from employers?
Overcoming a lack of self confidence before returning to work
Be proactive about your career progression
What you need to know about the changes to employment law
Sharing parental responsibilities
Returning to work and self doubt
How long do you take off when on parental leave?
Are you happy with your job?
Learn some workplace attitude
The change is coming
Are you feeling under-valued? Change the story
Managing your career and your sanity
Key learnings at RecruitTECH conference
Tips for dealing with recruiters
Get smarter in how you return to work
Your first 12 months back at work
Job sharing successfully
Working tips for the Christmas period
A guide to the right to request flexibility
Top 5 tips on advancing your career as a parent
Work smarter, not harder
Mums and recruiters
Beware of recruiters! If you want to be taken seriously when you re-enter the workforce, find a job yourself. This is my advice to parents returning to work after countless conversations and surveys.
Why is there such a disconnect?
Firstly, many recruiters are in their 20's and early 30's. Typically, they do not have a family yet so they have no understanding of the daily challenges you face when balancing work and family. Furthermore, they tend to be paid poorly and have a commission structure so it is all about a fast turn-around.
Secondly, most recruitment firms base their fees on a full time role so this reduces the likelihood of their clients advertising a part time role.
In general, recruiters are not equipped with information and advice for their clients on how to shape their future workforce - which includes offering more flexiblity to attract great talent.
Thankfully, we are starting to see a few boutique recruitment firms that place flexible roles such as such as www.priorities.com.au.
While you wait for recruitment firms to catch-up with the needs of the future workforce, consider the following options to find a job; let your network know you are looking for work, actively approach companies that you are interesting in working for, consider career change opportunities, and keep an eye out on CareerMums.
Always ask your employer about workplace policies
Did you know that astute women in the early 20's now ask prospective employers about their parental leave and flexible work arrangements policies before they agree to work there?
I certainly didn't - and I am 35 (not too old!). 15 years ago, I was not thinking about having a family and there was little or no talk in the media about workplace flexibility. Women are now more aware of their rights, obligations, and their valuable contribution to the workforce.
Don't be concerned about 'putting off' a prospective by asking these questions. It is far better to know upfront if they are a flexible and family friendly employer.
These questions will be alot easier to ask when you are confident in your own abilities and skills, and you can confidently demonstrate how your skills and experience match the role you are applying for.
The stages of a working parent
Last night, I was talking to my friend about her job/career. After the arrival of her second child she took on an a less challenging role. But the role offered flexibility and not much stress.
Recently, she had her performance review. She had a pained look on her face so I thought there was bad news to follow. Quite the contrary. It was a glowing report with a small pay rise (rare in the current economic environment).
The problem is that she now feels confident in juggling the children and work (not really a problem!)and is in search of a more challenging role that matches her skills, experience and expertise. She wants career progression, not career maintenance, and wants to be paid what she earned pre-children. And I know she will get both. She is one smart woman.
What does all of this mean?
For working parents, you may or may not hit the fast button again. If you decide to, go for it.
For employers and managers, keep up the lines of communication. Talent retention is becoming harder to achieve these days.
Traps mums face when going back to work
- Don't be grateful for part time work. You only get paid for part time hours.
- Know what you are worth. Don't accept a pay cut just to get back into the workplace. Know your skills and your value proposition.
- Be clear upfront about your flexibility requirements. Stand your ground so the job will be suitable for the long run.
- Generally, recruiters are not very good with handling return to work parents because they prefer to fill full time roles. Visit CareerMums to get some ideas on how to find a flexible job.
- Don't discuss your family in the job interview. You are being interviewed for your suitability to the role so focus on that.
Are you getting knock-backs from employers?
If you have been out of the job market for a while, it may take a while for you to become workplace savvy again. If you are getting knock-backs from employers, consider the following advice:
- Re-visit your resume. Employers have been known to bin resumes that don’t appeal to them or whose information does not look relevant to the role they are advertising.
- Re-think the employers you are targeting. Maybe they are not family friendly.
- Perhaps you are exhibiting a lack of confidence. Talk to your family and friends about what you said in the interview or to the recruiterand get some feedback. You may need reinforcement that you are great!
- Don't talk about your family siutation in a job interview. You are there to demonstrate your suitability to the position you have applied for. Be clear about your skills and how your experience is relevant to the position.
Overcoming a lack of self confidence before returning to work
Daily, the issue of women losing their self confidence while away from the workforce perplexes me. Don't get me wrong - I understand it because it happenened to me. But after my 2rd child, this issue no longer consumed me. Probably because I had gone back to work each time and found that feeling insecure about returning to the workforce was a waste of head space. What I found (post babies) is that the workforce is full of time wasters. I discovered that my contribution was so much more valuable - even in a part time capacity. And you don't lose your skills; on the contrary, they are enhanced.
The other angle to this problem is how confident we can become as parents, and why this confidence is not transferred to the challenge of returning to work. How can we be so confident and responsible for the lives of little human beings, but crumble when it comes to talking to an adult about a job? Think about it.
I have the benefit of hindsight now. Here are my tips to maintain your self confidence:
- Talk to your manager before you go on leave about returning to work flexibly
- Stay in touch with work - go for lunch with your colleagues, attend team meetings etc.
- Read publications related to your industry - keep up with the terminology
- Ensure lots of adult conversation if you are a full time carer
- Take time to write down your non-paid work and your achievements as a carer for your resume
- Know what you are good at and what you are worth
Be proactive about your career progression
A common fear for parents when they return to work is that they may be sidelined for promotion or somewhat marginalised because they work. Your fears might be real or perceived; the only way to find out is to ask. Yes, ask.
The reality is if you don’t have confidence in your own capability, you can’t expect others to. If you don’t have an idea of your career direction you can’t expect others to create it for you.
In other words, no one can give you confidence or develop your career for you, you need to nurture and develop it yourself (leaning on others for input and support when required). It’s about harnessing your strengths and drawing on your experiences so you can put your best foot forward whether it’s about negotiating a pay rise, the next promotion, or flexible work arrangements. If you undersell yourself and your capability, you not only do yourself a disservice, you effectively permit other people to stereotype you or discriminate against you. Your level of job satisfaction is likely to take a nose drive.
Be proactive and review your career plan, discuss options with your manager, partner and other relevant people to support your continued learning and development. If you are focused on the next career promotion, be upfront, so your manager knows your intentions and aspirations rather than leaving them to guess or assume.
What you need to know about the changes to employment law
In January 2010, the Federal Government will introduce the National Employment Standards. Two out of the 10 Standards are of direct interest to working parents.
They include:
- Parental leave: Employees will have the ability to request a second 12 months of unpaid leave, so 24 months in total. Currently it is only 12 months.
- Right to request flexibility: An employee who is a parent of or has responsibility for a child under school age can request flexible working hours. An employer may refuse on 'reasonable business grounds'. The request and refusal must be in writing and provide reasons.
For more information, view the following web page: http://www.careermums.com.au/content/uk_experience_flexibility
Sharing parental responsibilities
A recent UK survey found that Australian men are the worst husbands. This may be the case but I am oblivious to it. If your husband is not very 'hands-on', read on.
It is a fact that in over 60 per cent of Australian households, both parents work.
Sharing the responsibility of raising children is critical to achieving a satisfying work and family balance. Both parents are responsible for children they bring into the world. If one parent in a two working parent household is solely responsible for child rearing, pick-up and drop-off, cleaning, and preparing meals, in addition to maintaining their career and supporting their family financially, it can create an unsatisfactory, unbalanced home environment.
A good starting point is to write down all the chores and domestic duties that need to be performed throughout the week. Make sure you include the drop-off and pick-up times for the kids at child care or school.
Talk to your partner about how you can divide these responsibilities. If necessary, create a weekly calendar so family members know what their responsibilities are. If the children are old enough, assign chores to them. Other ideas are pre-cooking meals for the week on the weekends, and hiring a cleaner once every two weeks.
Loving and respecting one another’s life challenges and sharing parental responsibilities will create a more happy and harmonious home environment and loving partnership. And there may be time leftover for you and your partner to go out for dinner once a month!
If you are a single parent juggling work and family, you are amazing. If you don’t have a full-time partner to help you, search for networks or associations for single parents in your community. There may be opportunities to assist each other with before and after school care, for example.
Returning to work and self doubt
I spoke to a lovely woman today who is looking to return to work. Her daughter is 8 months old. After a few minutes of chatting with her, we narrowed on on the main obstacle to her finding a great job - self doubt.
Some critical things we spoke about were:
- Letting all of her network (social and work) know that she is looking for a job
- Understanding her skills and what she is good at
- Being clear on flexibility requirements
- Not talking about your children at a job interview - apart from the flexibility discussion
- Knowing that parenthood is so much harder than any task a manager will give her
Apart from getting your self confidence back on track, you need to also think about child care options, child care costs, drop off and pick up, sharing domestic duties etc etc.
What I can share from my experience is that within a week of returning to work (after my first child), I wondered why I had spent so much time doubting my abilities. In fact, I returned to work as an even more confident and productive employee.
Give yourselves a break and enjoy the new challenge of finding a good job that ticks your important boxes.
How long do you take off when on parental leave?
Unfortunately, you may as well be asking ‘How long is a piece of string?’ because only you can decide how long to take off. You know yourself and your child better than anyone, and therefore what would work best. Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks. What do you honestly feel would work for you and your family?
Hopefully the fact that there is no ‘right’ answer comes as somewhat of a relief. But if you’re still ‘anguishing’ ... to help you think through possible contributing factors, here’s a few questions you may like to consider for your individual situation. From there you can create an action plan to help you make your decision.
- How much time do you want / need to spend with your baby?
- Are you breastfeeding – how long do you envisage (roughly) you will breastfeed for?
- Is breastfeeding / expressing at work something you’re comfortable with?
- What type of care (aside from you) are you comfortable using for your baby?
- Are you emotionally, physically and mentally ready for a return to work?
- What level of responsibility / authority do you have at work – and therefore what would be a reasonable length of time to be on leave?
- What’s your financial situation – do you need your income?
- Are flexible work arrangements openly supported and encouraged? What are your partner’s expectations?
- Are you communicating regularly with your partner about your feelings and expectations regarding returning to work?
- Does your partner share the same responsibilities of parenthood and housework?
Are you happy with your job?
Many parents who have returned to work are no longer satisfied with their career. Career can sometimes play second fiddle to the demands of raising a family, or perhaps your career path has flat lined because you have decided to return to work part time.
If you are happy with your career and the choices you have made, that's great. You absolutely have to be happy with your situation. For those that aren't, you can change the story. Start thinking about doing a health check on your career.
Some tips to get started:
- Talk to your manager if you have been doing the same job for a long period of time and you are dissatisfied. Create a change for yourself.
- Make sure you apply for suitable internal jobs that match your experience. If a full-time person is required, build a case for job sharing. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
- Also, make sure that your salary is in line with salaries being offered for similar roles in the job market. Refer to online jobs boards, newspapers, or talk to a recruiter. If your salary is below average, put forward a case to your employer.
You are skilled and experienced. More than likely, you have invested time and money in educating yourself. Start talking and be heard.
Learn some workplace attitude
I love CareerMums. It is my passion and my business. I speak to wonderful women every day who are inspiring, intelligent and resourceful. Which is why I am continually perplexed at the stories of workplace mistreatment of women returning to work. Why is it that many women, after returning to work after parental leave, put up with so much crap in the workplace? Many of us accept lesser roles for lesser pay. We feel 'grateful' for being allowed to come back to work again. We get the run-around from recruiters who don't know what flexibility means.
Think about it like this - what would you do if your child was being bullied at school? You would act. You would try to turn a wrong into a right. Why don't we feel this way about our own challenges?
My favourite saying is 'feel the fear and do it anyway'. Always challenge yourself and your capabilities. After having children, this should be an automatic response for women everytime.
The Change is coming
This month, I will be talking at a conference in Canberra on using technology to access a flexible and remote workforce. While researching my presentation, I have been inspired by employers that are embracing a flexible workforce - and this means good news for you. Take IBM for example; 140,000 IBM staff work flexibly/remotely. it is not just about the flexibility requirements of their workers, it is also about 'Green IT'. 'Green IT' is the new buzz word and it means embracing work practices that cut energy costs, commuter travel time, and the carbon footprint.
Other information I have picked up in my research includes:
- In 2007, 3.2 million or 31% of employed people worked some hours from home. 81% worked from home for 15 hours or less per week (ABS);
- The number of people aged 65 years and over is projected to outnumber children aged 0-14 years in 2018. By 2050, 26% of the population is projected to be aged 65 years and over, in comparison to 15% of the population being aged 0-14 years. (ABS)
- One in six US cities with more than 25,000 residents now operates a reduced working week. They found the rewards are not just in saving energy: a shorter working week boosts morale and productivity and at the same time cuts overtime, absenteeism, staff turnover and utility bills.
This information may not help you right now in getting back to work, but sometimes it is important to see what is happening at a macro level and know that a change is coming.
Are you feeling under-valued? Change the story
Welcome to 21st century motherhood! Every week I talk or speak to women that feel under-valued and under-utilised in their working lives. My theory on it is this: We are educated and professional. We have spent our 20's and some of our 30's building our skills and experience. Parenthood temporarily takes us away from our professional careers at a time when we are ready to ramp up. When we do return to the workforce, we are seeking flexible work arrangements and the roles we are given do not always match with our experience and expertise.
How can we change this? You have to be comfortable with your decisions. If your choice is to take time out of the workforce for a few years, keep up to date with your profession. Make time to do a course/workshop or attend an event every year and read industry journals. It's all about networking and buzz words - really.
If you are returning to the workforce within a year or two or having your child, initiate a discussion with your manager. Question him/her about career advancement and learning opportunities. If you don't, you will probably get bored and leave. Most employers are very concerned about the retention of good staff so play your card.
Working flexibly does not have to mean a career nose dive so monitor your situation every 6 months. Don't be grateful for flexible work arrangements. It is becoming a common offering in organisations around Australia so don't feel like you are asking a huge favour. Just make sure you present a solid business case proposal to demonstrate how it will work. Talk to us if you need some assistance.
Managing your career and your sanity
Many working parents feel somewhat frustrated and exhausted meeting the demands of work and family commitments.
A working parent is a project manager extraordinaire. Effectively managing your workload, both in the workplace and at home will ensure you remain sane. Setting clear and firm expectations is an important part of this process.
Set Clear Expectations
As an ongoing practice, it’s important to continue to keep the communication lines open with your family, colleagues and clients to manage expectations. In many cases you can avoid conflict and stress by initially setting firm boundaries.
Once you’ve been back at work for a couple of months, take time out to reflect on how your arrangements are working. Where necessary, re- communicate expectations regarding your deliverables and availability.
Avoid making compromises that may encourage your colleagues to expect more from you than you’re prepared to give.
Personal Efficiency
Not having enough hours in the day is a common complaint of many working parents. Being effective and efficient with the time you have will help you achieve more in each day. ‘Time management’ is the often prescribed remedy to feeling out of control. Consider though that time is not something we can control. What we can control is ourselves, how and with whom we use our valuable time.
Consider these following tips:
- Prioritise all your activities and commitments – at home and at work - and focus your time on your most important ones first and foremost. Remember the world is unlikely to end if you don’t get to respond to everything by the day’s end – the reality is that this too happens to non-parents!
- Say no! This will become easier once you have completed the prioritising. Assess individual requests and demands of your time and determine how important they are. Say no to the non-important requests. Manage your email at work, don’t let it manage you. Learn to really use whatever email application you have. Many of us don’t use even 40 per cent of the available functionality. Try only checking your emails twice a day at two regular and specified times, for example 10 am and 4 pm. You can use the ‘out of office’ function to inform people that these are the times you check email and that if their request is urgent they should contact you on your mobile. Otherwise you will respond at that specified time.
- Outsource where possible. Using your annual income as a guide, determine how much your time is worth per hour. If you can outsource tasks (e.g. the house cleaning) and pay less for a service than your time is worth, then do so.
- Look after number one – that’s you. If you aren’t fit and healthy the chances are you are not being as effective at work or at home as you would like! Take the necessary time out to look after yourself, even if that means spoiling yourself with weekly and monthly rewards that involve your wellbeing.
Key learnings at RecruitTECH conference
Last week, I spoke at a conference in Canberra called RecruitTECH. The conference was about how employers and recruiters are changing the way they source talent - specifically by using technology. I spoke about using technology to access a flexible and remote workforce.
I want to share with you some interesting information I picked up at the conference.
Good-to-know statistics:
- 41% of all employed people provide care (ABS, 2009), i.e. you are not alone!
- Back in 2007, 31% of employed people worked some hours from home. 81% worked from home for 15 hours per week or less.
- By 2050, 26% of the population is projected to be 65 years and over, in comparison to 15% of the population being 0-14 years.
- IBM allow 140,000 employees around the world to work from home i.e. it can be done
Technology you should be aware of:
- Cloud computing
- Online demonstrations, presentations: www.gotomeeting.com
- Share powerpoint presentations: www.slideshare.com
- crowdsourcing: www.elance.com
- crowdsourcing: www.99designs.com
- VOIP
The latest benefit to working remotely for your business case proposal:
- Green IT. It is about saving energy and reducing your carbon footprint
Social networking
- Whether you are working or not, set up a LinkedIn account (www.linkedin.com). It may become your resume in future. Connect with friends and colleagues. Use it as another channel to find employment. LinkedIn is now being used by recruiters to research candidates so keep the content professional.
- Facebook is more of a social medium. Still, be very careful about what you post. You can never recall content you add to Facebook so don't bother being rude or crude. You never know when it might go against you, in particular, employment opportunities.
Interesting websites for employment opportunities:
Tips for dealing with recruiters
Like it or hate it, recruiters tend to be one of a few employment channels we pursue when looking for a new job. CareerMums surveys have shown repeatedly that parents have not been impressed with recruiters, particularly post-child.
Why is this?
Typically, recruiters are young and have very limited understanding of the challenges and issues working parents face.
Their salaries tend to be minimal however they do get paid a commission based on the number of roles they place. This in itself presents a problem for flexible workers - they don't have time to understand your needs and match you with a suitable employer.
The recruitment fee structure is based on the placement of a full time role so employers are more interested in full time candidates to ensure they get the best bang for their buck.
Fortunately, there are some boutique recruitment firms who offer a differerent pricing model and focus on placing flexible roles.
To ensure you don't waste your precious time, here are some tips on how to deal with recruiters:
Before you approach a recruiter, ensure your resume is complete, you are clear on your skills and experience, you know what types of roles you are looking for, you can communicate your flexiblity requirements, you know what you are worth, and you have a positive 'can-do' attitude.
Ask the following questions to gauge if the recruiter is interested in helping you to find a suitable role:
- Are you interested in helping me to find a flexible role?
- What do you know about flexible work arrangements?
- How many flexible or part time roles do you have on your books right now?
- How often do you see flexible roles come up?
- Would you be willing to put me forward to suitable employers knowing what my flexible work requirements are? Even if the role is specified as full time?
- What is a reasonable timeframe for me to hear back from you?
Get smarter in how you return to work
Recently, I have come across many women who have returned to their employer after parental leave as a consultant. Obviously, not everyone can do this and it does depend on the role you currently perform.
One example is a women who was in a senior HR role prior to having children. She wanted to return to work but required flexibility. She did not want to be relegated to a junior HR role within the team she used to run. So instead she re-created herself as a training consultant and offers her services to the same employer on a regular basis.
If you are in a position to request this change in your employment conditions, the benefits are enormous. Think about the following:
- Consultants are often given project based work with deadlines. This allows you to create your own flexibility/hours and still be challenged in the work you are performing.
- The business knows you and understands your capabilities. They would be more interesting in hiring back someone they know who understands the business and will get the job done.
- You can charge on a per hour basis and potentially get paid more. Factor in superannuation, sick leave, holidays etc.
Your first 12 months back at work
Let's face it, it's tough! We are instantly thrown into the work and family juggling act often without help and support. There is separation anxiety (more from mum!), mother guilt (isn't it relentless!), and then general guilt for not being at work because your child is permanently sick for the first 2-3 months of child care. And generally, there is even more guilt handed to you from your employer because you need to take time off to care for your child.
Take a deep breath - it will be ok. You cannot do this on your own so enlist the services of your partner to share parental responsibilities. Put a schedule on your fridge door. Conquer and divide chores such as food shopping, cooking, drop-off, pick-up, cleaning and washing.
Your child will pick up illnesses from child care but it won't last forever. What they catch now will make their immune systems stronger.
It is our view that employers are currently not providing enough support for working parents in their first 12 months back at work. Employers tend to breathe a sigh of relief on your return to work - it is assumed that everything will pick up from where it was left off. It will, but there is an adjustment period.
What can employers do to provide support? They can put into place a gradual return to work strategy (e.g. start with 2 days, then move to 3 days, then 4 days for example), and allow for more sick days in the early stages of child care. These are short term supportive measures that will pay long term dividends in the way of a happy, productive and loyal employee.
Talk to your employer about your return to work strategy. Open up the lines of communication and see what flows.
Job sharing successfully
Job sharing is a fantastic flexible work arrangement for a role that cannot be done part time, or requires someone to be in the office providing face-to-face contact 5 days per week. For employers, it can mean retaining 2 valuable workers in a part time capacity.
Unfortunately, everyone always seems to have a bad job sharing story to share. Most of the time, when we have dissected why it did not work well, it comes back to how the job sharing arrangement was managed (or not managed) in the first place.
Here are some guidelines to creating successful job share roles:
- Make sure the job share partners are at a similar life stage e.g. parents with young children.
- Ensure each candidate has similar skills and experience so there are no issues with one taking on more work than the other.
- Both people should share a similar work ethic, have good communication skills and be clear on workloads and outcomes.
- Make sure there is a cross over period during the week so there is an opportunity to de-brief each other.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate with each other and your manager.
Use these guidelines in your business case proposal to negotiate a job share role.
Working tips for the Christmas period
Christmas and new year is a great time to plan a return-to-work strategy or change your current work flexibility requirements. If you are returning to work, make sure you think about updating your resume (cover all of your non-paid work while on leave!), investigating short courses if your skills need fine turning, and communicating your return to work intentions to your family, friends and old work colleagues. Great leads often come from people you know.
If you are returning to a job, get in touch with your team and go out for lunch. Catch up on the office gossip. What has been happening while you have been away? Catch up with your manager. Have a chat about flexible work options if you haven't already. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The National Employment Standards, due to start in January 2010, give parents with children under 5 the right to request flexible work arrangements. Talk to your HR manager / manager about this new legislation and find out how they are dealing with it.
If you are currently working and you are going to need more flexible working hours to manage work and family, start preparing a business case for your manager. The business case should consider items such as working hours, work that will be performed at home versus the office, and how clients needs will be affected. Early next year, you should meet with your manager to discuss your needs. If it is a fair and reasonable request, you may have a good chance in getting what you want thanks to the National Employment Standards being introduced in Janauary 2010.
Importantly, the national skills shortage and Australia's aging population are starting to impact on employers so they are more willing to explore flexible work options to retain good employees.
A guide to the right to request flexibility
The National Employment Standards (NES) will come into effect in January 2010. It will provide 10 new minimum entitlements for all Australian workers. The NES are to replace the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard (AFPCS) currently in force under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (WR Act). One of the National Employment Standards will provide working parents with children under school age the right to request a flexible work arrangement.
CareerMums has compiled an easy guide to understanding your rights and obligations on the right to request flexibility.
If your employer has not started preparing for these changes, provide them with the following link. It also includes how to create a flexible work policy and how to implement process and procedures to ensure they are compliant with the Standard on flexibility.
http://www.careermums.com.au/content/right_to_request
Top 5 tips on advancing your career as a parent
Progressing your career tends to naturally happen for most people in their mid to late thirties. For most women, this is around the time that we are having children so the challenge is far greater.
Take a deep breath. You can still achieve your career goals. it is about adopting a different mindset. You are raising the future of Australia (yes, think about it like that!). Think about where you are at right now in practical terms. The workforce is changing. 4 in 10 workers in Australia have caring duties so you are not alone. Use your resilience that comes from parenthood and get creative.
Here are my top 5 tips for advancing your career post children:
1. Be aware of your career aspirations. Have a 5 year plan.
2. Know that working flexibly does not mean working part time. Be creative when you write your business case proposal. Offer your manager a trial period.
3. Know your flexibility requirements. How does this fit with your current role? And know that your requirements will change throughout parenthood.
4. Do a health check on your career. Have you progressed, plateaued or regressed? Ask the hard questions to your manager/HR: Will working flexibly affect my career path? What opportunities are available to me moving forward? How will my performance be measured? Organise a meeting every 6-12 months with your manager on career progression. Make it happen – don’t wait for it.
5. Think outside the square. Experience and children create resilience and creativity in a person. Can you create a new niche role at your organisation? Can you return as a consultant?
Work smarter, not harder
Recently, I was speaking with a career mum on the complexities of furthering her career and juggling family responsibilities.
We came up with a game plan on the work front on how to re-think her role and how to work more efficiently - with the focus being on quality not quantity.
Step 1:
Change the way you think about your role. Treat your role like your own business. You need to manage the workload, your stakeholders / customers, and your brand (in this case, how others perceive you and your role in the organisation).
Step 2:
Think about the following ideas to inject clarity into your role:
- Compare your job description to your current tasks. Write down everything you do over a 2 week period to help you identify typical tasks and how long it takes you.
- Do you need to re-define your role?
- Are you performing work that someone else should be doing?
- What are your business objectives for the next 6 months / 12 months? Do you have a business plan? What are the key deliverables?
- Compare your current tasks to your key deliverables. Are they aligned?
- Do you have access to learning and development opportunities? Incorporate this into your business plan.
- Tie your key deliverables in with your performance measurement criteria to ensure your have a productive and informative performance review.
The key is to make your objectives (e.g. 3-5 objectives) and associated deliverables (for each objective) manageable and meaningful. It is more important to under-promise and over-deliver.
Step 3:
Ideas to promote yourself:
- Define what you do in simple terms on paper. Always think that you are talking to someone outside of your business so it is imperative to keep it simple and meaningful.
- Investigate if you have an internal communications team. Do they produce a staff newsletter? What about the intranet? Start contributing to these communication forums.
- Start collaborating with your counterparts in your organisation. Instigate a monthly meeting (phone hook-up) and a face-to-face workshop every 6-12 months to share ideas and streamline processes and procedures.
- Manage up; manage yourself; manage down.
