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Returning to work can be a daunting prospect. Many mothers experience a lack of self-confidence when considering a return to the workplace. When you eventually start a new job or return to your old job after maternity leave, your confidence will return very quickly. You will more than likely tackle work issues differently (as parenthood can teach you a thing or two!) and you will thrive in an adult environment that is yours! Consider this: you left the workplace skilled. You are returning with potentially double your original skill base. Be proud of your parenting achievements. Read our game plan on how to find a flexible job. Before you begin your job search, consider a few building blocks. >> Stay Active
>> Researching the job market - Ways to go about it
>> Do a refresher course
>> Resumés
>> Interview skills
Stay Active It is so important to stay active in your career even if you are not currently employed or you have been out of the workplace for a while. Have you participated in relevant trade associations, attended workshops or events, taken an evening course, stayed up-to-date with industry reading, or participated in networking functions? These activities are ways of keeping yourself and your resume up to date. Volunteer work is another great way to maintain work experience while on parental leave.
Researching the job market - Ways to go about it Talk to everyone you know! Let family, friends, and your Mothers Group know that you are looking for a job. If you communicate your desire to return to work with other people, you never know where a job lead may come from.
If you are a current member of an industry association or professional group, start attending functions to network and understand current issues. For example, the Australian Marketing Institute.
Start reading! Start buying the paper and trade magazines.
Consider temping or contract positions to start with to give you a taste of returning to work.
Visit the Equal Opportunity for Women Agency website. You will find it at http://www.eowa.gov.au. Visit the section that covers employers who have family friendly policies.
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Do a refresher course Once you have researched the job market, you will know if you need to do a short course to get you up to speed. Consider contacting the following groups to find out more on career advice and short courses: Professional or industry associations
Visit a TAFE website. For example, look up basic refresher courses for computer skills.
>> NSW TAFE www.tafensw.edu.au
>> VIC TAFE www.tafe.vic.gov.au
>> QLD TAFE www.tafe.qld.gov.au
>> SA TAFE www.tafe.sa.gov.au
>> Canberra Institute of Technology http://www.cit.act.edu.au/
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Resumes Resumes sell you. Take pride in it and ensure it reflects your skills and experience in a succinct and clear format. Consider the following resume tips: Keep it short and be succinct. 2-4 pages is a rough guide depending on your experience. Do not include your marital status, age or number of children.
Start your resume with a career profile. This will be a short and succinct paragraph highlighting your strengths. Create your career profile using your education, work experience, skills and attributes.
Ask your friends and family if you can view their resumes - or someone who has recently applied for a job. Recruiters often help job seekers in cleaning up their resumes to give them the best possible chance of being short-listed for an interview.
To make your resume stand out, include a covering letter demonstrating why you would be an ideal candidate for the role. It shows initiative.
Always do a spell check after completing your resume and cover letter. A common complaint by employers is the lack of attention given to spelling and grammar. List your work history from your most recent job. Include the period that you were at home. Your most recent job title could be something like 'Home Manager and full time mum'. When you provide more detail about each job, separate this section into 'Duties' and 'Achievements'. 'Duties' should take up no more than 3-5 lines. There is less emphasis on 'Duties' as they tend to be the same, no matter who is doing the job. 'Achievements' will differentiate you from the crowd. By having a list of achievements, you are demonstrating that you like achieving outcomes. Employers will appreciate this.
Non-paid work example: "Home manager/full time mum - June 2002 - September 2006 Skills acquired: Excellent organisational skills, communication skills and the ability to multi task. During this time I acted as Treasurer for a not-for-profit organization and volunteered for various community services. I initiated fund raising activities at my children's pre-school and completed an MYOB course to manage our home business." Paid work example:
Sept 2002 - April 2005: XYZ Company
Manager, Marketing & Communications Duties: Coordinated, implemented and monitored marketing communications activities for specific products; was responsible for management of expense budgets funded by external stakeholders; developed and maintained relationships with customers, advertising agency, media buying agency, journalists, event managers, and internal business units. Achievements: - Overall, my team played a critical role in tripling the market size over 4 years.
- Successful relationships were established with key organisations. These relationships provided access to a critical market segment to promote our products. Success was measured via surveys.
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Interview Skills When your incredible talents are identified and you are short-listed for an interview, consider the following: Always be positive about yourself. Practice talking about yourself at home and remove any 'negative speak' from your vocabulary. Pretend you are responding to questions by the employer or recruiter.
Research the company before your interview. Understand what they do and how they do it. See if you can find any recent press coverage on the internet.
Find out who will be conducting the interview so you can understand their role, style and expectations before the meeting.
Be prepared for tricky questions like 'Tell me about yourself', 'How do you cope under pressure? Please give us an example of how you coped with pressure.', 'What is your strongest attribute?', 'What are your greatest achievements so far?', 'Describe your own personality', 'Describe a situation where you have contributed to the success of your team.'
Ask 2-3 questions during the interview to show you are proactive and interested.
If the interview went well and you are interested in the job, follow-up with either the employer or recruiter 24 hours after the meeting.
If you do not get the job, try to get feedback from the recruiter or employer. DON'T spiral into depression if you don't get the job! It could be a case of personality clash, lack of preparedness (which you can learn from), or you not being the most suitable candidate on the day. Treat this exercise as a challenge and move onto the next one.
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