Mums returning to work can undercover loads of issues. Here are 3 steps to help you return to work. We have some Mum returning to work CV/Resume examples at the bottom of this page
1.Returning to work – Change your Perspective
Being a mum is a lot of work, you are not returning to work, you are just changing location and continuing to work even harder now – as you now also have a baby to look after.
Think of your time away form work as a career break and not as maternity leave.
Why?
You choose a career break to have a baby (proactive)
But
maternity leave is something that happens to you (reactive)
2.Returning to work – Skills
Think about it – being a mum takes an amazing set of skills
e.g.
- Scheduling
- Teamwork
- Multi-tasking
- Logistics
- Negotiation
- Contingency planning
- Design projects
- Building projects
- Thinking outside of the box
- Problem-solving
- Patience
- Communication skills.
And if your kids are little you are also doing all of this with
very little sleep! and probably your hormones are also all over the place so you are battling your biochemistry as well
Can you apply these skills to the workplace?
You sure can!
In fact, as a mum returning to work, you will have more stamina, more foresight, and multi-tasking skills than the average person.
3. Returning to Work – Take your power back
There are many employment gap reasons. Some people travel, some people, unfortunately, get sick or have to look after their parents or are made redundant. Many people have to take a break in their careers – its normal and part of everyday life.
When you apply for your first job after a break
it’s a big deal.
The career break looms very large – like an elephant in the room
and you want to explain it in the best way.
By the way, here are some examples of how not to explain a career break!
Never apologize for taking time away from work to become a mum.
Being a mum is a very important job and now you are ready to return to the workplace
And you are a better person for doing it
So now it’s time to show employers what you’ve learned while you’ve been away.
Here is Sheila’s back to work mum example and how we tackled her resume to get her back to work
