Back to work for moms (and dads)

By Amy Lindgren

For the AJC

Mother’s Day is here and what does every mom want? More work! Well, that may be exaggerating. But if you’re a mom who’s been out of the market, you might be ready to get back in. Returning to work after pausing for child rearing is one of the trickier transitions, for any number of reasons.

First, if the break was short and your child is still a baby, you have exhaustion, new day care arrangements and possibly breast feeding to deal with. Having a job waiting for you makes things more manageable than trying to find new work, but both can be difficult.

Moms -- and dads -- who have been home with children for a longer spell have a different set of issues. The kids may be past the baby stage, but now their school schedules create demands. Work hours truncated by the arrival of the school bus can burden a job search.

Even parents whose kids are grown have difficulties, as they have to account for 10 or 15 years out of the work force.

So how does one make the transition from home-work to work-work? (Sorry, that’s the kind of language you pick up being around kids too much.) In a word: Strategically.

Think of this as a project in three phases. If you need to find work soon, these stages may be only a few weeks each; if you’re preparing for a later return, they could be several months or even years long.

Phase 1: We’ll call this Job Search Lite. You’re not really searching, because you’re not ready to go back. But you’re keeping your hand in so that it’s not such a shock to the system -- yours and your future employer’s -- when you look for work later. Some steps to consider during this time include:

• Volunteer jobs that involve some responsibility. Perhaps you could join a committee or board for a nearby nonprofit. For purposes of later job search, the best roles will be those that involve teamwork, leadership, decision-making, or business practices (such as managing a club’s finances).

• Classes. Not entire degree programs necessarily, but perhaps a workshop every couple of months on a work-related topic. Or consider classes on general topics such as business writing, computing or public speaking.

• Career exploration exercises. Not sure of your vocation? Now might be a good time to visit a career counselor to develop exploration steps. Even if your progress is limited to conversations you have in quarterly meetings with your counselor, you will be glad later that you started the ball rolling.

Phase 2: This is the Warming Up or Getting Serious stage. You’re still not searching, but you’re getting ready. Now is the time to write your resume, test your child care network, get the kids (and spouse) used to the idea of you working, etc.

One good way to accomplish most or all of these goals is to work part time someplace where you can swap schedules with other workers if you run into problems. Think coffee shop and retail store, and you’ll be on the right track for this phase.

Another Phase 2 activity is increased networking. Start by attending professional association meetings or other sessions in your field, and graduate to scheduled coffee meetings with new and old acquaintances. Since you’re not yet looking for work, the purpose of these get-togethers is partly social and partly reconnaissance, to help you plan your actual job search.

Phase 3: Full Speed Ahead. Now you’re playing for keeps. If possible, give yourself at least two months to look for work before you actually need the paycheck. This time (or longer if you have it) will be spent on direct outreach to employers for whom you’d like to work. If you need special circumstances, such as part-time hours or schedule flexibility, you’ll have the best luck running a targeted job search campaign where you offer your services without the competition of other job seekers.

And what will you say to those employers when you get a meeting? Something straightforward like this: I am a skilled (fill-in-the-blank) who has been out of the market for a while. I’ve kept up with classes and part-time work, and now I’m ready to offer my skills to an employer. Let’s get together and talk about what I can do for your department.”

Scary? Unpleasant? Maybe, but you’ve been dealing with diapers -- how bad could this be? If you need courage, remember that almost everyone you meet in this process will already be potty-trained. That should make things go better.

Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.