By Khalilah Starks
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 8th! And, in celebration of this wonderful day, I’m dedicating this post to the wonderful mom’s that I know who are at different stages of their careers. Today, I’m focusing on stay at home moms. These moms are the key executives in their homes and oftentimes have sacrificed awesome careers to focus on home. But, there usually comes a day when the kids enter school and become self-sufficient that the once career driven mom starts to yearn for life beyond the PTA and play dates.
As a stay at home mom, there are things that you can do right now while you’re at home, years before you decide to reenter the workforce. Taking a few steps now will put you in a great place once you decide that it’s time to shift the focus to your career.
Determine Your Career Interests. If you’re unsure about your career direction, this is the perfect time to figure it out. Take the opportunity while at home to learn about various careers. There are several resources, including the Occupational Outlook Handbook, that are available to assist you in researching various career fields. Consider hiring a career coach to help you explore careers that are in alignment with your natural talents and interests. Once you determine your area of interest, you can start taking small steps to prepare you for the day when you’re ready to start a career in your chosen field.
Take a Volunteer Leadership Position. Volunteering is great for many reasons. You get to help the community, expand your network (80% of people find jobs through networking), and build great skills that employers will appreciate. Leadership happens to be one of the most highly sought after skills that employers look for in job applicants. Look for opportunities that will allow you to enhance your leadership skills such as being President of the PTA. However, being President of an organization isn’t the only way that you can gain leadership skills. You can also enhance your leadership skills by taking the lead role on projects for the PTA or any other organizations that you are affiliated with. Also, look for volunteer opportunities and unpaid internships within your career field. Some of the best experiences are unpaid.
Take a class. The role of CEO of the household can be extremely exhausting and busy. But, if you have the opportunity to take a class or attain a certification to enhance your skills, go for it! Taking a class can help you acquire skills necessary to reenter the job force. After an extensive gap in employment, employers like to see that you’ve taken the steps to stay current with the skills that are relevant to your career interests.
Use Social Media Wisely. Social Media can be a great self marketing tool. See my previous post to learn the different ways that you can use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to market your talents. Even though you’re not contributing to your household financially, there are achievements and skills that are worthy of being mentioned to your network. Let your network know if you’ve taken the lead on a project at your child’s school. Let your network know about a volunteer opportunity that you’re really excited about. You’re building skills that are highly valuable while being of service to your family and community. This is something to be proud of and should be shared!
So, what if you’re ready to reenter the workforce now? See the advice that I give to moms who are looking to reenter the workforce on ChambanaMoms.com.
