Jobs and Moms

How to Stay Career Ready While Staying Home with Children: 5 Tips for Success

Q.  Hi Nancy:

After trying to juggle both a full time career and being a mom, I have decided to quit my professional career and become a full-time Mom. As much as I feel that this is the right decision, I do worry about the impact of this on my career. I’ve heard such horror stories about Moms trying to re-enter the workforce. Am I right to be concerned or should I just relax and enjoy my children during the next several years?  -- A Faithful Fan

A.  Dear Faithful:

Would it help ease your fears to know that Sandra Day O’Connor, Meredith Viera and Nancy Pelosi all took time away from the workplace to be full-time mothers? Clearly, their careers didn’t suffer irreparable damage, and with some careful planning, neither should yours. 

That said, now is the time to prepare for your eventual return, even if you expect to be home for several years. (If you ever ride the underground rail system in London , a voice comes across the intercom at each stop urging you to “mind the gap” as you disembark; a useful warning as well for Moms who take time to step off the employment track). Here are five suggestions to keep you career market-ready while you are home full-time with your children: 

1. Use the time to explore new interests – Chances are the last time you got to choose your career direction was when you were a sophomore in college and you had to declare your major. Now, with many additional years of life and work experience behind you, your old career choice may no longer be your best option. Take advantage of this “break in service” to do some serious thinking about your future career direction. If ever you’re going to make a career change, now is the time to make a shift. 

GOAL: Attend a career workshop through your local continuing education program or community college. If none are convenient, take a look at some of the wonderful career exploration books available at your local library or sign-up for a few sessions with a qualified career counselor. The sooner you clarify your career direction, the easier it will be to build up the skills, knowledge and experiences needed to support your new goal. 

2. Maintain your network: Don’t allow “out-of-sight” to become “out-of-mind.” Your network of contacts will be the single most useful tool in your job search arsenal when you are ready to go back to work, so carefully nurture those relationships by making a concerted effort to stay in touch. 

GOAL: At least once a quarter, connect with your network of colleagues by sending an article, a quick note or an invitation for coffee or lunch. Once a year, send holiday cards to your entire rolodex of contacts. Even if you don’t go back into your old line of work, you’ll still want to be able to call upon these people for references and general networking assistance. 

3. Take courses: In today’s information-based economy, education must be an ongoing priority for people who expect to enjoy prosperous careers. Fortunately, the options for continuing adult education in today’s world are vast -- you can go to a traditional college, sign up for online courses, attend workshops/ conferences or study via a local continuing-ed program. 

GOAL: Make it a priority to learn at least one new technology-based skill and one new industry-related skill per year. 

4. Keep up to date with trade journals and association meetings: While we are on the subject of education, make sure you keep your skills fresh by reading trade journals or industry newsletters. 

GOAL: When you’re a year away from re-entering the workplace, make it a point to attend industry meetings so you can collect business cards, make new contacts and be up-to-date on the latest developments within your industry. Nothing beats good old fashioned face-to-face networking to maximize your job search efforts. 

5. Become a strategic volunteer: As a stay-at-home Mom you’ll be bombarded with requests for volunteer work (especially once your kids get to be school-aged). While volunteering is a noble task in and of itself, you can turn your volunteer assignments into a real win-win by strategically choosing assignments that complement your career goals and teach you valuable new skills. 

GOAL: Once a year, seek out a volunteer assignment that helps you to learn a new skill, allows you to impact the bottom line or in some way puts you into a high-visibility leadership role. Don’t be afraid to take chances and step out of your comfort zone! 

In summary, be proactive and you’ll be just fine. It doesn’t take long to become obsolete, but by keeping yourself at least partially connected to the business world, you’ll be able to quickly get your career back on track when you’re ready to re-board the employment train.

Why I Chose to Reinvent My Career: Reflections of a Mom Entrepreneur

This is a reprint of an article I first published in my newsletter in honor of my daughter's graduation from high school.  Even though she is now a college graduate (pictured below) the sentiments expressed in this article are as true today as the day I wrote it.  Enjoy.

 

We've known since the day our Danielle was born seventeen and a half years ago, that someday she would leave home for college. But in spite of the passing years and the "day-is-drawing-near" milestones along the way, my husband and I still found ourselves in a state of denial as we watched our "little girl" receive her high school diploma this past Friday night. 

Adding insult to injury, Danielle wasn't the only graduation in our house on Friday. Our younger daughter Juliana graduated the same day from middle school -- yet another reminder that our days as 24/7 hands-on parents are quickly coming to an end. 

Indeed, graduation is one of those markers in time, when you sit back, reflect and take stock. Not surprisingly, I've recently found myself spending a lot of time thinking about my role as a parent and wondering: "If I had a chance to do it all over again, what would I do differently?" 

Like all parents, I've made my share of less-than-brilliant decisions along the parenting road. But of all the choices I've made, one of my wisest was the move I made nine years ago to become a home-based working mom. 

I won't tell you the entrepreneurial road has always been easy or profitable. When I started my business, my husband was traveling pretty near full-time and with two small children at home, I rarely worked more than fifteen hours a week. I'm not sure I even netted a thousand dollars my first year (okay, I am sure that I didn't, but I'm trying to forget). 

And yet, in spite of the fact that it took me more years than I expected to begin earning a reasonable income stream, I always considered my business a success. I loved what I was doing, I was constantly learning, and I believed in the value of my mission -- empowering women to find better ways to mesh meaningful careers with family. 

That said, there were definitely moments when I got very frustrated with my inability to grow the business. As much as I loved my children, I felt hampered by my parenting obligations. There were days when I would fantasize about a time when the kids would be more self-sufficient, leaving me with blocks of time to work blessedly uninterrupted. 

Of course, over the years, the children did grow more independent. And, as the children got older, my ability to balance work and family got significantly easier. I now have frequent blocks of uninterrupted work-time. In fact, I actually welcome the interruptions from the kids these days. It helps break up my routine to get the daily update when they return from school, and in an ironic twist, they now get irritated with me when I start chatting with them when they have homework to complete. 

As I said before, working at home hasn't always been easy. But if I had a chance to do it over, I wouldn't hesitate a second to go down the same road again. For me, being a home-based entrepreneur was, and still is, most definitely the right choice. Working from home gives me flexibility when I need it most, and now as I face the looming empty-nest syndrome, my business keeps me busy and happy, while also providing me the means to help pay those college bills. 

When I made the choice to be a work-from-home mom, I never thought this time would fly so quickly. But it did for me...and it will for you too. 

Someday, probably a lot sooner then you expect, you'll find yourself asking, "Where did the time go?" Whether your child is now two -- or ten -- or fifteen, in a seeming "blink of an eye" you will be watching them walk down the aisle at their graduation. 

When that moment comes, will you be happy about the work-life choices you've made? 

If the answer is no, commit to making a change today. If you're a stay-at-home mom worried about facing the empty nest syndrome, think about going to a workshop geared for sequencing moms. If you've always wanted to work from home, spend the next few months researching new business ideas. If you're fed up with work, take the time to figure out next steps, polish up the resume and get that job search into gear. 

Don't wait for a "better time". Take charge of building the future you've always dreamed of starting today and make this the year you schedule your own personal work-life commencement. 

I guarantee you won't regret it.

Reinvent Your Career: 5 Steps to Take Before You Quit Your Job

Have you ever daydreamed about what it would be like to quit your job and get a fresh start in a new and more exciting career? If so, you’re not alone; thousands of frustrated workers have the same thought every day.

Of course, while lots of people think about making a change, very few people actually act on that impulse. Don't let complacency get in your way.  There are a number of relatively easy things you can do to explore new career paths.  Here are five tried-and-true ways to get experience in a new field of interest – four of which you can do without quitting your job: 

1) Take Classes: Investigate the options for attending a continuing education class at your local community college or town-run program. This is an inexpensive and low-risk way to test out your interest in a new endeavor. While taking the class, talk with your teacher and other students to find out their thoughts on employment options, degree programs and growth opportunities within that industry. Then, if after taking a few non-credit classes you decide you’re ready to get the needed credentials for success, investigate the possibility of enrolling in a degree or certificate program at an accredited college or online program.

2) Volunteer: Offering your services on a volunteer basis is a great way to test out your skills in a new line of work. For example, if you want to learn more about finance, you could volunteer as the treasurer for a fund-raising event at your church or synagogue. Or, you could sign-up to help prepare the budget for your favorite local non-profit agency. A good volunteer job can be time consuming, but hopefully the benefits will outweigh the inconvenience.

3) Moonlight: Pursue a weekend or evening position that will allow you to test out a new work environment (and gain some needed experience) before you quit your day job. While the added strain of logging extra work hours may be difficult to sustain for the long-term, it’s a worthwhile investment of time when you consider the benefits of a “try-before-you-buy” approach to career change. 

4) Indulge in a Vocation Vacation: You gotta love this idea; VocationVacations®, a company launched in 2004, offers clients the chance to test-drive their dream careers and learn what it's like to work in a fantasy job without having to quit their own jobs first. Past clients have enjoyed an insider’s view of what it is like to own a winery, be a professional photographer or run a bed and breakfast while on vacation.  

Finally, if the above options don’t work, it may behoove you to work on a temporary basis to further enhance your “real-world” job experience. Of course, working as a temp most likely means you’ll have to abandon your day job, but the experience and networking contacts you’ll gain should help pave the way to a successful job search. 

Making the transition into a new career takes time, so be patient and persistent. Develop a plan, stay focused on learning new skills, earn the necessary credentials and before you know it, you’ll be driving in the fast lane to a more satisfying career.

Want to Work in Nonprofit?

Many of my clients, particularly those who are eager to find more meaning in their work, express a desire to work for nonprofit organizations. If you are contemplating a career transition into the non-profit sector, you'll find these statistics (excerpted from the  NY Times, April 19, 2009) of interest:

Even with the current economic uncertainties, employment rates in the nonprofit sector are expected to outpace the commercial and government sectors. The Bridgespan Group projects that the field will need 640,000 new senior managers by 2016 (worst case scenario, 330,000).

Nonprofit salaries can be 20 to 50 percent less than in the for-profit arena. According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, career changers with degrees or certificates in nonprofit fields can add $20,000 to $40,000 to their starting salaries, bringing them up to around $60,000. Chief executives average $115,000, but CEO's working for major foundations can earn up to nearly $1 million.

Women make up more than 70 percent of the nonprofit workforce, but their pay lags behind their male counterparts . Female fund-raisers earn an average $66,626, compared to men earning $85,848.

The number of nonprofit degree and certificate programs has expanded in recent years. Click here for a list of nearly 300 nonprofit educational options.

The Allure of Public Sector Jobs

Last week, my daughter Juliana and I went to Washington DC so she could attend admitted student's day at George Washington University. The chance to live in our nation's capital, the opportunity to major in Media and Public Affairs, and the promise of a dazzling variety of internships (so many choices and so little time!) helped convince her that GW was the perfect choice for her. 

Turns out our Juliana isn't the only person interested in working in the public sector. According to a recent article in the NY Times,  more students are migrating away from careers in finance in favor of jobs in public service, government, the sciences and education.  

This article raised several interesting points that are valuable for anyone thinking about re-directing his/her own career:

Opportunities in the sciences are ripe for expansion:  The Obama administration wants to double federal spending in basic research over the next 10 years and triple the number of graduate fellowships in science.

Government is hiring:  The stimulus package will result in increased opportunities in both government jobs and private-public partnerships.  The environment, public works projects, energy and health care are all areas with growth potential.

Education is a growth field:  While demands for teachers vary by location and area of expertise, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, "opportunities for teachers over the next 10 years will vary from good to excellent, depending on the locality, grade level, and subject taught. Most job openings will result from the need to replace the large number of teachers who are expected to retire over the 2006-16 period.  Job prospects are expected to be favorable, with particularly good prospects for teachers in high-demand fields like math, science, and bilingual education, or in less desirable urban or rural school districts."

Finding Your Life Purpose

Here are five questions to ponder if you're struggling with the "I don't know what I want to be when I grow up" dilemma:

1.  What "language" do you like to speak? No, I am not talking about French or English, but about the topics and issues you discuss on a daily basis. Do you refer to things in spiritual terms, interject conversations with references to food or prefer to dish about celebrity gossip? The themes you focus on every day, particularly in your social conversations, can provide clues to your underlying passions.

2.  What would you do if you knew you could not fail? Fear is a powerful roadblock that prevents us from acheiving our dreams. If you could be guaranteed success, what job, mission or goal would you be willing to pursue?

3.  Which charity would you donate money to if you won the lottery? Your choice can provide insight into the causes and issues you value most in your life.

4.  What types of tasks do people come to you for? Think about what people consistently ask you to help with, both at home and at the office. Are you always the "go-to" person for certain jobs or responsibilities? What does that tell you about your strengths and talents?

5.  What are you a natural at? Are you great at putting people at ease, always a fashion plate or can you host a dinner party for twenty without breaking a sweat? Leveraging your natural skills, gifts and personality traits can help to ensure long-term career success and fulfillment.

Career Reinventions: Fun Questions to Ponder

As a career coach, I have the honor of helping my clients discover their inner passions, motivating values and lifestyle needs. Part of that discovery process involves asking key questions to help clarify and expand their world of possibilities.

I hope to have the opportunity to work with many of you in the near future to help craft your new career, but in the meantime, here is a sampling of questions for you to ponder on your own:

1) If you could make a documentary about any subject, what topic would you choose? Think about what your response reveals about your core values, areas of interest and personal belief system. Does your answer provide any insights into specific areas of interest that you should study further?

2) Who are the three people you admire most? As you think about the people you selected, analyze your choices to see if there are any personal traits, values or job characteristics that these three people share in common. Examine the common threads in their profiles for clues to the attributes you would like to replicate in your own life.

3) What would you like your obituary to say? While it is never pleasant to think about your own demise, writing your obituary can be a life-affirming experience. What does your fictitious obituary say about your personal relationships, work achievements, community contributions or personal triumphs? If you're not happy with how your obituary reads today, what steps do you need to take to ensure your actual obituary will reflect a life and a legacy that you will be proud to call your own?

4) Describe your ideal work day: Write about what time you would get up, if you would exercise, the types of people you would work around and the assortment of activities you would complete during the course of the day. Be thorough and include detail about the clothes you would wear, the work environment you'd prefer, and even the food you'd like to eat during the course of the day. Think about how what you wrote compares to the realities of your current life and decide on action steps to better align your life with your "perfect" vision.

5) What did you love to do as a child and why did you love it? Okay, so this is really two questions, but it is important to answer both. Did you enjoy performing at your parent's parties? Play beautician with your friends? Read books about horses? Make a list of your favorite activities and then write down why you loved doing each one. After you've completed both lists, analyze your responses to see if any consistent themes emerge.

Do you have some insightful questions to add to this list? Add your favorites to the list on our blog.

I Don't Know What I Want to Do!

When I was in college earning my masters in career development, I was required to take a full-semester course on career assessments. But in spite of this investment in my assessment education, I typically use assessments quite sparingly when working with my clients.

While I think assessments (a.k.a. career tests) can be quite enlightening for people who have limited work experience or who are looking for general career direction, my clients seem to experience more success when we use a wide variety of assessment techniques beyond the basic tests. Let me share with you four activities I recommend to clients who are searching for new career directions:

1) Make a list what you love to do and do best: All of us have a multitude of abilities. But, simply knowing what you are capable of doing isn't enough. The key to finding lasting career satisfaction is to not only know what you do well - but to know what you enjoy doing and do well. Once you have a better understanding of your motivating skills and interests, it will be much easier to assess the "fit" of potential careers and entrepreneurial opportunities.

2) Peruse the college catalogs: Even if you have no intention of returning to school, it's amazing what you can discover about your interests and options by reading through a variety of college catalogs. You'll learn about emerging growth industries and uncover new paths for career opportunities within your industry or area of expertise.

3) Invest in adult education: Consider enrolling in a continuing education class at your local community college or high school. This is an inexpensive, low-risk way to test out your interest in a new endeavor. While taking the class, talk with your teacher and other students to find out their thoughts on employment options, degree programs and growth opportunities within that industry. Then, if after taking a few non-credit classes you decide you're ready to get the needed credentials for success, investigate the possibility of enrolling in a degree or certificate program at an accredited college or online program. Most programs offer weekend or evening classes to accommodate older students.

4) Volunteer: Offering your services on a volunteer basis is a great way to test out your skills in a new line of work. For example, if you want to learn more about finance, you could volunteer as the treasurer for a fund-raising event at your church or synagogue. Or, you could sign-up to help prepare the budget for your favorite local non-profit agency. A good volunteer job can be time consuming, but it's a great way to test out your interest in a potential career.

Interested in getting 1-1 help with your career transition? Click here for more information.

Yale Study

Last fall, The New York Times ran a front page story claiming that "many women at the nation's most elite colleges have already decided that they will put aside their careers in favor of raising children." The basis for this article was a survey conducted at Yale of less than 200 women, of which 60% of them (about 85 women) said that when they had children, they planned to cut back on work or stop working entirely. Now, another study refutes those findings, with just 4.1% of Yale women surveyed reporting that they plan to stop work entirely after having children, compared to 0.7% of men.

Personally, I am flabbergasted that either of these studies are getting any serious attention. With all due respect to the opinions of these fine students, I find it frustrating that so much attention is being paid to a study that tracks theoretical intentions of young people, who are neither working nor parents, and it is foolish to interpret these findings as anything more significant than youthful speculation. While I personally find it interesting to ask my own daughter, who is a college sophomore, her plans regarding work and children, I would never presume to take her response too seriously. Her work experience is limited to summer jobs and her experience as a mother is (fortunately) non-existent. Ten years from now, after she has some experience dealing in the workplace and in the home, then I'll be delighted to give her opinions on this topic more credibility. Until then, I'll reserve my attention for women who have made their choices after giving birth.

It would be far more productive for our society if we payed more attention to promoting flexible work arrangements and spent less time pitting women against one another for the benefit of the media.

Take a Risk: Reap the Rewards

I was recently reminded about the importance of risk- taking when I read a wonderful article about this subject written by Bob Middleton of www.actionplan.com. I loved his advice so much that I wanted to share an exercise Bob had in the article. (In fact, I found the questions so compelling that I printed them out and posted them on my computer). I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I did. Here is the excerpt:

"Ultimately we'll only take a risk when we realize that the cost of not acting is greater than the cost of acting. Unfortunately we often have these realizations a little too late. What are those things you're putting off? Take a second to write a few of them down.

Now you have a short list of things you're not learning but could probably benefit from learning and another list of things you're not doing but would likely profit from if you got around to doing them. What I recommend is that you subject each item on your list to the following questions:

Is this something that would truly benefit me if I learned it or put it into action?

What are some of the possible benefits I might gain if I learned or did this thing?

What could I potentially lose if I didn't learn this thing or do this thing?

What's the worst that could happen if I took a risk and learned this thing or did this?

When you ask these four questions of every item on your list, you'll have reframed your risk. What used to look risky might not look so risky anymore. In fact, it might actually start looking like a great idea to learn or do this thing."

(Excerpted from an article by Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert's web site at www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses.)

What risks are you thinking/worrying/fretting/or planning on taking? Post your responses here!