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Back to work after 14-year gap
After a 14-year career gap in which I raised my children, I now want and need financially to return to work. However, I still have three young children aged 9,8 and 5. I do not know where to start looking for work or how I might make it possible to have a full-time or even part-time job. I need to realise a ‘proper’ income and am not interested in MLM opportunities (Avon, Kleeneze etc.). I need to be ‘there’ for my children so I am not able to do nights or shift/weekend work. In my previous working life I was a project manager for a large, global company specialising in the area of injection mould tooling in the plastics industry. Latterly I was an HGV (Class 1) driver. Neither of these seem suitable things to return to although from the project engineering (14 years’ experience, culminating in managing budget of £14m/an.) there must be transferable skills. I do not know how I would manage my children around school (currently 10 miles away) and have no family or friends to lean on for childcare in the holidays so would be looking at professional childcare for those times too. This would be mighty cost-prohibitive when I have three children to be looked after. Apart from creating a CV, where do I start?
This question is a common one, believe it or not, so let me start by saying you may feel alone, but you’re not. There are thousands of women in the same position you are in right now and by the way a great start that you got your cv done!
Take some time and with a pen and paper write your answers to the following questions:
– What is it that you really want? (Write every detail you can regarding your ideal job)
– What do you need to do to get this job?
– What type of employer are you looking for?
– Who will be affected by you getting a job?
– How will you overcome any concerns?
– Where can you get support?
– Think of a time when you overcame a difficult situation, what resources did you pull on to overcome them?
Many of us mums underestimate how much we have to offer to a potential employer. Think about all the skills and resources you draw upon bringing up your children and managing a household. These are excellent transferable skills. What skills can you identify? What help could you access to get you back into work?
Apart from the financial benefit what else will be good about going back to work? You are a resourceful woman, reconnect to her and once you are clear about what you want and why you want it your focus will shift to making it happen.
Good luck and please let us know how you get on.
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