You may have had an extended break away from work due to your children’s needs. Once your youngest child has started school, you may find yourself with 6 or 7 hours of the day where you don’t have that responsibility.
3 Tips for Returning to Work When Your Children Start School
When this time comes, you may decide that you want to apply for work or find ways to make yourself that much more employable.
Look into Education
While you may have been employed before becoming a parent, that doesn’t mean that the job you held was something you enjoyed or wanted to do for the rest of your life. Even if you are more mature in years, you can still consider training for your dream role. Undertaking a health administration masters degree, as an example, can also open up more chances of employment for you, both in showing your level of commitment to training and helping you be qualified for higher positions. This can also benefit your resumé by showing that you have spent some of your time trying to further yourself, even if you were unemployed during that time.
Consider Voluntary Work
Another way to build up your resumé is to gain experience within your field of choice. If you don’t have the time or money to qualify or fill any gaps, you could consider taking on a voluntary position. This will allow you to ease back into working life gradually and put something more recent on applications. At times, voluntary work can also lead to offers of employment being a promising avenue. Voluntary work can also be a bit more flexible than a paid role, allowing you to build up from just a few hours a week or day, right up to a standard shift length.
Practice Interview Techniques
There are several ways to adequately prepare for interviews even before you start applying for roles. Beyond making sure that you have intelligent outfits, in the correct size, cleaned and pressed – you could also think about the techniques and mannerisms that you will use on the day itself. Although you can never guarantee what you will be asked, there are a few tricks to preparing that could put you above other candidates. One such trick can be to research the company before you attend adequately. Not only can this show that you have a vested interest in them, but it may also help you to show them why they need you to fill a gap within their team. In addition to this, practicing beforehand can help you find confidence when speaking publicly, making your responses seem that much stronger.
Returning to Work When Your Children Start School
Returning to work after raising children can be both daunting and exciting. You can set yourself up as a strong candidate by ensuring that you have the tools and know-how before applying for work.