Returning to paid employment after child-rearing is a life-changing moment, just as leaving the workforce was originally.

 

Whether your sojourn to full-time house duties has occupied two years or 10 years, slipping back into the pinstripes of corporate life has the potential to be traumatic – even for cake-baking, PTA-leading, mother-helping superwomen.  Your CV is out of date, your working wardrobe is still packed with Nineties power suits and you're totally out of touch with the jargon (what the heck is a Total Quality Paradigm anyway?). 

 

Lisa Prohuber – who today runs www.theoutfit.co.nz, a website dedicated to part-time work opportunities – recently went back to work when her youngest child turned three and-a-half.  "Returning to work required a lot of organisation. Even now my husband and I have weekly meetings to organise drop-offs, pick-ups, shopping, laundry and all the other needs of a functional family."  Lisa says that the dynamics of the workplace changed a lot during the six years she was away. "Things are a lot more politically correct now. People used to work really long hours, but that's changed. Employers are also more flexible about fitting in with your family arrangements."  While Lisa made the transition by jumping in the deep end, the smooth way to slide back into the workforce is to find a buffer zone between where you are now and where you want to be. In Auckland, Sarah Paykel and Kate Ross have been working on exactly that.

 

"There are women out there who have made a conscious decision to raise children, having had a stellar career," says Sarah. "When it comes time for them to get back into it, the things you hear are 'I'm so out of touch with IT' and 'I wouldn't know what to wear'. These people need an intermediary step that gives them the tools to land the best job."  Kate Ross, a professional recruiter, agrees. "Women at home represent an amazing talent resource, but they often need to regain their confidence before they're willing to restart their career."  In response to this need, Sarah and Kate have designed a week-long workshop programme – Return2Work – that aims to bridge the gap between home and work. "There's a whole lost workforce out there," says Sarah. "We're repackaging them so that they're up-to-speed and market-ready."

 

JO JOINER

 

 

For those who are contemplating a return to paid employment, Kate and Sarah from Return2 Work offer these tips:

• Update your resumé – get professional advice or search the internet for advice. If you've been doing any kind of volunteer work, make sure it's mentioned. Also remember that the multi-tasking and organisational skills needed to be a full-time mum are relevant to the business world.
• The business of looking for a job has changed. These days you'll find more possibilities on websites than in the newspaper. Become familiar with www.seek.co.nz
• Prepare properly for an interview by researching the company you're visiting. Show your intelligence and impress your interviewer with your knowledge of their business.
• If you think your age could be an issue, turn it into an advantage by pointing our how your wisdom, stability and life experience can have a positive influence on the work place.
• Take your time finding the right job. You don't have to settle for the first thing that comes along.

Thank you to Simply You Magazine for providing the article for use on the website.