In the infinite wisdom of John Lennon, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” For women, the quote could very well be amended to “…while you’re busy raising children.” While dedicating your time and efforts to taking care of your family is always honourable, it can be disconcerting to wake up one day when you have teenage or adult children, and realize that you haven’t worked outside of the home for decades.
Re-entering the workforce can be terrifying and difficult for women in this situation. Whatever education and experience she might have is likely to be woefully outdated, and of course, there’s a slew of younger workers against whom she will be competing for positions. How can an older worker make herself an attractive, viable candidate even if she has a less-than-competitive resume? Let’s take a closer look at clever strategies to make oneself more marketable.
1. Reframe Your Skills and Experiences
Just because you’re not on a company’s payroll doesn’t mean you haven’t gained valuable skills and experiences. Raising kids — and participating in all the auxiliary activities that come along with motherhood — is hard work.
Coordinating with others to develop and execute fundraisers for the local soccer league isn’t that much different than event planning on a corporate level. Spearheading the allocation of family resources during lean times has an awful lot in common with recalculating expenses after a departmental budget cut. And heaven knows you’ve been sharpening your communication skills all along!
In other words, a big gap in your resume does not have to look like a problem to overcome. Think of it as a time when you were too busy learning on the job to document the process!
2. Emphasise Your Soft Skills
More and more, corporations and small- to medium-sized businesses alike have been realizing that specific skills such as proficiency in Excel or the ability to develop an effective marketing plan aren’t as important as the so-called “soft skills” such as teamwork, leadership, conflict resolution, creativity, and critical thinking.
A would-be worker should strive to improve their communication skills, conflict management, and other soft skills while they are job hunting. Try a course like Leadership Development by Peter Montoya to help you grow your leadership qualities. Check out the wide variety of classes available to audit online.
There are dozens of universities that make their academic offerings accessible to anyone. Of course, there are plenty of classes that can teach “hard” skills, but unless you know that there’s a particular proficiency you’ll need to land any job, it might be smarter to pursue more widely applicable mastery.
3. Understand the Value of Culture Fit
Culture fit is another area in which it’s increasingly important for a potential employee and employer to be copacetic. This is particularly true for companies that are building a reputation based on social responsibility.
HR managers and department heads, or even the owners of smaller firms, realize that while hard skills like navigating a content management system or keyword analysis can be taught, it is more critical for an individual to come on board already equipped with similar values and beliefs, a personality that will mesh with existing team members’, and a positive, gung-ho attitude.
Take some time to understand your motives behind going back to work. Is it just for the money? Or are you seeking personal fulfillment or a meaningful connection with the wider world? Chances are it’s the latter. Taking this desire into consideration can help you target the industries and positions where you’ll be poised to thrive.
There’s nothing wrong with other reasons to seek employment. Maybe you are primarily looking to meet some new people, earn a little pin money, and get out of the house. If that’s the case, you might be better off with a retail or hospitality job. You can still help change the world, but perhaps you’re more suited to a customer service role at that progressive, socially conscious company.
No matter what your motivation ends up being, examining it will help you get closer to your career goals without a lot of missteps or false starts.
Now’s Your Time to Shine!
It’s never too late to decide what you want to be when you grow up! By emphasizing the skills you’ve refined over your years as a mother and homemaker, by doing some navel-gazing to find out where you will best fit, and by proactively teaching yourself some new tricks, you are bound to find success in your second act.