Back to Work Poll

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Back to Work--Does the Idea Send Shivers Up Your Spine?

I can't tell you how many moms I've heard say they would love to go back to work but they're afraid. 

Afraid of what?  Change alone is scary, especially if your family/household depends heavily on you.  Many moms are worried about managing a new schedule, handling the double duties of work and home, the loss of flexibility, lack of skills and so much more.

If you're planning on returning to a paid job, I'd love to hear from you. Consider these questions:

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Add more comments below, or contact me to share your story in Your Words.  

Are You Behind Career-Wise

If you've taken any length of time off from work (a paying job) to be a mom, or if you altered your career-path to make family time more manageable, you might have a few fears about returning to the workforce, particularly when it comes to how marketable you still are.  Here are some top fears you may have:

·         your experience is outdated

·         you have too large of a gap in your resume

·         you are no longer corporate material

·         your skills are limited

Is this really true or simply how we perceive ourselves?

Unfortunately, it's often a little bit of both.   If you are or were a stay-at-home mom, or a mom who took a part-time or generic job out of convenience, you probably are outdated compared to those who continued on a full-time career path. 

That doesn't have to mean you are unmarketable.  Nor does it mean you’re stuck with a useless resume.   How can you improve your professional portfolio?

·         Take a class or two. Great options to start with:   MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are online  courses attended by thousands of people via the Internet.  MOOCs are almost always free.

o    MOOC info

o    MOOC pros/cons

o    Continuing education courses

o    Certification courses

 

·         Ask for a brief internship at a company you'd like to work for.  If you want an internship, don't be shy.  Do your homework on local companies. (Small companies often offer the best opportunities.)   Ask and negotiate for an internship. They'll get a free worker, you'll get a free education, be able to add to your resume and possibly have a job offer at the end of the internship. If that doesn't happen, intern at another company.   

o    How to get an internship

·         Volunteer. Volunteering is not only good for the community, it's good for you, emotionally and in the business realm--if you pick the right opportunity.   To spruce up your resume, choose a position that compliments your future career plans.  For example, if you want to work in public relations you could volunteer as a fundraising coordinator.  An accountant?  Volunteer as the treasurer for your child's PTA or a local church. 

·         Consider your home skills.  I don't mean turn your resume into a domestic thesaurus. (Helping your children pick out nice clothes does not translate to fashion designer.   Stopping sibling rivalry does not make you a relationship therapist. You get the point.)   However, many moms underestimate the skills they use every day.   In this case, it's a matter of listing your skills set rather than creating a job label.  For example, many moms become great at organizing, problem-solving, handling finances, budgeting, etc.)  If your best skills match the job you're seeking include them.   (I'm currently working on a post that displays various types of resume styles including one that focuses on skills and accomplishments rather than specific employment.)

·         Join organizations.   Nothing works better than social networking (the old-fashioned kind).   Find an organization, a club, an association--anything that relates to your chosen field.  Join AND attend.  Yes, meet real people, in person.   Get to know them, their businesses, let them know about your strengths.  Volunteer for a position within the organization that demonstrates or improves your skills.   Offer to intern or freelance for a potential employer.

o    Professional Organization Tips and Info

 

·         The new social networking.  You can't deny the power of the internet.  Consider career sites such as Linkedin.  If you're using the web to gain employment, remember your reputation matters.    Do your best to save the web for professional activity and posts.  

o    The Value of Linkedin

·         Freelance.   Thanks to the web, freelancing opportunities are available for many fields.  Again, you might start out working for peanuts, but eventually if your work is good, you should be able to build up a following or at least be able to update your employment status on your resume.

o    Freelance Blog

·         Return to School.  Many colleges offer classes on-line making it easier to earn or upgrade your degree.  If you have the time and resources and want to start anew, talk to a school advisor about options. Free scholarships. 

o    Scholarships

Affiliate links are embedded in this post. If you purchase a product from these links, I could receive a small compensation from your purchase. For more information click Renew's  Disclosure page.
  

Create A Freelance Business

How cute are these?

Having trouble finding a job?

Why not create one?   Yes, you can!

Use your current skills, past experience, even hobby knowledge to create a product or service you'd love to sell. 

Of course, some jobs might require a class or certification, and all require a persistent can-do attitude.   You might even have to offer a few freebies to friends or potential customers to gain referrals and a following. 

Below is just a brief list of real freelance opportunities:

• -Life Coach

Great at organizing, managing time/schedules, budgeting, even confidence-building?  Help others build those skills, as well.

• Fashion Expert or Blogger

Do you have excellent fashion sense, know how to accessorize and love to shop? Believe, me, not every woman can build a runway wardrobe.  Save customers money in the long run by picking pieces they'll actually wear and look fabulous.
Live Fashion Blog Example & Tips
Learn How to Make Money in Fashion

• Catered Homemade Meals for Busy Families

Love to cook?  Do you usually make more food than your family can eat?    When you cook for your family, cook for your clients (create the same dishes in separate containers).  If it's easier, cook an entire week's worth of meals in one or two days and store them in the freezer. Deliver them to your clients'  homes based upon on agreement.
Tips on Batch Cooking

• Columnist

Think you can't be a columnist if you're not a journalist? If friends come to you for advice, you might be the perfect candidate.  Pick a comfortable topic (parenting, relationships, etc.).  Send a few sample columns (reviewed by friends) to your local paper.  Don't fret if they accept your column, don't pay.  Those published clips are your ticket to higher paying opportunities.

Here are a few other real freelancing opportunities (and some useful links):

• -Household Organizer Become a Professional Organizer
• -Cupcake Baker
  The Cupcake Blog
  Cupcake Sales
• -Resume Writer
• -Senior/Student Tutoring
• -Computer Training (seniors)
• -Cooking Classes for Kids (and/or parents)
• -Inventor
  5 Tips To Become an Inventor
• -CatererCatering tips
  How to Become A Successful Caterer
• -Budget Planner
• -Bling Accesorizer
• -Handmade Card Designer
• -Foreign Language/English Language InstructorTeach English On Line
• -Painting Bedroom Murals
• -Animal Behavioralist
  
  Animal behavior blog
  How to become a dog trainer
• -Record Books on Tape



Help someone grow a green thumb

• -Motivational Coach
• -Garden Consultant
• -Selling CraftsExcellent craft blog
  Great resource for starting a craft business
  How to sell crafts
• -Virtual AssistantVirtual assistance blog
  Start up a virtual assistant business

Affiliate links are embedded in this post. If you purchase a product from these links, I could receive a small compensation from your purchase. For more information click Renew's  Disclosure page.

You say potato, I say computer

My daughter called me a computer potato.

I guess that’s equivalent to a couch potato.

How embarrassing.  To be called out by my daughter.

In my defense, when I spend a half-day at my computer, I’m actually interrupted every two minutes by one of three kids, and, whenever my husband returns from a business trip, he becomes a major offender.  So—inevitably 30 minutes of computer time typically translates to five minutes of work success.  

I try to get my work done at bedtime.  Can you see three kids in one bed (yes, even though my oldest is a teenager)? I actually think it’s an excuse to stay up late.

Ho Hum. I guess she’s right.  Time to peel the potato. 

Ouch. The bad jokes are coming.  Yep, time to give up.

Creative Thinking: Coming up with a marketable niche

Are you a mom ready to return to work?  Maybe you have a job, but it's time for a change?  Have you ever considered creating your own career?  Create a Passion List first.  Then try the following method to see if you can make a living doing what you love.

Using your passions list:

1) Research

Start with the internet to search passion words.  Type in your key passion words and see what pops up. For example, if your passion is gardening: search “gardening”

If your passion is more targeted, such as roof-top gardening or herb gardening, use “roof top gardening” or “herb gardening”

Make notes of the TYPES of businesses, PRODUCTS and SERVICES that pop up from your search
Also make notes of the FORUMS and BLOGS that pop up from your search

You can also modify your search by adding "Businesses" or "unique" or "popular” or other reasonable keywords. For example, your passion is pets: try searching “pet businesses”, “unique pet businesses”, “top pet businesses”

-Again, make notes of any relevant results

2) Now visit the blogs and forums resulting from your search. 
Take a quick moment to scan for popular topics, and common needs or questions that relate to your passion.  For example: a large pet forum has a special section dedicated to pet travel.   You notice a lot of questions related to "tips for transporting a pet" or "finding hotels for pets", and even "How can I find a hotel that will let me brings my dog, but doesn’t smell stinky or look ratty?" 

If any of these topics interest you, jot them down.   It doesn't hurt to do a quick search on these expanded topics to see what businesses are currently doing to address them. 

Example: Search "problems finding hotels that allow pets" or "hotels pets accepted"

If you find there's not much of an industry, or if you find businesses aren't properly addressing customers' needs--voila, you may have found a potential career opportunity.

3) Discover a super-niche

-Another way to find a potential market is to create a niche

For this example, let’s go back to pets.   Make a list of the potential markets related to pets: pet shops, kennels, pet parlors, pet bakeries, etc.    Pretty common stuff, right?   Common can mean a lot of competition.  You don’t want common.  You want unique. 

Back to creative thinking: zone in on some of the markets that interest you.   It might be a good idea to refer to your Passion List, if you can’t remember what some of your other interests are. Use the market ideas and trends to come up with ideas that pair your interests.

For example:  Not only do you love dogs, but you enjoy sewing. Instead of selling standard pet products,  why not sell handmade sweaters for dogs?

Now take your niche to the second level—the super-niche, a niche within a niche.  After all, there's surprisingly a lot of competition for people making handmade sweaters for dogs. 

So how do you niche a niche?   Simple:  make that niche even more unique.  The trick here is to be reasonable.  (Don’t go for freaky or something that will make people think to themselves, “What drug is she on?”)  

Here’s a reasonable example of taking a niche a step further: Selling dog/owner coordinating sets: handmade sweaters for dogs and matching sweaters for the owners. 

Okay, I admit that sounds silly—actually creepy and way to obsessive of an owner.  But what about trendy sweaters for dogs and matching scarves for owners?    It’s cute, fashionable and fun.  I don’t even own a dog, and I love this idea! 
 
Passion Career Example: Painting Children's Bedrooms

Test your idea:
Enter your super-niche and see what comes up.
Ask trusted friends (make sure they fit your target market) what they think of your ideas

-Don’t worry if you think your idea is too narrow—super-niches have specific purposes and can be a great marketing tool.   See upcoming blogs that explain the value of super-niches.   Also coming soon: blogs on how, when and why you should expand beyond your super-niche.   Super-niches are NOT meant to lock you in to a limited market.  They are great starting tools and for marketing purposes.  

If you’ve found your super-niche or a low-competition niche, you are well on your way to your Dream! 
 

FYI, if you're a newbie interested in a market with a lot of competition (such as writing), don't worry too much.  The most important step in following your dream is to get started.  Find motivation in the A Better You Section section.