Many new moms will reenter the workforce at one point or another. Making the transition can be difficult, especially if it means starting an entirely new role. If you’re a new mom and you’re ready to look for employment, you may not be sure how best to market yourself. We have some suggestions that just might help below.
1. Discuss Gaps in Employment
As a new mom, having a reliable revenue stream can be your key to paying off debt fast. You might have outstanding medical bills, student loans, or credit card debt that you’d like to reduce and eventually eliminate. Whether you’re seeking full-time or part-time work, any prospective employer will probably notice gaps in your credit history and ask about them.
You shouldn’t shy away from talking about employment gaps. You can mention them on your resume as times you stepped away from work because of familial responsibility.
Employers are much more respectful of that than they might have been in the past. However, it helps your cause if you can point to skills you developed when you weren’t employed. You might mention any educational advancements, civic involvement, or volunteering in which you engaged.
2. Highlight Your Expertise
Emphasizing that you’re an expert in your field is often a way to go if you’re trying to reenter the workforce. It’s not as likely you’ll land a job if you have some general skills, as those may not be enough to make you a frontrunner for the position you’re trying to land.
Creating a LinkedIn profile that stresses your knowledge of a particular area and building your resume around that niche or skill set can help set you apart. If you sense you don’t have the background yet to stand out from other potential competitors, see if it’s possible to take some classes having to do with the job to which you’re applying.
3. Make Note of Hiring Seasons
Understand that the time of year when you’re applying for a job might have a lot to do with whether a company hires you or not. Some jobs are holiday-oriented. You’re a lot more likely to land a job in December than in January or September, two of the most competitive times of the year.
You make yourself a more attractive job prospect if you apply at a time of year when most companies have freed up some space in their budgets. Get ready for those times by updating your resume, refreshing your interview skills, and adding recommendations to your LinkedIn profile.
4. Update Your Online Presence
Updating your professional social media profiles should be helpful while job hunting. LinkedIn is one of the most obvious places hiring managers go when trying to gauge a candidate’s appropriateness. However, the first thing many individuals do who are in charge of hiring is to Google your name to see what comes up.
Part of marketing yourself in today’s job market is purging anything negative related to your name that comes up with a Google search. You should also set any personal social media profiles to private.
Rejoining the Workforce is Possible
New moms seeking employment should know that they can attain a work-life balance. More than ever before, moms are finding ways to parent while still bringing in cash to support the household.
When marketing yourself, make sure to own the reason you have employment gaps rather than shying away from talking about them and emphasize any expertise that makes you a strong candidate.
Stay persistent if you’re trying to get hired at a traditionally slow time of year. Try to purge anything negative related to your online presence and update your LinkedIn profile and other professional social media accounts.
If you’re persistent and follow this formula, rejoining the workforce after becoming a new mom is definitely possible.
