Helping Women Re-enter the Workforce
As a Coach, I was invited to an event organized for women who wanted to return to work after a career break. Some participants struggled to have a meaningful conversation with their families about their decision to join the workforce. There was resistance from in-laws, parents, and for some, even their partners refused to cooperate.
These women had given up their careers to raise children or provide time for elderly care. Some had taken a break from a hectic work schedule. The pandemic and lockdown had made it even more challenging for them to think about returning to the workforce. Looking after elders at home and managing online studies for kids and other household chores left little time to think about work. Some women had years of experience with the corporate world before taking a break.
With things slowly limping back to normal, most of them were now planning to get back to their full-time jobs after completing their priorities at home.
During my mentoring sessions, I had the opportunity to interact with some of them. What I observed was the following.
- Some of them faced stiff resistance from their families and had no support to get back to work. They failed to have a meaningful conversation with their in-laws and husband. They could not garner any help in their desire to pursue their careers.
- Others had sorted out their priorities at home and were ready to return but struggled to find a job. They had no clue what kind of a job they should apply for. All that they wished was a comeback in the corporate world.
- A few of them had come to network and explore possibilities in different domains and eagerly sought to upskill themselves.
While the end goal for each of them was the same, there was a considerable variance in their determination, focus, ability, skill level, confidence to break this deadlock.
Hiring managers often have a physiological barrier to hiring someone with a break in their career. However, this trend has changed, and companies are open to hiring people with potential. Companies are also offering work from the home facility, which provides the required flexibility for women to join the workforce.
Organizations have started focusing on hiring and are welcoming back women after a career break. If employers can acknowledge the advantages of such breaks for the women and be more receptive to women willing to come back, it would be a win-win situation.
On the part of the women eager to get back to corporate life requires confidence and enthusiasm.
Tips for women planning to re-enter the workplace
- Keeping oneself abreast with the latest in the industry. Spend time reading journals, networking with colleagues and friends. They can do this even when they are busy raising children or doing elderly care. With short online courses available, they should even look at reskilling themselves. This increases the chances of getting hired and reduces the learning curve.
- Technology today has made it possible to do several interesting jobs from the comfort of your home. Blogging, content writing, data entry, web designing, etc.
- Women are good at multitasking. They should pursue their hobbies and passion and turn them into businesses. Many women entrepreneurs have started their business and run it successfully from their homes.
- Be social both online and offline. Keep your LinkedIn profile updated. Network actively as you may be lucky to get a job through a referral.
- Don’t let your confidence plummet if your job applications are not considered or you get rejected during the interview.
Dealing with the transition is never easy. There is always the fear that some of your colleagues would have moved up the ladder while you took a pause. So be ready to compromise on certain things. And once you join, you need to be completely focused and never look for easy excuses. Balancing work and home responsibilities is essential if one wants to succeed in corporate and personal life.
During the mentoring sessions, I noticed many women were unclear about their skills. As a result, they could not decide what kind of a job they were ready to take up. So be clear of your strengths and talents to make your job search more meaningful.
“Every failure, obstacle or hardship is an opportunity in disguise. Success in many cases is failure turned inside out. The greatest pollution problem we face today is negativity. Eliminate the negative attitude and believe you can do anything. Replace ‘if I can, I hope, maybe’ with ‘I can, I will, I must.”— Mary Kay Ash
Another area where I noticed women need help was getting over obstacles like self-doubt, anxiety, anger, nervousness, etc. Get over some of these limiting beliefs. Start looking at what the employers would question you about and negotiate through your responses. Practice your answers before you appear for an interview. Fill your life with positivity.
“There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask, “What if I fall?”
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?”
