Restart your career after giving birth
Does a woman’s career end after having a baby? Or let’s put it in this way, do women struggle to restart their careers after having a baby? My simple answer to this is‘NO’. Most women face difficulties in restarting their career after having a baby because they feel that their self-confidence has gone down and they would be able to give less priority to professional challenges. But, there are ways that can help you to return to work with ease after a sabbatical.
For some women, the break maybe 2 years, for some 3 years, for some it can be as long as 5 years and for others, it can even be more due to personal reasons.
So, how do you convince companies?
How and where do you want to start?
How easy is it to go with the flow?
Don’t worry, taking some simple steps can boost your chances of getting the job of your dreams. 😊
Volunteer for projects:
Search for volunteer projects, though they may not be highly rewarding, you will have something to show off when the time comes to enter the companies you want to work on.
Be updated:
I know it’s very tough to manage the newborn and to stay up to date but invest at least 1 hour per day in exploring your line of work, try to attend any related meet up’s happening around you, join discussion forums, do some research and keep learning.
Don’t get demotivated and find your support:
As a human, we should accept the rejections, take each rejection as a step forward to your next success. Try to find the people who motivate you and encourages you when you are sad, they could be of any your Mom, your husband, your siblings, etc. approaching them will really make you feel better and come out of that situation soon
Try Freelancing:
Take freelance projects, even if the pay doesn’t seem worth it. You can decide your own working hours to work on.
Network with others:
Networking is the first most important thing you should always look back to. A strong support system of colleagues, professional contacts can make your work smooth when you restart your career.
Accept the change:
You can never expect the things to be always same, depending upon the new technologies, new people entering into the industry, you should be always ready to take new challenges, some companies may have flexible hours where you can even work from home in emergency cases, some companies may not have that facility, in that case, you should be capable of molding your time accordingly.
Manage expectations: Especially when landing on a new project
You should be able to figure out what it is important for you, you should set expectations in order to get the most important items done on time if you have a newborn.
Consider the priority, time and when and speak with the team openly whether you could be able to make it or not.
Prior planning:
Plan at least a couple of months prior — whether you are going to restart career with new challenges or with the same old profile, according to that you can explore online for interview questions, be prepared ahead.
Be an Entrepreneur:
In this modern world, Entrepreneurs became the coolest job. Two in a five-woman is preferring it because of no dependencies, flexibility, exciting and it can be fulfilling. At the same time, it also has disadvantages, but you should be capable of balancing them.
It’s a big challenge to restart their career after having baby, hopefully, the above points can help you to get back into the work, you are not alone, people like you are many more. It’s only a matter of managing the time and sometimes luck.
But a point to be noted: This article is not based on any research; this is only based on people in my surroundings who faced many problems in restarting their career and still facing the problems.
🧒 Author Swathi Masetty
🗞 Published in RethinkingUX
