Three Career Re-entry Pathways for Moms
We all know her. She might be our best friend, our sister, or you. The woman who is so smart and so talented and wants to return to work after taking time off for family, but doesn’t know how or where to start. It might be several years since she left the office to be at home, helping with homework, running carpools, tending to tears, and changing diapers. Those around her see her gifts, but her own confidence about her professional abilities may be waning and she might wonder if she has the stamina to manage a career and a family. She is not alone. According to Pew Research, 40% of American mothers have at some point in their careers cut back hours to care for a child or family member and 27% have left the workforce altogether. And according to Working Mother, more than 2.6 million women in the U.S. hold college degrees but do not work outside of the home. That is a lot of untapped talent and potential!
Traditionally, working mothers have faced one main obstacle in the workforce: flexibility. The good news is that is changing – smart employers are increasingly offering more flexible schedules as a recruitment tool (see untapped talent and potential above), and the workforce is shifting to include more gig and freelance opportunities, especially post-COVID. If you have been thinking about when and how to go back to work, now is a great time to start exploring a re-entry plan and the best options for you. Below are three ways you can take advantage of these trends and put your talents to work.
Three Pathways for Moms Re-Entering the Workforce
1. Freelance and Contract Roles: If it’s been a year or more since you’ve been out of the workforce, freelance and contract roles are often an easier way to transition back into professional life. These arrangements are usually shorter-term and provide more flexibility. Gig work also offers the excitement of working on new projects while expanding your skills and network with a wider variety of organizations.
2. Strategic Volunteering: Similarly, volunteering your talent is another way to build your portfolio while connecting with a cause you care about. But be selective about how you choose to volunteer your time. For example, if you are a financial analyst and trying to re-enter into that field, you should focus on opportunities to put that specific skill to work.
3. Returnships: Returnships are similar to internships and provide a great way to launch back into a full-time career. They are generally offered by larger companies to help women prepare and transition back into corporate executive roles. However, unlike freelance or volunteer roles, expect the hiring process for a returnship to be much more competitive and the schedules to be much less flexible.
As you can see, there are myriad ways to transition back into the workplace, it’s just a matter of finding the right path that suits your needs and career goals. Whatever path you choose, remember to give yourself grace, flexibility, and patience. Be prepared to accept that you will likely need to start at a lower level than when you left. Or you may have decided to start in a new field altogether and it will take some time to rebuild. At the same, be careful about accepting roles that are too far below your abilities. There is a balance to be achieved which involves fair pay and work that will provide you the opportunity to grow and challenge yourself. Going back to work after a pause can be daunting, but there is ever growing support for women in the workplace.
A note of gratitude to all of the working moms, stay-at-home moms, and caregivers in our society. Parenting and caregiving is a selfless and generous act of love and sacrifice that is one of the hardest jobs one can do. For those who have chosen, or needed, to put a career on hold to take care of loved ones, THANK YOU! I hope you find these resources helpful and encouraging.
Career Re-entry Resources: