One mom’s story-part 1
I had an opportunity to discuss the challenges of returning to work with Ruth, a mother of four, who recently returned to working full-time after being home for five years. Ruth left her 13-year career in sales to be home with her children. She shared with me some of the ups and downs of her transition back to work.
Read on to hear this mom’s story.
I was in a topsy turvy state of knowing that I wanted to return to work, emotionally needing to return to work, but not having any idea of what I truly wanted to do. My biggest concern was the big picture. If I was going back to work, I wanted it to be something that I loved and that compensated me enough that I could afford adequate childcare for my young family. I didn’t want to return to sales, because I wanted to try something new, but at the same time all of my resume experience was in sales. I needed to figure out a way to pursue a new career and be paid well enough for it to make sense for me and my family.
I was able to use my volunteer experience chairing various fundraising events and combine it with my years of sales expererience to create enough of a background to become a Director of Development. I was able to negotiate part-time employment initially so that my family and I could slowly get used to the idea of mom going back to work.
Being a mother and raising four children and being an active parent on various committees at the school all helped to shape who I am today and prove that I am someone who can multi-task, work well with others and problem solve - all highly valuable skills in the workplace.
Ruth’s path included clearly defining her priorities, re-assessing her skill set to apply to a new career and valuing the skills she acquired as a stay-at-home mom. Despite her “topsy turvy” emotions about returning to work, she projected the self-confidence and self-respect to successfully start a new career in development.
