How you can positively return to work after having a baby

Mums Tips

Mumpreneurs & Mums at work

Published on Friday, 26 November 2021 11:45

Last Updated on 26 November 2021

Monica Costa

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When you are ready to return to the world of work, you need to think about more than just yourself. You have to juggle time, commitments and other responsibilities to ensure that your family unit or household runs smoothly and efficiently even when you are not there. Returning to work as positively as possible is a process that you must undertake on your own. You need the support and guidance of your family and your friends, but to make it work, you have to be committed yourself. Once you are committed, you are then ready to face any obstacle or challenge that comes your way.

Why You Should Return to Work

Returning to work has many positives and pluses, and one of these is money. When you return to work after having a baby, you should have more money to spend on your family and yourself. Another plus for returning to work is your sense of identity. As a parent, you can lose your sense of identity, and this is something that can be difficult to regain. When you have your sense of identity, you are a rejuvenated and improved version of yourself, and this is something that work can help you achieve. You may also find it useful and beneficial to return to work to build up your social scene. Having a baby and even having children can be isolating at times. When you feel isolated or you feel alone, you can struggle to be the best version of yourself. Getting out there into the world of work and meeting others can help you overcome this isolation, and that can only be a positive thing.

 

Where You Can Find a New Job

When it comes to finding a new job, there are lots of places that you can look, from local job sites to recruitment agencies. The type of job that you are going for may even have its only specialist recruitment websites and agencies. You can also find a new job in the unlikeliest of places. For example, when you are browsing through your social media pages, you may come across an advert or an opportunity. When it comes to finding a job, it is important that you keep your ideas and your options open. Ensuring that you stay flexible is important, especially when you are conducting a job search.

Putting Yourself and Your Family First

Returning to work is advantageous for you and your family, but you must still ensure that you keep your family as the top priority in everything that you do. Your family must always come first, and to ensure that this happens, you must carefully think about what job opportunities to go for and pursue. If you are not careful, you could end up wasting good quality time with your family by chasing elusive opportunities or those opportunities that seem too good to be true.

 

Your CV or Resume Is Important

Getting an interview in a competitive job market can be tough, and this is why your CV or resume is so important. You only get a few seconds to impress potential employers, and this is why your CV or resume needs to hit the right note the first time around. If your CV or resume is too wordy or full of jargon, it will put employers off. Similarly, if it is full of blank spaces, and little information, it is just as bad. Creating a resume or CV that makes an impact is something that you must focus on doing. Selling your skills and your education clearly is important. When it comes to improving your resume or CV, try to look at it from the perspective of an employer. See how things read the first time around. If they do not read well, or you are not conveying the information you need to, then make changes before it is too late. Of course, if you are struggling to create a CV or resume that sparks interest, you can always reach out to the professionals, who will be able to create a standout CV or resume for you in virtually no time at all.

Advancing Your Education and Skills

Returning to work can be challenging, and if you have been away from work for a little while, you may find that you have to focus on your education and skills a little bit more. Time in the workplace moves quickly, and getting a grip or handle on your education is important. Brushing up by taking a refreshing course or undertaking a completely new course will be beneficial to you and your future role. When you focus your time and efforts on improving and enhancing your skills and your education, you ensure that you sell yourself with little effort and that you are an appealing candidate to potential employers.

Finding a Suitable Role

When it comes to finding a suitable role, you need to think about what you are good at and what you would enjoy doing. Not every job is right for you, and you are not right for the job. Taking time out in these early stages to establish what is suitable will save you both time and hassle further down the road. So, do you love being around people? Do you want to be a team player who works every day as part of a team? Do you want to have a customer-focused role, or would you prefer to be in the back and behind the scenes? What do you want out of your role? If you do not focus on what roles are suitable and what are not, you may end up being stuck in a role that leaves you feeling low and possibly even depressed.

So, for example, if you want to help others, but indirectly, then why not look at a Healthcare Administration role or a role such as a medical secretary? Or, if you want to help customers, then why not focus your attention and efforts on customer service positions? If you do not get a role that is right for you, then you will not feel the true benefit.

 

What You Can Get Out of Your New Job

If you are struggling to find a happy medium about working, and possibly leaving your children, then try a simple exercise. On a piece of paper, write down all of the positive aspects and elements you will get from your new job, and then think about how you will feel in your new job. Sometimes mum guilt can get the better of you, and it can leave you full of doubt and uncertainty about whether or not you are making the right choice for yourself and your family. So, to overcome this, you need to focus on what you are getting out of your new job. When you do this, you then get the opportunity to physically see the benefits and advantages on offer. For example, are you getting a renewed sense of identity? Are you improving your self-confidence? Or are you contributing to the household income?

Working Times and Working Hours

Not all jobs will have working times and working hours that suit you, and at some point, you will need to make a compromise or two. Some jobs have flexible working times, and others have set times. Finding a role that has hours that suit you and your family is important. If the working hours are not flexible, or if they integrate with other commitments, then you need to weigh up the pros and cons on offer. With some roles, you may also find that the hours change from week to week. Getting a healthy balance and ensuring that the hours you work are manageable should be one of your top priorities in your job search.

Thinking About Childcare

Unless you are working different hours from your partner or others within your household, you will have to arrange suitable childcare for your baby and/or children. Good childcare options are always booked up in advance, and this is why it is important to establish your working times and patterns as soon as possible. Finding a childcare setting and agreement that works for you and your family is probably one of the most important things you will do. So, can family and friends help you with childcare? How affordable are nurseries and day-care centres, and are they open the hours that you need them to be?

Getting a Healthy and Manageable Balance

When you start working again, you can feel like you are being pulled in 100 different directions. You can feel that your time is no longer your own, and you can feel that a balance is unachievable. With perseverance and with time, you can handle your workload and you can find a positive and sustainable balance that works for you, your family and your children. Reaching out and also seeking support and guidance from those around you will ensure that you can get a healthy balance sooner rather than later.