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Article Directory :: Business - General Articles
The prospect of returning to work after maternity leave or after quite a considerable absence can sometimes be very daunting. You can feel removed from the work environment, almost as if you'd been on a very, very lengthy holiday.
Of course, you know that this time off has been anything but a time for relaxation and you might feel as if you have been working harder than ever. Nevertheless, it's now time to get back to a career and you need to pay attention to your CV or résumé.
1. Look at this from a positive point of view. During your time off you have amassed several new skills. You are really good at multitasking, time management, project management and your coping skills have improved considerably! Never underestimate what you need to do to manage a busy home and bring up a young one and look at these skills as important additions to your résumé.
2. Some specific coaching for women advocates that you should compose a "functional" résumé in this situation. This type of approach lists your skills and qualifications rather than focusing on a chronological list of employers. As such, you are definitely focusing on your experience and this should be stressed in the body of the document. List your employers without reference to dates and focus on your skills, experience and qualifications above all else.
3. Don't be defensive when it comes to your time off for maternity leave. Some women think that employers look at someone who puts family before work in a bad light, but there are a lot more worrisome reasons for them to consider, including enforced unemployment, a lack of drive, etc. Be prepared to defend your position as being very acceptable to society!
4. During your absence from full-time employment you may well have dedicated some time to extracurricular studies, maybe evening classes, voluntary work, etc. Put all this experience into a positive light and include it on your résumé. If nothing else, it shows that you're able to multi-task the role of mother and home keeper with other interests and duties and this strengthens your position in a prospective employer's eyes.
5. Show that you are in control of every situation by outlining your plan to manage that time off. In other words, it would be far better to say that you had initially planned to stay home with a newborn until a certain point in time, until he or she arrived at a certain age, for instance. This is far better than saying that you were prepared to stay at home "until they were ready" or to refer to some other nebulous plan. Once again, it shows that you are in control.
6. Do some research before you prepare to send out those résumés. How long have you been away for? Find out if anything significant has changed in a prospective employer's business. This might be the time to catch up on your specific education, even learn a new system operating procedure. Make sure that you include this on your résumé, as it will strengthen your position.
7. You may think that you need to rely on contacts that you made prior to your career break and that any references you include should be "business only," but this is not the case. By networking and moving in your regular circles during your time away from work, you will have built up a good list of contacts who will be able to attest to your character, composition and reliability.
In our modern society, professional coaching advice from online life coaching experts can help you to focus on all that is positive in your life, so that you come up with a perfectly presentable résumé.
Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, exhausted working mums who long for more hours in the day and space to think. Through professional coaching programmes and online coaching courses, Amanda helps mums to create a balanced, fulfilling life that works for them. For self-coaching tips tailored to working mums, sign up for Inspire, our free newsletter, at Coaching Mums
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