In the 21st Century, an increasing number of women with children make the decision to make a mid-life career change. This type of alteration in a woman’s life can be fraught with challenges. Understanding that potential, you do not have to be overwhelmed if you elect to make a mid-life career change when you have children. Indeed, there are a number of tactics that you will want to consider employing when it comes to understanding how to make a mid-life career change in an easy, efficient, effective manner.
Proactive Steps On The Home Front
If you are a mother who is interested in making what can best be described as a mid-life career change, you will want to be proactive on the home front. There are some things that you will want to do at home in preparation for taking a different course in your professional life. In many ways, proactive preparation truly lays a foundation for an effective mid-life career change for a woman who is a mother.
First, you will want to make certain that you have suitable childcare in place for your children. When it comes to childcare, you may want to think a bit outside of the box; a bit beyond what are traditional resources utilized when it comes to taking care of children while you are working.
Included on the list of what you might want to do when it comes to addressing childcare needs is considering a work schedule that might best be classified as nontraditional. In this day and age, a considerable segment of the working population are not following the traditional schedule of nine to five. In other words, you may be able to fashion your work responsibilities in a such a manner that you are able to more available to your children when they are not in school.
Second, you will also want to make sure that other domestic-related issues that you may have been responsible for are under control when you make a mid-life career change. This means making certain that you have everything coordinated and under control when it comes everything from meals to housecleaning.
Take Full Advantage Of All Your Networks
Even if you have spent some time completely away from the workaday world, you still are likely to have networks of different types. If you have been working in some manner and your change is a shift from one type of career to another, rather than returning to work all together, you likely have an array of professional networks.
As you contemplate making a mid-life career change, take full advantage of all of your networks. These networks certainly include professional ones, but also social and even church networks, depending on what you are doing in your life at this time.
Consider Enhancing Your Education
As part of your efforts to make a mid-life career change, as a mother, you might want to contemplate furthering your education in some manner. For example, you might want to obtain some type of specialized certification that may make you marketable. You might even want to consider going back to school to obtain some type of degree that will make you more attractive to potential employers.
Transition In Increments
Another important strategy that you may want to utilize when seeking to smoothly make a mid-life career change as a mother is to make the transition in increments. In other words, you might want to avoid diving headlong into a brand new career.
One way in which you can commence a mid-life career change as a parent is to enter into a new profession, or return to the workplace, on a part time basis. For example, you can begin by working half time. This permits you to keep matters under control on the home front while beginning to make progress to some degree in the workplace.
Professional Assistance
When it comes to making a mid-life career change as a mother, you do not have to go it alone. A discussion has already been had of taking advantage of your existing networks. Another step you can take is to obtain professional assistance in taking a new course with your career and your future.
In this day and age, there are professionals who work specifically with women, who are parents, and who want to make a career change of a more significant nature. There are professionals that can assist you in a number of different ways. These professionals include headhunters, resume development specialists, and even individuals who can assist you in bettering your interview techniques.
Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who writes for Faxage, a leading company that provides Internet fax service for individuals and businesses.
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