How to Get Back into the Job Market After Being a Stay-at-Home Mom
It can be tricky to get back into the workforce after being away from it for a while. After all, quitting your job to be a stay-at-home mom is a little different than spending time away due to a layoff. Unfortunately, after a divorce, some women find themselves having to step outside of the home and go back to work in order to support their new households. But how can you get back into your previous field after spending years away?
At Buckhead Family Law, we see stay-at-home moms reenter the workforce post-divorce with immense success on a daily basis. Here are some useful tips to help ease the transition
Update Your Certifications and Skills
After your divorce in Georgia, you may need to head back to school for a bit. There are plenty of online courses and certificate programs out there that can help you update your skill set. Look for individual courses on computer programs like Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop at local community colleges for inexpensive ways to enhance your computer skills. There are even coding courses for those who are interested in getting better at programming. Other certificate programs, like those in soft skills, such as communication and writing, also help.
Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-carrying-her-baby-and-working-on-a-laptop-4079281/
Refresh Your Resume
Before you start applying for jobs after your divorce, spend some time updating your resume. Even if you have a significant employment gap, you can include any volunteering as a job, as long as the skills are transferable. Remember that volunteer jobs like planning events, running social media accounts, and updating the organization website all require useful skills that show future employers that you’re ready to get back into the workforce.
Be Prepared to Address Your Employment Gap
Businesses tend to frown on employment gaps. They see them as signs of instability and stagnation. After all, how are you able to keep up with new workplace trends like technology and standard procedures if you aren’t working? When you start going to interviews in your field after your divorce, you’ll be asked about that gap in your employment history. Be honest about why you dropped out of the workforce for that time, but make sure to point out anything that you did outside of the home during those years. For example, if you volunteered for the PTA or any other organization, this is a great time to bring it up.
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto: https://www.pexels.com/photo/young-ethnic-woman-trying-to-work-at-home-with-active-children-4474040/
Consider Volunteering or Working Part-Time at First
If you’re worried about not having the right updated skills to get back into your old career, it helps to start out slowly if you can. Spend some time volunteering for a local organization, even before your marriage is officially over, so that you can show future employers that you got out of the house and proactively reentered the workforce as soon as possible. You can even put this on your resume. Updated the website of your local ASPCA? Ran a PTA event committee? These are useful skills to have. Also, if volunteering isn’t an option due to the lack of pay, aim for a part-time job. They tend to be easier to obtain due to fewer requirements, and they allow you to illustrate your ability to balance many things at once.
Need a Top-Rated Divorce Lawyer in Georgia to Help You Get Back on Your Feet?
Are you worried about getting back into the workforce after your divorce in Georgia? Did you spend the last few years as a stay-at-home mom, raising your children? Are you wondering if you qualify for spousal support and child support to help you and your kids get settled into your new lifestyle before you go back to work? If so, then you need a good Georgia divorce lawyer.
At Buckhead Family Law, our legal team works diligently to meet the needs of clients getting divorced in today’s tech driven world – this means taking everything online into consideration. One thing that hasn’t changed about divorce? It is still one of the most harrowing experiences someone can go through, and we understand that. That is why we always treat our clients with grace and compassion.
Need help? We are here to assist you as you begin the next chapter of your life while ensuring that all of the loose ends are tied up in the least complicated way. Schedule a consultation today by calling 404-390-0000.