I was away this weekend - a fun, but cold weekend in Vermont. With 3+ hours in the car each way, I was thinking about the coming year. What am I going to do? Of course, my husband was also asking me - "What are you going to do if you don't find a job soon? - Do you want to find a job?" The problem is that I really don't know what I want. My job hunt is not going well. My resume looks a little scary at this point. I have been with many companies and have several 'holes' from not working and I have been away from a 'real' job since 2002. I got on the "mommy track" by leaving time consuming jobs and working part time and now I'm paying the price.
There is no good way to explain in a 2 page resume that I took time off to spend time with my kids and to provide a more stable family life for all of us. How do you show that a family has difficulty when both parents work more than 40 hours/week and both travel? How do I explain that some job changes came because the company was bought and they booted everyone - it should not reflect on my abilities - they did not seem to matter.
How do I show them that in my time "off", I have run a small antiques business to pay for my antiquing habit, have done countless hours of volunteer work in our schools and at a local charity, developed and taught a wonderful after school program for children that teaches them about different cultures, put together several business plans hoping to start my own small business (never worked out though). . .
Finally, how do I convince a hiring manager that a BS in Engineering and 20+ years of business experience should be able to substitute for an MBA? Book smart or street smart - what do they really need?
I have tried touching on a few of these things within a cover letter, but I'm convinced no one even reads those any more. Unfortunately, part of my problem is that I would rather work for myself and I really need to figure out how to do that - beyond the bits of consulting and contracting that I have been doing.
Anyway - that is my vent for today. I have not been writing much - it is just such a busy time of the year.
Anyone else out there take some years off from a professional career and get back in? Any advice?
2 comments:
I too am a "stay at home Mom." I do work from home and I really like it. I can set my own hours and I can still get all the things I need to do around here, done. My only advice to you is this. Look at your finances. Is it pressing that you have a job? Can you opt for a part-time position? What will is take to start your own business? Weigh all of the factors and I bet you'll have your answer.
Thanks for the encouraging words. I think I will start fresh after the 1st of the year and see what feels right. It's just more complicated than you might think!
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