Getting Back to Work

Here's an article on women re-entering the workforce after taking time off to raise children or handle other family matters. It's a subject that's been written about a lot, but this one has some good thoughts on identifying and overcoming obstacles that can complicate your path back to the office.

Beckye Young, who graduated from Vanderbilt University and received a Certified Public Accountant license in 1987 and then worked as an auditor and corporate controller before taking a hiatus to have kids, found a way to make a successful transition back into the workforce. After eight years, she was able to return to accounting -- but not without a struggle.

"I didn't anticipate having any trouble, since I had been successful in my career prior to staying at home. However, I had great difficulty," says Young. "I had no responses from the numerous ads that I answered and none of the recruiting agencies were helpful."

One issue seemed to be the length of time she had been out of the workforce. "A recruiter told me if I had only been out two years or less, no problem, but more than five was an obstacle that they did not feel I could overcome."

She took a position at a preschool, which, she says, helped her build confidence. "There were skills that I had learned from being a homemaker that are valuable to the workforce in general," she says, "like organization skills, management skills, and patience in working with different people with different personalities."

During the summer following her preschool experience, Young again began to look for a job in the field of accounting, this time contacting Mom Corps, an agency dedicated to helping women find flexible professional opportunities. "Mom Corps actually went over my resume with me and placed me in contract work within a few weeks," says Young. The company, which provides career resources at no cost to job-seeking women, eventually helped her find her current accounting position at a local CPA firm.

There's more, and you can read it here.

From Mommy to Manager: Going Back to Work [KREN]