When you are a mom, it can be difficult to know what career moves to make for the best, especially if you are struggling to juggle both your kids and your work. As such, when you are a career-driven mom who is looking toward the future of their work, here are some of the best moves that you can make to be successful in your career.
Find a Job You Love
Many moms settle for a job that they have little interest in purely because they want to support their kids and family and make sure that they get the money that they need. However, if you are in a job that you dislike, you are likely to be grumpy and easily irritated even when you are around your children, and you will be less likely to inspire them when it comes to their own careers.
As such, to be the best mom possible, it is important that you can find a job that you love. Although finding the perfect job for you can be difficult, you should think about the hobbies and dreams that you used to have when you were younger and how they can be converted into a good job now. You should also make sure that you conduct ample research into the types of jobs on the market, and that you take a career quiz to find out what job you may be compatible with, even if this is one that is less well-known or that you have not given much thought to before.
Once you have decided on the job that you want to get, you should look up the steps that you need to take to get the job in question. For instance, you may need to take a qualification, get experience, or work within the same industry in another position. You might also consider doing an internship or taking a temporary position that can allow you to trial whether this job is the right one for you or not.
Change Your Career
You do not have to decide what job you want to do and stick with it when you are a toddler. Instead, your idea of the career that you want to do can change throughout your life, and you should accept this, even if you have put a lot of time into getting your dream career or you are quite far down one particular career path already.
Becoming a mom is one of the key periods of your life that can completely change the game in terms of the career that you want to pursue, as your priorities instantly shift. As such, rather than staying in a position that no longer brings you any joy, you should consider whether you should change the career that you want to do after you return from maternity leave. Returning from maternity leave can be the perfect time to change careers, but you can go through a career change at any point in your life.
To change your career, you should consider whether it is the industry that you work within or the position itself that you want to change. Once you have done this, you should consider what transferrable skills you have and brush these up.
You should also look at your connections and see whether any of these may be helpful in terms of getting a new job. You might also decide to look for job shadowing opportunities that can allow you to gain insight into certain positions that you know nothing about to check that you have chosen a new career path wisely. By performing all of these actions, you will soon be able to create a plan that will allow you to keep moving toward your goal of a career change.
Take an Online Degree
When you have recently become a mom, you should also consider whether an online degree might be the answer to all of your career troubles. Many moms feel as if they are stuck in a career rut when they have a child, as this can prevent them from making much progress for a year or two.
However, an online degree can help you get around some of the biggest barriers to career growth. An online degree can ensure that you meet the educational requirements for certain roles and promotions and can allow you to gain skills and experience that are necessary for your job and that can impress your manager or you can also take this working styles test.
Not only this, but an online degree can reignite your passion for the career that you have chosen and ensure that you can continue to progress within your field. For instance, Walsh University can allow you to go from a registered nurse to a nurse practitioner through their online MSN-FNP program, giving people the right qualifications to get where they want to be.
Studying for a degree like this online can often be the best option for working moms, as this can allow them to juggle their family, their work, and their studies without too much hassle. You will be able to access the resources that you need whenever you want and speak to your lecturers and other students when you need to, while also being able to relax within the comfort of your own home, and without moving across the country. Online degrees can then make education more accessible to everyone, including moms with other commitments and things on their minds.
Do Less Work
Although you might think that doing less work will derail your career and will leave you in an even bigger career mess than before, this is not the case. Doing less work can put you in a healthier position to chase your career dreams, as you will not be so burned out from having to look after your kids while also being the career-driven person you have always set out to be. As such, you should always make sure that you take the time off that is offered to you, that you rest on your days off, and that you do not stay connected to work during these. This can then make sure that you can fully focus on work while you are there without missing any of your family’s most important moments.
Not only this, but once they have had a child, many moms decide to opt for part-time work or ask to make their job part-time so that their career and the school run are easier to juggle. You should not feel guilty or ashamed about this, and there are many valuable and exciting part-time jobs that can help to boost your career and put you in a position where you love your job, such as working in a pre-school or even taking a role in marketing. By only taking on what you can manage, you will be able to produce the highest work possible and ensure that you can remain happier and healthier.
Connect with Other Working Moms
If you are a mom who is looking to make their next career move, you should also consider the advantages of connecting with other working moms. As a mom, you will likely meet lots of other moms through baby groups and events. Rather than disregarding these connections, you must cultivate them as much as possible.
Making connections with other working moms can allow you to give and take advice, can ensure that you can get support in terms of your career and in terms of childcare, and can ensure that you always know someone that understands the difficulty of what you are doing. You might even be able to find jobs through them or set up a business together. If you are struggling to find other working moms in your area, you should consider joining networking groups for working moms online or in-person and attending events where they may be. This can then make the transition between being a career-driven person and a career-driven mom much easier.
Take a Sabbatical
If you are struggling to know what you want in terms of your career, or if your priorities have shifted and you now want to focus on your own projects within your industry, you should consider taking a sabbatical. Taking a sabbatical can allow you to organize your career and life and can give you time to pursue your own research that you can then apply to your job when you return.
You will be able to focus on career progression that you might not be able to when you are working full-time, and this can also give you the opportunity to travel far from work without worrying about getting back into the office. However, you should realize that many companies set a limit on the number of weeks that you can go on a sabbatical for, and this may depend on the amount of time that you have been working for the firm in question.
Read Also: 6 Signs That it’s Time to Change Jobs
To take a sabbatical, you should speak to your manager about your reasons for doing so and fill out any of the appropriate paperwork that needs completing. This is especially important if you will be taking a paid sabbatical, as you will need to convince your manager of the reasons for going on a sabbatical and how it could benefit them, especially if you are doing so for career reasons. You might also need to look at the childcare options that are available to ensure that you can focus fully on yourself and your own development when you are on sabbatical, and so that your kids can be looked after if you will be going away from home.
Work from Home
If you are looking for the best career moves to make as a mom, you should also consider working from home. Working from home can allow you to continue with your career progression while also looking after and being there for your kids when they need you. Luckily, many workplaces now offer the resources that are required for flexible working, such as a digital portal and communication software, or you can decide to pursue a career as a freelancer or a self-employed person who completes projects, such as writing, graphic design, and marketing.
To work effectively from home, though, you will need to build a great office for yourself where your kids do not go and where you can work productively away from the rest of the household. This room should be light and airy and should be organized, with enough shelving and storage cabinets. You might also consider soundproofing it. You should also make sure that it has a strong connection to your Wi-Fi by using las vegas internet services or similar services in your area and that you have the right gadgets, such as a business laptop and a smartphone. You may also need accessories to support these, such as a charging station or a phone holder.
Bring the Kids
Sometimes, if you are a single mom or need more support or money to spend on a babysitter, having a job is not always easy while your kids are still young. In these cases, you should find a job where you can take your child to work, or if you live in Ohio, you can take them to Celina Oh daycare. For instance, some managers might be okay with you doing this in an office environment, especially if you have your own office, or you could take on a job such as that of a gardener or cleaner or running a youth group or daycare center.
As such, if you are feeling stumped as to what to do with your career now that you are a parent, there are many steps that you can take to keep it moving and ensure that you can have a great experience as both a mom and someone who is completely career-driven. You do not have to give up your career when you become a mom, and, whether you take a sabbatical or an online degree, there is always another step that you can take to get a career that you are happy with.