Going Back to Work without Fear after Having Kids

Posted on September 6, 2018September 6, 2018 by Edna Crane

With summer ending, many moms (and dad’s too) consider returning to the workplace as the kids go off to school. There’s no right or wrong answer for when the right time to return to work is. If you feel like you’re ready, but still have fear, work through your fears before committing to a full-time job. Here are a few tips for conquering your fears:

First—Taking a break can be a fantastic decision

About 43% of highly qualified women with children find themselves in a position where they are leaving their career for a period of time.

While some companies have understood the importance of parental leave and parent-child time, too many American employers continue to offer minimum leave and can’t guarantee a job back if the mother chooses to spend the first few months with her baby. Only a handful of companies promote extended maternity leave and offer an on-site nursery and babysitter facilities.

You can be nervous, but don’t let it ruin your day

Panic attacks and anxiety disorder can affect your attitude as you’re going back to work. While it is natural to be nervous, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t let your nerves and your fears get the best of you. You need to react quickly by identifying the triggers, aka by asking the question: What am I afraid of right now? Becoming mindful of your fears can already help you to deal with it.

Let go of worry about your body

Especially for young mothers, going back to the office is a confrontation of their greatest fears, namely that things might have changed. If you are honest with yourself; things have changed. Your colleagues have moved to new projects while your body and your family life have been transformed through the wonder of birth. You might worry that people will use your mommy’s body against you, as a proof that you can’t be as productive that you once were.

If you feel that your appearance affects your confidence in the workplace to the point where you simply can’t accept it, you could consider a mommy makeover surgery, which can address all problem areas. Remember that there is no shame in motherhood. If you choose to transform your body, do it for yourself and not for others.

Make sure your knowledge is up-to-date

Am I good enough? Believe it or not, but it is a frequent doubt for those who go back to work after a long time. It’s fair to assume that if you haven’t been practicing for several months or even years, you might gain in taking an online course to ensure that your skills are still relevant. You needn’t doubt yourself; there is a lot of wisdom is wanting to improve your knowledge and skills. Don’t think of it as a failure.

Learn how to manage work and family

Going back to work is not always a viable option. Indeed, for mothers, the office is not the best environment to grow the household’s income. But you can find positions that are suitable for those who need to stay at home. If you’re staying with a child, you could just as well offer babysitting to local moms too, as this could bring a new source of revenues. You could also turn your spare bedroom into a room to let.

Find the right kind of job

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how much you’ve tried. It can be difficult to find a position that gives you sufficient flexibility to maintain your lifestyle. That’s precisely why more and more mothers have decided to take their side hustles seriously and develop them into a business. After all, if you can transform your hobby into a flexible and income-generation activity, there is no need to worry about going back to work. You will be working directly from your home, at the time that suits you and your needs best.

There’s no denying that going back to work after a break is stressful. Nevertheless, you should embrace this new adventure like a chance to discover what you want to do. Whether it’s improving your knowledge, falling back in love with your appearance or launching your own business, there are many options to become a fearless worker again.

Teaching as a Side Hustle: The Pros & Cons of Adjunct Teaching

Posted on June 25, 2018June 25, 2018 by Bre Smith

If you’re in need of a side hustle, you should consider a job as an adjunct teacher at a local college, or in the case of online classes, maybe even a distant one. The entry barriers may be fewer than you think.

Colleges generally require teachers to have a master’s degree in the subject they’d like to teach or any master’s degree plus at least 18 graduate credit hours in the subject. However, hiring committees may also consider candidates with alternative qualifications such as high school teaching experience or industry certification. Past formal teaching experience is also usually not required—the interview will likely include a follow-up teaching demo.

Here are the pros and cons of adjunct college teaching.

The Good Things About Adjunct College Teaching:

Fulfillment

If you love helping people (and especially love sharing your knowledge or skills), there’s no field as rewarding as education. Ask yourself if you’ve sought out opportunities to teach informally—perhaps by training colleagues at work, leading a Sunday school class, or volunteer tutoring. If so, you’ll probably find this work very gratifying.

Reduced Commuting Time

You generally only have to be on campus when your class meets and a bit before and after to answer student questions and/or hold office hours if they’re required by your school. Most traditional college classes meet once, twice, or three times per week, and colleges are increasingly offering more and more online and hybrid (reduced meeting time) classes to keep up with the evolving way today’s students learn.

Convenience

In the same vein as a reduced commute, much of the work—grading, preparing for class, answering student email, etc.—can be done at home. This is handy because, as we’ll discuss in the next section, you’re probably going to need a separate full- or part-time job.

The Things You’ll Want to Consider Carefully:

Low Pay

It’s no secret that teachers don’t choose their careers for the money, but unfortunately adjuncts earn the worst pay of all. They’re paid per class taught, not per hour worked. The adjunct rate of pay at the college I taught at was $1,700 per class. Classes are generally four months long (a semester), so the harsh reality is that depending on how much time your teaching duties take, you could end up making less than minimum wage. This means that for most, adjunct teaching can only be a side hustle.

What’s more, colleges often limit the number of courses an adjunct can teach per semester—the one I worked for had a cap of three per semester. You may be allowed to work as an adjunct at other schools (check with your college to make sure), but keep in mind that you might have to adjust your material to meet their requirements.

No Job Security

Adjunct teaching is contract work, so there’s no certainty about the number of classes you’ll get to teach or if you’ll even be hired next semester. Also, the full-time faculty at the college are required to teach a certain number of classes each term, so if one of their sections doesn’t fill up, a class that was originally assigned to you may be given to a full-timer at the last minute.

Possible Lack of Autonomy

In attempts to ensure uniform student experience and outcomes, your college may require everyone who teaches a course to use the same materials, exams, etc. If so, full-time faculty are usually in charge of choosing and creating these items, so as an adjunct you may feel as though you don’t have much say in how your class is taught. On the other hand, it’s easy to see how receiving a highly-structured premade course could be a blessing for first-time teachers.

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The Verdict on Adjunct Teaching Jobs

Did the cons in the last section scare you straight? Just remember that although working as an adjunct is low on financial rewards, it’s big on personal ones. While adjunct teaching is more viable as a side hustle than a way to earn a living, if you feel called to teach, it’s a great way to try out a career in education and make extra money without a big commitment. In any case, please thank a teacher in your life.

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5 Ways Moms can Prepare to Return to Work after Raising the Kids

Posted on June 5, 2018June 10, 2018 by Katie Evans

Choosing to put your career on hold to raise your children is a tough choice. Mothers often sacrifice their careers for the sake of having a family, only to find the career world changed in the time they spent ensuring their children had what they needed for a strong start in life.

While being a mom actually may make you a better employee because parenthood strengthens pretty much every skill you can think of,you still need to prepare before you reenter the workforce. Here are a few actions you can take before its time to get back into work:

1. Brush Up Your Tech Skills

If you’ve been out of the workforce for any length of time, your tech skills are outdated. Technology changes every day, and business needs change with it. Luckily, you can learn almost any technology online for free or cheap.

You don’t know what you don’t know, so start by looking through job advertisements in your industry to see which software programs are advertised as job requirements. Don’t assume that just because you could use industry-specific software five years ago that it is exactly the same. It’s not. Google to find tutorials on the latest versions.

Next, connect with people in your industry on LinkedIN and ask questions about how their companies are using technology and what you should know before you reenter the workforce. Don’t be shy—you aren’t the first mom to go back to work, and if you look just a little, you’re sure to find a fellow mom in your industry that has done the same thing. Besides, you need to get back into the habit of networking anyway, and what better way than to start a conversation with someone in your industry about technology?

If your home computer is more than three years old, replace it. You’ll need to know how to use the latest operating systems no matter what your industry.

2. Start a Side Hustle to Fill Work Gaps on Your Resume

Right now, while you’re just starting to prepare to go back to work, is the perfect time to start a side hustle. A side hustle will give you something recent to put on your resume, and something to highlight in interviews. Besides, who couldn’t use a few extra dollars?

Being a mom makes you a shrewd negotiator and helps you achieve better customer service skills since you spend so much time thinking about the needs of others and mitigating toddler tantrums. You can start a side hustle easily by selling children’s toys and clothes on eBay, making crafts to sell on Etsy, or babysitting children for other moms. If you have a degree or a background in education, you should check out our 10 Summer Side Hustles for Teachers list.

3. Tidy Your Resume (and your LinkedIN)

Your resume is probably a bit dusty after not being used for several years. Modern resumes have more custom formatting than they did just a few years ago, so it’s a good idea to either find a career coach to help you highlight your best skills and target them to your dream job, or at least buy a few modern resume templates online.

Your LinkedIN profile is a powerful tool to help you find a job an prepare to return to work. Update your profile, make sure you’ve connected with as many people as you can, and when you’re ready to find a job, turn on the setting to let recruiters know you’re looking.

4. Gather References

You will need references when you go to apply for a new job. Since you’ve been out of the workplace awhile, you will need to remind your former supervisors and colleagues about how great an asset you were. You can do this by connecting with them on LinkedIN. Don’t be afraid to buy your former boss lunch—it may lead to a job offer or at least a reference.

Also think about connections you’ve made as a mom. If you followed our advice and started a side hustle, you have clients you can use as references, too. If you’ve been doing charity work or volunteering at your kid’s school, you may be able to use your supervisors and connections as references.

5. Practice Your Career Story

Your resume and cover letter will tell the abridged story of your career (if you write them properly), but what will you say in an interview when you’re asked, “Walk me through your resume?” or “Tell me about yourself?” You need a solid career story.

You should not be ashamed of taking time off work to raise a family. Instead, tell the recruiter that you had a “once in a lifetime opportunity to be a mother” and you seized that opportunity and now it’s made you a better employee. It’s your story; tell it in the most positive light possible.

Do any moms out there have any other advice to offer?

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