Apr 9, 2009 7:49 pm US/Eastern
More Stay-At-Home Moms Re-Enter Workforce
Some Women Hire Career Coaches, Feel More Empowered
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
The state of our economy is causing many families to re-think career options and opportunities. Statistics show men are losing their jobs at a higher rate than women. For some women who have chosen to stay at home with their children, the time has come for them to consider re-entering the workplace.
For the last five years, Catherine Crawford has been a stay-at-home mom.
But her husband recently lost his job, forcing Crawford to re-enter the workplace.
"We need a steady income and benefits and I was willing to do anything," Crawford said.
Her job searches met mostly dead ends.
"I wouldn't get any response after sending e-mail, 20 resumes out a day," Crawford said.
Those resumes had gaps to be explained. Her industry had moved forward without her, but still, as a mother, she had marketable skills that she had to learn to promote.
"I think I grew up a lot in the five years I have been having kids," Crawford said. "I can do it. I can do it. No job seems insurmountable at all."
So Crawford turned to career coach Jennifer Brown. First, she reorganized her resume.
"For stay-at-home moms this is important because there might be gaps in the chronology, so take ownership of your resume and try to get a little creative and what we did at the top of the resume is really make a few statements with a few bulleted abilities," Brown said.
And they also worked on some rusty interviewing skills.
"We ran possible scenarios and I said to Catherine, 'So I see that you have been out of the workforce for a while. How would you like to explain?' Thankfully, they didn't ask that but I was ready for it if they had," Brown said.
There are also dozens of online resources and career consulting sites that cater specifically to stay-at-home moms with a variety of skill sets.
"Working moms out there know that we bring a lot of value to the workforce and on our terms, and companies are slowly starting to realize that that's the way they are going to get the best talent, by being flexible," Brown said.
Crawford is now working in the publishing industry part time.
For mothers -- or any other job seekers – looking for tips, please click
here.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
2009 Celebrity Deaths
Click to enlarge
CBS 2 Preview: Back From The Dead 
2 Indicted On Weapons Charges In Undercover Sting 6 mins ago
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments