5 Job Search Tips for Stay-At-Home Moms and Dads

Planning to get back into your career after a long break? Before embarking on a search for jobs again, there might be a few things that you might want to do first such as: update your resume, research and prepare for your interviews or even reach out to existing or new networks.

The following five tips may help you succeed in scoring your first job interview after a long break.

1. Identify companies/organisations instead of roles

Instead of sticking with the conventional job search method (via role suitability), perhaps you might want to try something a little different. Start by identifying the company/organisation that you could envision yourself working for, and see the roles they have to offer instead.

You may sometimes be surprised, at the potential of something new (which may or may not be your expertise) knocking at the door of your heart. Some websites (e.g Glassdoor), provide a platform for employees to voice their experience. With this, you will be able to get a glimpse of the company culture, if this future place is one that will support your needs (practical/emotional) as a working parent.

Prioritise on organisations that you want to work in and research more about them prior to your interview sessions.

2. Get connected

Kick start your social media and inform your connections that you want to transition into the working world again. Reach out to old friends and colleagues for some recommendations and referrals. A good platform where you might be able to build more connections is at your child’s school via the parent-teacher organisation (PTO) meetings.

LinkedIn is another great platform to find connections and referrals. For example, if you are a business development manager, you may want to check out the relevant business groups and actively participate by commenting on posts, giving feedback and answering questions. Sometimes these group may surprise you. A job opportunity that is not openly advertised anywhere else except in the group, could just pop up.

Read: How to Use LinkedIn Effectively During Your Job Search

3. Schedule part of your everyday routine with job search

Set aside at least an hour a day to fully focus on job searching. You may also want to turn on the job notification function so you’ll receive alerts and notifications when a listed job matches your profile. Generally, you can find that most listings are added on weekdays to job sites.

4. Update or prepare your resume and cover letter

Returning back to the workforce especially after a long absence will require time to get back on top of things. If your skills and education are slightly out of touch, take up online courses or webinars to brush up your skills/knowledge and include them on your resume.

Showcase your experience, education and proficiencies on your resume and cover letter by customising them to fit the positions that you are looking to apply. A customised resume will portray how keen you are in the position and further increase your chances to be noticed by the hiring personnel.

5. Consider working as a contract or part-time work

It does take time and effort to secure a full-time role and if you are urgently looking for a job, you might want to consider a contract base or part-time role as well. This temporary role may help ease you back into the working world and brush up on those rusty skills. It also acts as a good gauge to see how well you could manage between work and family.

If you’re excelling in the part-time/contract role, there is even a possibility for it to be converted into a full-time role. Community platforms such as Airtasker which provides outsource tasks and services can be a good start to securing part-time roles.

You might be interested in: Why You Should Consider A Career In the Gig Economy