How to Relaunch Your Career After Being a SAHM

Many women plan to go back to work three months after they have a child. I did too. But no one ever tells you how your body, mind, and the demands of a newborn child make that incredibly hard to do. In many cases, it's impossible to step away from the responsible for your home and children.

And so, millions of women like me become full-time SAHMs or Stay-at-Home-Moms. And responsible for essentially keeping a little human alive and healthy until they're ready to attend school.

And that's where the challenge begins for many women. You're suddenly left with a 3-year gap in your resume where you did "nothing". I had a 5-year gap in my resume!

You find yourself competing for entry-level positions with young people that you might be a decade younger than you. And many workplaces are reluctant to hire mothers who have been away from work for a while because they're still adjusting to managing very dependent children - which means they need unexpected time off and find it difficult to stay late, attend training, travel, or do a bunch of other activities that come with a normal 9-5.

I'm a single mom of a 10-year-old boy. And I'm in a fortunate place where I make good money from a full-remote job. But it wasn't easy to get here. I'm going to share my best tips for SAHMs to help them restart their career when they have a huge work gap.

Let's get started.

How to relaunch your career after being a SAHM

These tips won't lead to a quick-and-easy new job or great money. But if you apply them and work towards building your skills, you'll find it easier to get a job.

1. Build your skills while being a SAHM

Many moms want to wait until their kids are at school before they can do some skill-building. I think that's a bad idea.

Instead, do as much skill-building as you can while your kids are sleeping or at school. Take online courses, read books and blogs, or attend workshops in your area to learn new things and build your skills.

This will make it easier for you when you're ready to re-enter the workforce, as you'll already have a good skillset and knowledge base.

2. Use even ten minutes of time to build skills

One of the biggest issues SAHMs face is that they're busy and tired all the time. And I was in exactly the same place. I'm not saying you should motivate yourself or push through anyway.

What I am saying is that even the smallest amount of time can be used to build your skills. If you can't commit to an hour a day, that's fine. But even ten minutes here and there add up over the years.

I used my years as a SAHM to do courses in social media marketing and other skills. Often, I could only do a five-minute video or study just half an hour a week. But even that was enough to give me some great skills.

3. Build skills that are good for remote working

Even when your child is off to daycare or school, and even if you have a nanny or a babysitter, moms need to be able to drop everything they do and be with their kids when they're sick or have an emergency.

This is one of the biggest issues that working mothers face. And it can make it very difficult to do things like travel for work, take new jobs, or go back to school.

That's why I recommend that you focus on building skills that can be done remotely. Social media marketing, coding, web design, various writing services, and even some types of customer service can all be done online.

By building up your skills in these fields, you'll be able to work more flexibly and have a lot more choices.

Do your research and make a list of all the jobs you can do with a computer remotely. Then start adding to your skillset in those fields. The more sophisticated your skillset is, the more value you'll have in the job market. And you can negotiate for more money when you do re-enter the workforce.

4. Build your experience through freelance and part-time work

A major roadblock that moms face when re-entering the workforce is a lack of work experience for a long period of time.

It's easy for people to pay you less or not hire you at all when they see that you've been out of work for years.

The best way to overcome this is to start freelancing or working part-time in any field that you can. This will help to build up your resume, fill in your time, and even give you some extra money.

Even if you're just doing odd jobs for people in your neighborhood, it's still work experience that you can put on your resume.

If you're not sure where to start, there are many websites that offer freelance and part-time work, like Fiverr, Indeed, and Upwork.

5. Build a portfolio

You need to have a visible portfolio of your work if you want to be taken seriously as a candidate.

When I re-entered the workforce, I didn't have much to show, and that led to me getting a lower pay and getting devalued.

This lesson leads to the next big tip: build a portfolio. In your free time, work on projects and put them in a portfolio that you can show employers or clients.

You can do this in any field. Even if you have no writing experience, start a blog or write short stories and put them online.

By doing this, you'll be able to build up your skills and experience in whatever field you're interested in. And it will also make you seem more trustworthy.

6. Boost your online presence

Another mistake I made was not having a strong online presence. When people look you up, they should be able to find useful information about you online.

Here are some ideas for how you can boost your online presence:

• Create a full LinkedIn profile
• Create posts, articles, and share images on LinkedIn regularly
• Build a blog and include it on your resume
• Join groups, answer questions in forums, and share content regularly
• Build a social media presence by sharing useful content from across the web and interacting with others in your field.

Having a strong online presence is essential when re-entering the workforce after years of being out of touch. It can help you to stand out from other candidates and build trust with potential employers.

7. Build negotiation skills

Finally, it's important to hone your negotiation skills when you're re-entering the workforce.

Moms face a lot of discrimination and bias, and often get paid less than other candidates for similar jobs. This is why it's essential to be able to negotiate for yourself, both in salary and benefits like flexible scheduling or telecommuting options.

Start by researching what others in your field are making, so that you can have realistic expectations during negotiations. Then practice negotiating with friends or family members who can give you real feedback on how you're doing.

By building up your negotiation skills, you'll be able to get the job and pay that you deserve when re-entering the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom.

Give it your best

Re-entering the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom is a challenge, but it's not impossible. With the right mindset and the right strategies, you can succeed in your career and make a great life for yourself. So don't give up, and keep pushing forward. You got this!