January/February 2006

If you decide to go
Helen Slingsby, of Career Breakthrough, looks at what you might want to consider if you are thinking of returning to work.

Making the change
There are lots of important questions to consider: Why are you returning to work and what do you want to get out of it? Is it out of necessity and/or for the money or is it for mental stimulation, a challenge or perhaps to have some camaraderie now the children are at full time school? Is it to enable you to share the workload and improve your work life balance? Is it to regain some financial independence? Each person will have their own specific reasons for returning to work. It is important to give these questions a lot of thought to help focus your job-hunting efforts.

What to choose
Some people may not have a choice but to work full time. Others, however, will weigh up the pros and cons of full or part time work. If going back to work is largely to regain part of the ‘old you’, to boost your self-esteem, make new friends or for stimulation, then money might not be such a burning issue. If so, there’s an opportunity to try something completely new or to retrain perhaps. I often tell clients that those of us who have taken time out to look after their children are actually pretty fortunate in having a natural career break and the opportunity to rethink their future.

Some types of work to consider
Retraining as a teacher/previously full time teachers working part time or becoming a classroom assistant.
Property development.
Setting up a specialist mail order company - one of my clients sells olive oils, another leather goods.
Becoming a student – part time distant learning courses enable you to manage the family and retrain at the same time.
Developing a dormant passion or talent - one client was always creative but never used her skills until recently she decided to paint modern art to order to suit people’s home interiors.
Domestic cleaning – maybe join forces with a friend and set up a cleaning company.
Retail – it has flexible hours.

For more advice on returning to work, or a career change, call Helen Slingsby at Career Breakthrough on 0118 984 4962 or email helen.slingsby@dial.pipex.com

May/June 2006

Career workshops
Career Breakthrough is running career workshops to help mums find ways to combine work and family life. The two-hour workshops run weekly during evenings or school hours for three consecutive weeks will look at returning to work after time out, changing jobs or careers, boosting self-confidence and any other issues relating to being a working mum. Run by Helen Slingsby, a career coach specialising in helping women return to, or change, their career, the sessions will include a talk by people who have made a success of changing direction. Once completed, participants should have a clearer idea of what they want and how to get it. Cost for the three workshops is a reduced price of £90 per person for Families readers so call Helen on 0118 984 4962 or email Helen@careerbreakthrough.co.uk