They're All in School - What’s Next?

It’s May, and you know it’s your last summer at home with your children. The youngest starts all-day kindergarten in the fall. What can you do now to prepare for your autumn transition and still preserve your precious summer?

 

·     Prioritize – Fun and family time is at the top of your list for the next few months. Keep the camera charged, take lots of photos for the Christmas card,  and frame a couple for your office.

·     Live in the Present – Make an extra effort to really be there with your children. Rather than being around them and worrying about the work you haven’t done, enjoy what is around you, the summer air, the sun that draws you outside in the morning and drives you back inside at noon, the sounds of the lake or the park.

·     Seize the Moment – So you’re sure to make some plans and progress, set aside some regular time to work on your plans. This can be an hour a day, every Thursday afternoon or a whole day every other week, for example. The point is to schedule it consciously and consistently so that it becomes habit – a good one!

·     Make a Plan – This is called your Career Transition Strategy, your roadmap for getting from here to where you want to be next. First, decide if you’re going to resume a career you left to stay home with your children. Perhaps, instead, you’ve discovered a new set of talents and interests.

That’s what one of my favorite moms did. Reese’s children were now in school, and her military husband was off to a 12-month temporary assignment overseas.

 

Reese wanted a full-time job, but there were several catches. First, she wanted it only for a year. When her husband returned, they would be moving to another military assignment.

 

Second, she wanted to change careers. Before she was married, she had been a computer programmer. Then, she stayed home with her children and became a Command Spouse. Her husband was one of the leaders during their last few assignments, and the wife of a military leader has a built-in job. She is expected to host dinners and lunches at the drop of a beret, advocate for the families of the soldiers in her husband’s command, and generally hold things together for their military community.

 

Now, that she’d had 15 years to think about it, she wanted to try her hand at event planning, but it had been 15 years since she’d held a paid job. Would anyone want her? She was about to find out, because the university’s alumni office had just opened a position for an event planner, and she was determined to land it.

 

Reese and I went to work on her resume and used every example she could remember of event planning, organization, and scheduling in her Command Spouse experience. It read like an executive’s journal, except instead of personnel, she was leading the Officers’ Spouses Club and Key Spouses, co-hosting official functions for 19 squadrons, recruiting and assigning help for families whose military members were on remote assignment overseas, and raising money for scholarships for military members’ children.

 

She delivered her resume in person, and the first thing she heard was, “You’re making this easy for me.” Several weeks later, she had the job, just for a year, they knew, but they said they’d rather have someone this good for one year than someone mediocre forever.

 

·     Research – Whether you return to your former career or decide on another field, you’ll need to find out which companies hire the type of position you have in mind. Google will become your best friend. (Remember, though, data obtained on the Internet isn’t always reliable, so you need to confirm it all.) Here are sites to visit to find company descriptions:

o    Vault (www.vault.com) features employee-written reviews of companies.

o    Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.stats.bls.gov) tells you all of the numbers you’ll ever want about working.

o    Occupational Outlook Handbook (www.bls.gov/oco/ ) describes the duties and responsibilities of many positions.

o    Best companies to work for (www.greatplacetowork.com/best_companies/index.html).

Don’t forget your public and university libraries are excellent research environments. There, you’ll find:

o    Dun & Bradstreet Business Rankings: Public and Private Businesses Ranked Within Industry Category and State.

o    Million Dollar Directory, Dun & Bradstreet.

o    Adams Job Bank.

o    Kennedy Book of Recruiters (thick red book in library or bookstore).

 

·     Focus – When you’ve found the possibilities, focus your list on the three companies that fit you best. Don’t worry about whether they have openings at this point.

·     Resume – Revise your resume to target this type of position. Tailor each one to the employer you are targeting. Be sure to list accomplishments rather than just serial job descriptions. Write a cover letter appropriate to the informational interview situation.

·     Network – Find someone you know at each company, or find someone who can introduce you to an employee, preferably the person who would make the hiring decision. Don’t give up if it doesn’t work the first time. Even if the person you do talk to doesn’t know the hiring manager, he or she may know someone closer who is likely to want to help you. Also, use the networking skills that found you that fantastic babysitter to find people willing to help you reach your goal by keeping their ears open about positions. Also, let them know that news of promotions is good, too, because a position may open as a result.

·     Ask For the Interview – When you get to the right person, ask for an informational interview in which you learn more about the company and the company learns more about you. Remember to write and take along your list of questions about the company, based on your research. The purpose here is to see if they shape up as well in person as they did online.

·     Interview, if Possible. If not, fine. Leave your resume and cover letter with the receptionist and ask that it be filed for the time a position opens.