Maybe your primary job has always been to take care of your family, or maybe you’ve taken time off recently. Perhaps you don’t plan to return to work for a few years, if at all. Still, economic conditions and other unplanned events could make you re-think the idea.
Rather than realize at the last minute that you’ve got a month to find a job, with a little preparation you’ll be better able to handle whatever surprises are in store.
Get/Keep Your Computer Skills
If you’re not comfortable with the computer, it’s essential to start learning. While you don’t have to know programming, you should know the basics. Smart Moms, a job site for women seeking part-time positions, suggests that you know Microsoft Office programs, including Word, Excel, Access, Power Point and Publisher. The programs come with tutorials, and if you’d like more direct instruction, see if your park district, library, high school or local community college offers classes. Play around with the programs – it’s the most effective way to learn how to use them.
If you’re already well versed in these programs, find some advanced classes, such as how to build a website or set up a blog.
Continue Learning – at Your Leisure
When you’re home with young children, it may be difficult to find the time to add to your skill set. That’s the beauty of online classes. Many community colleges offer non-credit online classes. You can log on to read the lesson, share comments with the teacher and other classmates, and submit any assignments. Didn’t get a chance to log in today? No problem. Most online classes give you a generous period to complete the lesson, and usually have a week or two at the end of the session for any catching up.
So if you want to learn about supervising difficult people, or business writing, or labor law, this is a chance to do it on your own schedule.
Maintain and Add to Your Network
One of the most difficult aspects of being a stay at home mom is a sense of isolation. A way to combat this is to stay in touch with people. Networking with your former colleagues, neighbors, friends and school parents is a way to continue to make contacts. If the time comes that you need a job, you’ll have a variety of people to talk to about opportunities. One great source for networking is the Linkedin.com. An online business site, Linkedin allows you to forge contacts with people you know and the people they know.
Stay Up to Date in Your Area of Interest
Being current on issues in your field or area of interest can help you save preparation time if you do need to get a job in that area. For a quick overview of hot issues, sign up for Google alerts, which allow you to type in keywords, and you’ll receive periodic links to news articles and blogs containing those phrases. You can also sign up for association newsletters or blogs related to your field.
Anticipating change is never easy, but preparing yourself by enhancing your skills, network and knowledge base will help you no matter what the future may hold.
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