life@work

Mom's life@work Post #1: Help for the Working Mom

This post is the first in the "Mom's life@work" series that I'm writing on this blog. I'll be exploring career topics that are of special interest to mothers, such as transitioning, on-ramping, balancing, blending, and negotiating. If you're not a mom, keep reading! There are tips in these posts that apply to everyone seeking career happiness.

Deciding to write this series was inspired by the world I'm immersed in at Mom In The Balance, where I help sandwich generation moms (those juggling responsibilities for both their kids and their parents) thrive, even as life feels stressful and extremely challenging.

Mom In The Balance is a new, additional venture for me that you'll be hearing more about in the coming months!

Career happiness is a never-ending battle or a hard-won prize for highly skilled and educated mothers who  have a husband or life partner and whose children are home. 

Finding it is akin to entering a labyrinthian maze, a world seemingly filled with many possible options but which reveals itself as a complicated tangle of decisions to be explored, discarded, explored and discarded again.

As one of my friends who left a responsible and stressful position so that she can devote more time to her kids and experience some semblance of sanity in her life said, “There’s only room for one 70-hour workweek in our family, and my husband cannot quit his job.”

The facts go something like this:

• More women than ever before are highly educated, experienced and highly skilled professionals.

• Many organizations expect many of their employees to work more than 40 hours a week (sometimes a lot more).

• On the whole, men still hold the highest paid positions.

• Most nannies, day care centers, and after school programs do not care for kids more than 10 or 11 hours a day.

• In many families, most of the behind-the-scenes work for maintaining the household is done by mothers. This includes hiring sitters, shopping for groceries, signing the field trip permission slips, arranging and chauffeuring for extra-curricular activities, buying the kids’ shoes, getting the sick dog to the vet, and dozens of more jobs.

To the professional working mother, career happiness isn’t only determined by how much she enjoys her work, but also by how feasibly she can combine work with the other responsibilities in her life.

Most of the approaches to achieving some kind of balance depend on us (rather than our employers) doing something different. We get creative with scheduling, negotiate different arrangements with our partners and our managers, and rely on help from others.

As moms who are figuring out the best way to make it through our work, family and personal lives, we could use some support.

We could use this at the national policy level, in our neighborhoods, and everywhere in between.

There are many organizations and online networks that have something valuable to offer moms who desire career happiness.

Here's a partial list of those I've found useful over the years:

Work It, Mom!

Your On Ramp

MomsRising.org

Mothers Acting Up

Alliance for Work-Life Progress

Catalyst

What about you? What groups or organizations do you know about that promote the career happiness of mothers?

photo by sal petruzelli marino

Have a Holly Jolly Job Search

This month the Career Collective community, a group of career coaches and resume writers, is posting about how to make the most of your job search during the holidays. Follow us on Twitter at #careercollective.

December is in full swing, and many of you have put a hold on your job search because:

• "No one's hiring in December".
• "I have shopping, baking and other holiday stuff to do".
• "I just want a break from the job search".

Searching for a new job, whether while you're employed or not, does not generally bring about holiday cheer. It doesn't have much in common with relaxing by the fire, making something for someone you love, or singing special music.

But what if you were able to have both a bright holiday season and an active job search? What could be possible?

I think you would have festive times without the slacker guilt.

Because no matter what rationalizations you use about why it's a fine idea to back away from your job search during the holidays, you are not going to feel relaxed about having made that decision.

And feeling more relaxed is what we could all use during the holidays, right?

There's an activity that is part of both having fun festive times and an effective job search:

Talking with people.

Meeting and connecting with new people naturally occurs for many of us this time of year. It's also the key thing you should be doing to keep your job search moving forward.

I'm not talking about going to your friend's party and asking people for jobs.

I'm talking about you showing up, being yourself, and being prepared with a clear answer to the "What do you do?" question that, conveniently for you the job seeker, Americans are obsessed with asking at social events.

The fact is that organizations do make hiring decisions in December. Yes, you need breaks from your job search, but if you make them too long - such as the entire month of December - you are not doing yourself any favors.

Networking (aka, party going) is a fantastic way to keep your job search alive during the holiday season. Stay engaged with the process, stay out there, and create a merry and bright December for yourself!

photo by a song under the sugar sugar

Here are the posts by the other members of Career Collective. Enjoy reading!

@EliteResumes, @MartinBuckland, Elite Resumes, "Season's Greetings and your Job Search" http://aneliteresume.com/job-search/seasons-greetings-and-your-job-search/

@GayleHoward, The Executive Brand "It's Christmas: And a ho-ho-ho-hum?"http://www.theexecutivebrand.com/2009/12/08/its-christmas-time-and-a-ho-ho-ho-hum/

@KCCareerCoach, Career Chaos, "The Gift Every Laid Off Job Seeker Needs"
http://coachmeg.typepad.com/career_chaos/2009/12/the-gift-every-laid-off-job-seeker-needs.html

@resumeservice, Resume Writing Blog,"Holiday Resume Sparkle: Outshine the New Year Job-Search Mob" http://resume-writing.typepad.com/resume_writing_and_job_se/2009/12/holiday-resume.html

@sweetcareers,Sweet Careers,Holiday Job Search Tips for College Students 2009,http://sweetcareers.blogspot.com/2009/12/holiday-job-search-tips-for-college.html

@careersherpa, Hannah Morgan: Career Sherpa, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa Cheers

@careerealism, CAREEREALISM.com, Holiday Tip for Job Seekers: 4 Ways to Impress Others with Your Professionalism, Holiday Tip for Job Seekers: 4 Ways to Impress Others with Your Professionalism

@heatherhuhman, HeatherHuhman.com, 4 Tips for Making the Most of Holiday Job Hunting, http://www.heatherhuhman.com/2009/12/4-tips-for-making-the-most-of-holiday-job-hunting/

@LaurieBerenson, Sterling Career Concepts, Three Resolutions to Take It Up a Notch, http://blog.sterlingcareerconcepts.com/2009/12/07/three-resolutions-to-take-it-up-a-notch.aspx

@KatCareerGal, Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog, Avoiding the Holiday Blues in Your Job Search, http://resumesandcoverletters.com/tips_blog/2009/12/avoiding-the-holiday-blues-in.html

@WorkWithIllness, WorkingWithillness.com, Avoid this Minefield: Drive Your Bus http://workingwithchronicillness.com/2009/12/avoid-the-minefield-that-says-no-holiday-here/

@DawnBugni, The Write Solution Could that sound really be opportunity? During the Holidays?
http://thewritesolution.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/could-that-sound-really-be-opportunity-during-the-holidays/

@andyinnaples, Shift Your Focus to the Highest Impact Job Search Activities During the Holidays to Leverage Your Time, http://careersuccess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/12/job-search-follow-the-8020-rule.html

@erinkennedycprw, Professional Resume Services, How to keep up the Job Hunt during the Holidays, http://exclusive-executive-resumes.com/job-search/how-to-keep-up-the-job-hunt-during-the-holidays/

@keppie_careers, Keppie Careers, Four tips for effective networking follow-up for the holidays and the rest of the year, http://www.keppiecareers.com/2009/12/08/four-tips-for-effective-networking-follow-up-for-the-holidays-and-the-rest-of-the-year/

@ValueIntoWords, Career Trend, Navigating the Mistle Toe of Job Search,http://careertrend.wordpress.com/2009/12/09/story-of-one-job-seekers-navigation-through-the-holiday-noise/

@GLHoffman, What Would Dad Say,Merry Christmas! Can I Buy You Coffee to Talk About Me?http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds/

@BarbaraSafani, Career Solvers,“Holiday Networking Can Facilitate New Year Opportunities” -http://www.careersolvers.com/blog/2009/12/09/holiday-networking-can-facilitate-new-year-opportunities/

@expatcoachmegan, Career By Choice Blog, Expat Networking: Holidays are a Great Time to Nurture and Grow your Network, http://www.careerbychoiceblog.com/career_by_choice/2009/12/december-and-january-are-usually-some-of-the-slowest-months-of-the-year-for-companies-hiring-as-a-result-it-is-often-said-th.html

@chandlee, The Emerging Professional Blog, Footprints & Associations: Job Search Tips for the Holidays
http://emergingprofessional.typepad.com/the_emerging_professional/2009/12/holidayjobsearch.html

@JobHuntOrg, Job-Hunt.org, "(Holiday) Party Your Way to a New Job"