For many moms, taking time off the workforce is a critical decision that requires thorough consideration. The time spent taking care of the kids at home may stretch from a couple of months to several years. Even then, this parenting period isn’t wasted time. You can make this period even more impactful by updating your resume with new skills and experiences.
If you are currently a stay-at-home mom looking to maximize your time with the kids, here are some insightful tips for you:
Upskill While at Home
Perhaps one thing that many stay-at-home moms strive for is to take professional classes during the parenting period. For some, this goal is quite possible, but for others, this is stressful and ineffective. If you fall into the latter category, you need to rethink how you approach learning as a whole.
Instead of setting high expectations and giving yourself a strict timeline to master a skill, you want to be realistic and easy on yourself. Remember that you are off the workforce to care for your children, and taking the time to update your skills for your resume is just a bonus. This should also be reflected in how you organize your schedule.
Luckily, there are several short programs that you can learn and get certification in less than a month if you spare only two hours per day. These include courses in interior design, leadership, management, marketing, etc.
However, some courses may take longer depending on their context. For example, tech courses that focus on gaining expert skills may take up to six months. If you are new to some of these courses, we now have free programs that accept anyone who wants to learn. An example includes free courses that introduce learners to the basics of UX/UI design. Here, you’ll upskill your way to becoming an expert designer once the full-time parenting session is over, another plus for your resume.
Stay Active and Productive
Being at home full-time means you’ll often be interacting with your kids and often engaging in repetitive and mundane tasks. This can hurt your creativity, motivation, and enthusiasm. A trick to this is to challenge yourself to new experiences constantly.
Consider joining a nearby or online stay-at-home mom group. Ensure the agenda of such groups build to your vision of becoming better and learning new things. With such a community, you can take up a volunteer role or engage in productive activities that are fun and interesting. An example could be mentoring young people or other stay-at-home moms like you.
Learn the Fun Way
Parenting can be hectic and tiresome at times and could take away your energy to learn useful things to enhance your professional life. If this is the case, don’t worry. There are several ways you can learn besides setting aside some block time where you are clued to the books or computer.
Here, you can incorporate learning into the everyday house chores. For instance, subscribe to educational YouTube channels on your topics or subjects of interest. You can also listen to podcasts as you do the dishes, prep the meals, or watch your kids play outdoors.
Stay Current with Tech and Industry Trends
The fact that you are out of the workforce doesn’t mean it’s time to just stay stagnant until the next time you are ready to reenter the workforce. In fact, you want to be on the know-how on what’s happening in and outside of your industry. Keeping in touch with workmates and colleagues is an excellent way to stay connected.
You also want to stay social on issues that directly or indirectly affect your professional life. Here, you may consider subscribing to weekly or monthly publications from industry leaders within your niche. That way, you’ll have access to facts and figures on the trends to watch. This will give you access to critical information to help make career transitions, upskill for future roles or gain in-demand skills.
Get Started Today
If you are a stay-at-home mom who’s eyeing some promising careers once your kids have come to age, the tips we’ve highlighted above will be of great importance. Remember to always understand and document what you are learning so it becomes easy for you to update the resume and demonstrate the earned skills in the job market.
