While being a stay-at-home parent isn’t always a walk in the park, it’s a significant departure from the typical lifestyle of a working professional. Eventually, the day will come for most stay-at-home parents when they reenter the workforce, which can be especially daunting for those who were once high-level executives but haven’t been employed for some time.
It’s good to prepare to rejoin the workforce rather than diving back in too quickly. Below, 15 professionals from Forbes Coaches Council share the recommendations and pieces of advice they would give their clients to ensure a smooth, successful and less stressful reentry into professional life.
Forbes Coaches Council members share tips for stay-at-home parents reentering the workforce.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Stay Open And Trust The Process
Utilize the creative process to create a plan of action, which will help one to be organized and remain balanced. Reentering the workforce can take time. Having a structure to keep you grounded is helpful. Having a process for thinking about other opportunities that present themselves can lead to wonderful experiences and help one not become overwhelmed. - Natasha Charles, Intuitive Coaching with Natasha Charles
2. Focus On What You Can Control
The transition back into the workforce can be difficult. Start reintegrating by focusing on what you can control, and that is the relationships you build. Really home in on getting to know the people on your team and grasping a good understanding of your surroundings and how your highest potential can fit in with your team to elevate your company, team and yourself. - Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience
3. Have An Open Heart And Open Mind
Be open to experimenting with new experiences. Be open to taking small steps before you leap into the commitment of resuming a high-level executive role. Be kind to yourself as you experiment with stepping back into the workforce. - Devika Das, CORE Executive Presence
4. Understand Which Key Skills Are Relevant
Have a clear understanding of what key skills are relevant in our constantly changing workplace. For someone who has been out of work for a while, things change rapidly in terms of competition or customer preferences and expectations, so organizations need talent who are abreast of these changes. Once identified, develop your value proposition that conveys how you contribute to these changes. - Kevin Kan, Break Out Consulting Asia
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5. Be Honest, Proud, Positive And Prepared
Staying at home to raise children or care for aging parents is admirable. Reentering the workforce means being prepared, including updating your résumé and social media profiles, and being ready to interview through current day approaches, such as video and assessments. Be honest; proudly explain decisions made; leverage the experiences gained; and express positive intentions for reentering the workforce. - Diane Hudson, Career Marketing Techniques, LLC
6. Get Clear About Your Personal Brand
Get clear about your personal brand and include the learning you gained during your time away and how it translates into value at work. Many employers are looking to hire returners with experiences, backgrounds and points of view they may not see in others that lend to creativity and innovation in this time of big change. - Sheila Goldgrab, Goldgrab Leadership Coaching
7. Reevaluate Your Value Proposition To Employers
Before reentering the workforce, you may find it useful to reevaluate your value proposition to prospective employers. Some aspects to consider are what the external environment is like and how it has shifted from before, as well as what skills and competencies are being sought and how strong the alignment is. Finally, consider your attitudes, beliefs and values before making the reentry. - Thomas Lim, Singapore Public Service, SportSG
8. Highlight Activities And Soft Skills Developed
Try to turn your period of inactivity to your advantage by highlighting the activities you have carried out (associative involvement, creative work and so forth) and the soft skills you have developed (creativity and what not). Next, take the time to update your résumé and LinkedIn profile to include any new experiences you may have had (learning a foreign language, for example). And, finally, relaunch your network. - Andre Shojaie, City of Montreal
9. Identify Limiting Beliefs And Master Your Mindset
The key to reentering the workforce successfully is to master your mindset. If you doubt your ability to land a job with ease, or if you worry that your time as a stay-at-home parent might inhibit your options, you may be projecting those negative beliefs out into the field and potentially limiting your success. Identify any limiting beliefs and give yourself evidence that they are not actually true. - Vered Kogan, Momentum Institute
10. Expect To Be Uncomfortable For About A Year
My wife went through this a few years ago. My advice would be this: Don’t expect to feel comfortable for about a year. Know that it’s okay to feel like you’re catching up all the time, not excelling. Your confidence will rebound, and work will be fun again. But it will probably take some time. Give yourself the space you need to figure it out. - Randy Shattuck, The Shattuck Group
11. Know And Be Upfront About Priorities And Requirements
It will help make the decision regarding where to look easier if you find out which companies align to your values and then home in on acquiring that next role. Also, update your CV with your enhanced skill set from being a stay-at-home parent. We often forget these nontechnical skills are transferable across roles and can make you stand out. - Arthi Rabikrisson, Prerna Advisory
12. Explore Hybrid Work Arrangements
While organizations should be proactive about creating reentry pathways for stay-at-home parents or other work-from-home individuals, we can’t count on our leaders doing that for us. If this is your circumstance, reach out to your organizational leaders and explore opportunities to phase back into a more traditional role, perhaps with a hybrid arrangement to ensure a smooth reentry. - Jonathan H. Westover, Utah Valley University & Human Capital Innovations, LLC
13. Proudly Own Your Professional Timeline
Own your professional timeline and the decision to be a stay-at-home parent. Don’t apologize for the gap in your résumé or over-explain your need to focus on your family. Remind yourself of everything you have achieved and be proud of what you are able to offer your next company. Spend time daily visualizing yourself as the high-level executive you are, even before being hired again. - Trish Blackwell, Uncaged Confidence LLC / Trish Blackwell Coaching
14. Keep Learning And Networking
Keep sharpening your skills—they are all transferable. Keep networking, and make sure you keep in touch with those contacts who might be able to hold your hand or give you a leg up when you are ready to reenter the workplace. Don’t doubt yourself; don’t self sabotage yourself; and don’t sell yourself short. Your time away has only added value to you. - Rittu Sinha, The Balanced Bandwagon
15. Give Yourself Grace
Give yourself the grace and space to feel uncomfortable. And then remember all of the other changes that you have successfully managed through before. Think about how you navigated change before, the skills you used and how you were successful. - Kristy Busija, Next Conversation Coaching, LLC
