Being a mom is, by far, the most rewarding career in the world. Nothing brings more satisfaction than knowing you had a hand in raising those glorious youngsters. Every time your kids make a good life decision, you’ll feel a swell of pride from the fact that you helped them towards it. Heck, some of us would do this for the rest of our lives if we could.

In reality, though, while the job of mom never ends, there will come a stage when practicality comes into play. The trouble is, of course, that raising your kids doesn’t pay those household bills. You may also find once your children start their school years you have some extra time on your hands. When that time comes, then, you may find yourself facing the reality of heading back to the working world.

The trouble is, of course, that you will have spent the last five or more years of your life dedicated to making sure your household runs properly and your children are taken care of. While you can put this on your resume, your lack of employment history leaves you at a disadvantage. This is especially likely in a world where employers value work experience above all. 

The good news is, there are options here. All you need to do is consider a few of the ways you can make that resume more appealing to potential employers. Your best bet is to start with this before those school years swing around so you’ll be ready to go when it matters most. While this won’t be easy with kids in the house, the following options could ensure you walk straight into a job when you start looking.

Volunteer

Volunteer work is a fantastic option for any mom. If you can arrange childcare for just one morning a week, you can make this work. You may even find that bringing your children along as you do volunteer work will teach them valuable life skills.

Either way, volunteering is an excellent thing to put on your resume. Volunteer positions are uniquely suited to moms because they’re flexible. You won’t face disciplinary action if you have to cancel last minute because your kids are sick and you can choose how often you’d like to participate.

If you choose the right volunteer role, this in itself could also lead to a job down the line. Even charities offer paid positions, after all. If you manage to impress the right people, one of those could land in your lap when you need it.

Find Alternative Ways To Work

Just because you have decided to stay at home with your children, it doesn’t mean working when at home with the kids is off your cards. In reality, many moms are now making money by working from home. That way, they can fit their work commitments around family life, and dictate how much they earn.

Of course, how you went about this would be up to you. It may be that you have time to pursue an entire freelance career and look after your kids at the same. Perhaps you fancy starting a blog which can take as much or as little time as you have to offer. In many instances, you’ll find that you can do these jobs at the kitchen table while the kids play around you. And, being able to make something like this work is sure to show future employers that you have the dedication and drive to get the job done.

Some employers may even consider it an advantage that you were able to work and earn with your kids in your care. For that reason alone, they may not be able to resist giving you a trial. If you dedicate yourself to this working from home thing, you may not even need to apply for jobs later. This in itself could become the career you’re after.

Study From Home

Qualifications are second only to work experience in an employer’s eyes. As such, they may be willing to overlook your years out of work if you have the right grades to your name. That’s why it’s also worth considering whether you can study when your kids are young.

Of course, it won’t be possible for you to head out to class each day if you have young children, but the good news is that most colleges offer online classes where you don’t need to be in a classroom to learn your stuff. By opting to study online, you can fit this around your childcare commitments.

One thing to keep in mind is to think about potential employment opportunities after you’ve completed your studies. To some extent, any higher education qualifications will recommend you to employers, but some fields just have more options to find employment right away. Something like this accredited online MBA is going to have a good chance for you to find employment right away. Something like a business degree carries a much higher return on investment that than some of the alternative fields of study out there. Choose wisely, then, and get down to studying.

Make The Most Of Parenting Opportunities

Every parent does what they think is best for their children and often this includes taking their kids to playgroups, activity days, and all manner of fun events to give them opportunities to socialize and learn in an outside environment. If you are active in your community and parenting groups, other parents and organizers will start to recognize you and you may find that opportunities begin to come your way.

Parents may ask you to help with the organization of future events, coach a sport, or lead a playgroup. You may even find that you become one of the front-runners at your playgroup. Often, these are things which we shy away from, but they could help your prospects for future employment and they are great to put on a resume. Even better, being one of the leaders could see you walking straight into management roles.

Get into the habit of actively seeking roles like these. It makes sense when you consider that you’ll be attending these events anyway so why not enjoy the bonuses that getting involved can bring?

Set Your Future Career Goals

For some of us, our careers come second to our desire to have kids. It may be that you haven’t even considered your ultimate career goals up to this point or that you’ve simply put them on hold to stay home with your children. No matter what you have decided is best for you and your family, you may find it useful to write a five-year career plan that you can stick to when you do start looking for work.

This can help you ensure your resume is suited to the field of your choice. This can both narrow down your application process, and ensure you’re happy in your career. Planning in this way also ensures that you can get straight down to applying once your kids have left the nest and you are ready to take the leap back to the working world.

Getting back to work may end up being one of the more difficult things you do as you’ll probably want nothing more than to rewind the years and get back to those innocent days with your babies. But, alas, kids don’t stay young forever. If your plan is to head back to work after your children start school, all it takes is a little effort ahead of time and knowledge about how you can sell yourself to employers.