Get Your Mojo Back: 9
Networking Tips for Moms Re-Entering the Workforce
Re-entering the workforce after you have kids is tough, but it’s
not impossible—and savvy networking can open up tons of opportunities that you
might not have otherwise, including family-friendly jobs with flexible
schedules. If you’re feeling a bit rusty, follow these nine tips to get your
networking mojo back as you prepare to become a working mom:
Connect with other working parents.
Working while raising kids (especially young children) is a huge
commitment, one that other parents—particularly moms—will understand. Talking
with other working parents will instantly give you common ground, making it
easier to forge a connection. Not only will they be great contacts for you to
know, they might also be able to introduce you to other working parents who are
in a similar situation. Plus, they probably have tried-and-true advice on how
to work while raising a family since they’re doing it themselves.
Use LinkedIn to your advantage.
The first step is to update your
LinkedIn (and your personal website, if you have one) to reflect your most
current professional accomplishments. Once that’s done, you can start using
LinkedIn to reach out to your existing contacts, explaining that you’re looking
to get back into the workforce and would love to catch up with them. You can
also use LinkedIn to connect with people whom you haven’t met yet, but would
like to know. Just make sure to send a note along with your connect request,
explaining why you wanted to reach out.
Join professional organizations.
Professional organizations give you immediate access to
professionals you have something in common with, whether it’s your gender, the
city you live in or the industry you work for. Do some research to see what
options are available in your city. The local Chamber of Commerce usually hosts
several professional affinity groups, but there are likely other professional
organizations out there as well. You might also want to check Meetup.com or
similar websites to see if there are any gatherings of working moms in your
area.
Attend conferences and other events.
Professional organizations aren’t the only way to meet new people.
Look out for conferences, trade shows, workshops,
networking happy hours and other events where you can mix and mingle with potential
new contacts. Whether or not “networking” is officially in the title, many
people attend these events with the express purpose of meeting new contacts. If
you’re nervous about attending, see if one of your fellow working mom friends
is willing to go with you and keep you company (just make sure you talk to
people besides each other at the event!). Don’t forget to bring business
cards to hand out to the new people you meet, and you might also want
to carry a portfolio with copies of your
resume, just in case.
Consider heading back to class.
Learning isn’t just for college students. Attending a class or
workshop tailored to professionals is a great way to meet others in your field
and continue your studies. Many universities and professional organizations
offer workshops that span just a few days and cover a specific topic in depth,
such as leading teams or working with millennials. If you want something a
little more substantial, you can also look into certifications or even more
involved degrees such as an Executive MBA program, which will introduce you to
other professionals as well as jumpstart your old career (or help you switch
into a new one).
Reach back out to old contacts.
It’s a lot easier to reconnect with people you already know than
to rebuild your network from scratch. Even if it’s been a while, don’t be
afraid to call or email old
contacts from your previous job, or even friends from college. You’ll get
a much better response rate if you reach out to someone you already know, as
opposed to cold emailing a stranger, so rifle through your mental Rolodex to
figure out who you know and who you’d like to re-establish a relationship with.
Volunteer at school.
Yep, that’s right. Your kid’s school could be a potential
networking opportunity, especially if a lot of other working parents send their
kids to the same school. Signing up to help with a committee or to host a
fundraising event will give you a chance to spend quality time with other
parents and get to know what they do for a living. Even if it doesn’t lead to a
job offer or a work BFF relationship, you’ll get to learn from their
experiences and earn brownie points for getting involved at the school.
Work with your partner on scheduling.
Many networking events are at night, which can make it tough for
parents who need to put little ones to bed. If you have a partner, clearly
communicate with them on the scheduling to figure out a compromise that works
for both of you. Maybe you can handle bed time on Mondays and Wednesdays, but
they’ll cover Tuesdays and Thursdays, leaving you free to attend professional
events on those nights. If you can afford it, you might also want to look into
hiring a babysitter if both you and your partner are busy on the same night.
Maximize work hours.
If you’re already working, it’s important to keep networking since
you never know when you might want to pursue a new opportunity. But if you have
kids at home, it can be tough to be away from the house even longer than normal
business hours. Rather than trying to accommodate dinner meetings and
late-night events, see if you can schedule lunch or even breakfast meetings.
That way, you can fit in your networking and still make it home in time to put
the kids to bed.
Networking as a new mom won’t just help get you a job, it will
also help you create a support network of fellow professional parents who know
exactly what you’re going through. Follow these nine strategies to start building
your networking again as a working mom.
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