A Guide for Moms: Reentering the Workforce with Remote Work

In January 2020, the economy was riding high and unemployment was at historically low rates. Companies were scrambling to fill empty positions. This led to more family-friendly benefits such as flexible hours and paid childcare to entice stay-at-home moms into reentering the workforce. This situation led to women, for only the second time, holding more jobs than men. making up 50.3% of the U.S. workforce. With wage disparity slowly decreasing and working conditions improving, women were finally making headway in the job market.

Fast forward a year and everything has changed. Overall, women have lost 5.4 million jobs during the pandemic compared to 4.5 million lost by men. December 2020 was a particularly dark month with the economy suffering a net loss of 140,000 jobs. What is truly shocking about this number is that all of these jobs were held by women.

Despite the dismal numbers, the pandemic may have done women a favor in the long run by pushing remote work into the mainstream. Despite initial fears, positive gains in productivity and employee engagement have led many companies to allow remote work to continue. With more flexible work hours and the ability to conduct work at home, remote jobs can make juggling motherhood and employment possible.

So, if you’re a mom with plans for reentering the workforce through remote employment, the opportunity is now. Use these strategies to optimize your chance of finding the perfect position.

Reentering the Workforce Remote Job Search Plan

Moms reentering the workforce will benefit from taking the time to establish a job target and develop an effective strategy. Start by asking yourself the following questions:

1. How Many Hours Per Day Can You Work?

Consider starting with part-time work to avoid overstressing your schedule. If you are hoping to avoid childcare costs, decide how much time you can realistically devote to the job. Trying to work with small children underfoot is a challenge, especially if you’ve never combined childcare and working simultaneously.

2. How Flexible Does Your Schedule Need to Be?

Identify what your prioritized family commitments are, such as carpool duties or lunch mom Tuesdays. While you don’t want to limit your working hours too much, you also don’t want to give up your favorite mom duties.

3. Do You Want to Be an Employee or an Independent Contractor?

This decision will depend on the amount of flexibility you require as well as your financial requirements. If stability and benefits are most important, you will want to find employment. But if flexibility and independence are crucial, then independent contracts or freelancing may be the way to go.

4. What Is Your Job Target?

Are you looking to pick up where you left off before kids? Or perhaps you are interested in transitioning to a different career area. Avoid taking a scattershot approach of applying for anything that you feel you are remotely qualified for. More times than not, this results in a lot of wasted effort and jobs that you don’t really want. The more targeted your job search the more efficient your job search will be.

5. What Is Your Current Skill Set?

Reading through job descriptions is a good way to identify the most important skills that employers are looking for in your target job. Make a list of those most often repeated and create a summary of how closely your skills match the requirements in each job.

6. What Skills Do You Need to Learn or Refresh?

Using the information from above, determine what skills you need to add or update in order to qualify for the positions you seek. Luckily, there are a growing number of reasonably-priced online courses to choose from when remediating or expanding your skill set.

And for more information on how to set yourself up for success during your remote job search, check out the free Virtual Vocations course below.

Leveraging Your Network When Reentering the Workforce

Returning to the workforce can be a daunting task, but a strong professional network can streamline the transition. One of the first things to do once you determine your reentry strategy is to reconnect with your professional network. When you are up to your elbows in diapers, you naturally tend to lose contact with your professional network and colleagues. It’s time to take those connections off the shelf.

Low Hanging Fruit First

Dip your toe in the water by reaching out to your co-workers and managers that you worked with closely or that you have kept in contact with first. Let them know you’re back in the job market and get the scoop on any changes that have taken place since you left. Even if you are planning on a career transition, touching base with old work connections is a good idea because it is from this pool of contacts that you will probably draw your professional references.

Leverage LinkedIn

If you don’t have one, this is also the time to develop or update your LinkedIn profile. Today, it is unusual for a professional to not have a LinkedIn profile, so if you are thinking of skipping this step, you should probably think again. Take your time fill out the profile sections as completely as possible, making sure to focus on aspects of your background that are most relevant to your current goals. LinkedIn is also the place where you can highlight any volunteer work or interests you have developed that may not have a place on your resume.

Once your profile is complete, go on a connection binge and request as many connections as possible. Also, make sure your profile shows you are looking for work and is visible to recruiters. Go a step further and sign up for forums and discussion groups in your areas of interest and participate in discussions.

Informational Interviewing

Another way to develop and leverage your network when reentering the workforce is to conduct informational interviews. Try and identify a selection of individuals in positions related to your job target. This can include people who hold the position, those who hire for the position, and those who manage people in the position. This will give you a well-rounded view of the current job requirements, the soft and hard skills that are important, and the challenges you may encounter.  

Updating Your Resume for Reentering the Workforce

Resume formats and writing strategies change over time and it’s important to make sure that your document is in compliance with the latest requirements. These changes will ensure that your resume looks current and is able to successfully navigate the now-ubiquitous application tracking software systems used to sort and vet incoming resumes. If you don’t feel confident updating your resume content and format, consider securing the services of a professional resume writer. It is a small investment that will pay for itself very quickly.

Addressing Gaps in Employment

One of the trickiest areas to update on your resume is addressing the employment gap. Gaps in the chronology can be mitigated somewhat with a variety of strategies. These can include only listing years worked and not including months, adding any volunteer, part-time, or contract positions you held during your time at home. If you are still faced with a significant employment gap, you can add a brief explanation to complete your chronology on your resume.

Further information regarding the gap can also be added to your cover letter. On your resume, stick to the facts and don’t get cutesy like listing your current employment as “Domestic Engineer.” You can add more personal information on your cover letter, such as “After devoting myself to parenting for the past several years, I am eager to reenter the workforce and continue with my career.”

Interview Strategies When Reentering the Workforce

Don’t wait until you have an interview scheduled before brushing up on your skills. If you haven’t had a job interview in a while, you may notice some differences. For example, most interviews today are based on the STAR interview response method. The STAR method is used to score behavioral interview questions in a way that can be compared with other candidates. This type of question focuses on the candidate’s past experiences by asking for specific examples regarding how they used their knowledge, skills, and abilities in previous situations. Practicing your responses to common behavioral interview questions can increase your comfort level and ability to highlight your strengths.

In addition to changes in the content of interviews, there are changes in interview format as well. Today most interviews are held by phone initially and then by video conference. While the interview process for in-office positions may revert to in-person interviews in the future, if you are looking for a remote position, chances are all of your interviews will be remote too. To ace these interviews, it is essential that you are comfortable communicating during phone and video interviews. Make sure you know the technology, have a professional background for video calls, and are comfortable in conversation.  

Don’t forget to follow up after an interview. Email a thank you letter, or better yet, get creative and mail or drop off a card in person. The extra commitment and personal touch show how interested you are in the position and can make a difference when the competition is close.

Transition Tips

As you go through the process to plan and embark on a job search, below are a few tips for moms reentering the workforce:

1. Set realistic expectations. Don’t expect overnight results from your job search. Depending on how long you have been out of the workforce, it will take time to build up your connections, learn new skills, and find the right job.
2. Develop a support system. Try and recruit a few close friends and family members to serve as your cheerleaders. Having someone there to bounce ideas off and to pick you up when you’re feeling down can sustain you in the face of rejection.
3. Get yourself in a professional state of mind. Ease yourself back into the work routine even before you get a job. Set up office space and use it as you explore your career options and apply for jobs.
4. Give possible schedules a trial run. The difference between a schedule on paper and in real life can be vast. Sometimes what seems possible is just not realistic when put into practice.
5. Don’t be timid. If you see someone on LinkedIn that you want to talk to, then reach out. All they can do is say no. Most of the time, professionals are happy to answer questions and point you in the right direction.

Return to the Workforce With a Positive Attitude

Returning to the workforce with a remote job is a challenging prospect for many stay-at-home moms. The past year has been tough and you may feel discouraged about your prospects in a competitive job market. However, with a good plan and a little tenacity, you can succeed. Don’t forget that although you may feel isolated initially, you are not alone. Everyone remembers what it’s like to embark on a new job search, and you will find helping hands all along the way if you look for them.

Do you have any tips for moms reentering the workforce? What worked for you? Connect with Virtual Vocations on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube to share your thoughts and tips. We’d love to hear from you!