June 20, 2007
 Outward Bound
What do "Desperate Housewife" Teri Hatcher, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Academy Award nominee Annette Bening have in common? They all took a career break to become full-time moms before resuming their professional pursuits.
For many moms, finding a job outside of the home again can be a daunting task. They question whether they still have what it takes, after years of diaper duty, carpools and too many hours of Baby Einstein videos.
Authors Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin, both Harvard MBAs and former SAHMs who rejoined the workforce, are the authors of "Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work." Below, the pair outlines steps women (SAHDs, pay attention, too) can take to "relaunch" themselves:
Relaunch or not: Evaluate how happy you are being a full-time mom, how much you miss working professionally, what your child and elder care responsibilities are, and how your outside work would affect your family.
Learn confidence: Don't have the same confidence you had when you first got out of college rarin' to go? You do have skills. And if you present them properly, they will be valued.
Assess career options: Analyze whether your skills and interests have changed since leaving the workforce. Do you want the same job, a permutation of that job or a completely different career?
Update your professional and job search skills: Think continuing education courses, industry events and professional journals.
Network and market yourself: Reach out to contacts from your past, present and future – "future" being new people, maybe even other SAHMs looking to relaunch, who might be able to offer advice, support or help landing a job.
Channel family support: Keep your spouse in the loop. Discuss why it's important to you to return to work, how family roles may change, and how the family will manage childcare and household responsibilities.
Handle the job or find another: If at first you don't succeed... you know the rest. Don't despair if your first foray back into the professional work world isn't all you dreamed it would be. A re-relaunch might be in order.
Available online at backonthecareertrack.com.
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