Luckily when I changed jobs after JJ was born nearly 9 years ago I was extremely fortunate to find a part-time job with a public-sector employer. In the time I have been there I have been able to change my hours and job role a number of times and all within the same department. My salary has nearly doubled and I still only work 22 hours a week but in a job that challenges and excites me. Yes I am indeed one of the fortunate ones.
There is no reason why you cannot be one of the fortunate ones too, perhaps you have heard of a useful website called Workingmums.co.uk? All in one place you can easily find vacancies across the UK that are being targeted towards Mums. Don’t you think that is fabulous? No more discrimination when a potential employer spots the child raising career gap on your CV and no more uncomfortable questions at interview when they realise you have three pre-schoolers.
The employers engaging with the Working Mums site are reputable, brands like John Lewis, HSBC and T Mobile, they know the value of employing Mums and understand that those of us who work part-time tend to work smarter and harder as we have to fit everything we do into a limited time-frame.
I had a good explore of the Working Mums site and was pleased to see loads of part-time and homeworking jobs but also full-time ones too for those Mums who require more hours. It was interesting to note that there are even paid market research opportunities available for those Mums who want to just earn a nominal income each month.
Having working in HR and recruitment for the last 14 years I know that no two Mums are the same, every person wants something slightly different to suit their own personal situation. It has also been apparent to me over the years just how many women lose their confidence after having children or feel they have nothing to put on a CV anymore but this site has a wealth of information on CV writing, interview tactics and tips on how to work flexibly and best of all - it is all free advice, easily available at any time of day.
However not everyone wants to be employed and if you are interested to work for yourself then there are some super franchise opportunities available as well. There were lots of well-known names that I recognised like Tatty Bumpkins, Merry Maids and Families magazine – all looking for new franchisees to join their success. Not only that, there is also a resource area in the franchise zone where you can read articles around writing a business plan, how to research a franchise and lots more. You can even post a question for Tom Endean, the Marketing Manager of the British Franchise Association, I think that is a very valuable resource to tap into.In short the Working Mums site appears to be a great resource for women looking to get back into the work place or just changing roles or even starting a franchise. Part of my paid work is to help advise and coach people when they are facing redundancy and I will certainly recommend they visit Working Mums if appropriate.
