“A friend of mine and closerq reader recommended sending my question to you. I have been out of work for 7 years to raise my kids and my husband was recently laid off. I was an award winning sales person before I quit and I haven’t worked since. My youngest is now in first grade and one of us needs to work. How do you recommend a stay at home mom find a job?” Zoe S.
Zoe, thanks for your question and congratulations on running a family full-time for the last 7 years. Before giving you specific recommendations on job hunting, I am going to ask you to some marriage and personal questions. As a hiring manager, you stated that ‘my husband was laid off’ and ‘one of us needs to work’, assuming you land a job, is your husband going to become a stay at home dad? What are you going to do if your husband finds a job? Are both of you going to work? Are you going to quit your job after your husband finds a job? Are you ready to work
fifty hours a week? Are you looking for part-time work? Are you committed to working at your new company for three years?
I expect you are experiencing some short term financial pain but don’t make quick short term decisions that will negatively affect your long term well being both financially and with your marriage. Also, be prepared, if I was interviewing you, I would legally ask probing question to determine if you are truly committed to staying at my company and working hard to be successful, especially if your husband finds a job.
Once you and your husband have answered the questions above and if you decide you still want to find employment, I would start with your previous employer(s). As an award winning sales person and leaving your job to be a stay at home mother (a decision that as a father, I respect), I am going to assume you left your employer in good standing. Start with your personal contacts. If you haven’t already, I recommend setting up a http://www.linkedin.com/ account to find your contacts.
For additional job search recommendations, please read my blog post from January 21st: http://closerq.blogspot.com/2009/01/wednesday-january-21st-2009-new.html
Lastly, I recommend you set realistic goals. You have been out of the market for 7 years. The fundamentals of sales haven’t changed in the last 7 years, however, supporting technology (CRM), and the nuances and players in your industry have. You may have to take an entry level sales position. You may have to volunteer. For an ‘out of the box’ recommendation, have you and your husband investigated buying a business? This is a very complicated and dynamic decision but you may want to check out: http://www.bizbuysell.com/
‘Good Job Searching’. Reader Feedback, please click the comments below to give ‘Zoe' additional recommendations and I want your feedback on my response. Shaun Priest aka CloserQ
Zoe, thanks for your question and congratulations on running a family full-time for the last 7 years. Before giving you specific recommendations on job hunting, I am going to ask you to some marriage and personal questions. As a hiring manager, you stated that ‘my husband was laid off’ and ‘one of us needs to work’, assuming you land a job, is your husband going to become a stay at home dad? What are you going to do if your husband finds a job? Are both of you going to work? Are you going to quit your job after your husband finds a job? Are you ready to work
fifty hours a week? Are you looking for part-time work? Are you committed to working at your new company for three years?I expect you are experiencing some short term financial pain but don’t make quick short term decisions that will negatively affect your long term well being both financially and with your marriage. Also, be prepared, if I was interviewing you, I would legally ask probing question to determine if you are truly committed to staying at my company and working hard to be successful, especially if your husband finds a job.
Once you and your husband have answered the questions above and if you decide you still want to find employment, I would start with your previous employer(s). As an award winning sales person and leaving your job to be a stay at home mother (a decision that as a father, I respect), I am going to assume you left your employer in good standing. Start with your personal contacts. If you haven’t already, I recommend setting up a http://www.linkedin.com/ account to find your contacts.
For additional job search recommendations, please read my blog post from January 21st: http://closerq.blogspot.com/2009/01/wednesday-january-21st-2009-new.html
Lastly, I recommend you set realistic goals. You have been out of the market for 7 years. The fundamentals of sales haven’t changed in the last 7 years, however, supporting technology (CRM), and the nuances and players in your industry have. You may have to take an entry level sales position. You may have to volunteer. For an ‘out of the box’ recommendation, have you and your husband investigated buying a business? This is a very complicated and dynamic decision but you may want to check out: http://www.bizbuysell.com/
‘Good Job Searching’. Reader Feedback, please click the comments below to give ‘Zoe' additional recommendations and I want your feedback on my response. Shaun Priest aka CloserQ
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