Getting out of “Mom Mode” so you can land that new job!

By Vicki Brackett of www.makeithappenforwomen.com

Being a mom, whether you work outside your home or not, is a full time job. Moms are used to putting their needs on the back burner and putting others first. Moms give and give and give. Now, these are wonderful qualities for a mom to have and they help raise wonderful, productive and happy children, but moms need to make a switch mentally when they are thinking about embarking on a job search. Here are a few tips to help transform you from Mom mode to businesswoman brain:

1. First, realize that the “job search game” is just that…a game and there are new rules. Networking is no longer the key to finding a job because people in a network might now be unemployed, underemployed, not on the right level on the corporate ladder or in the right industries to help you find an opening that you will get hired for.

2. Tap into what companies are looking for, and in today’s tough economy that is people who can increase revenue, decrease costs and minimize risk to the company. Put your “mom hat away” and put on your “company hat.”

3. Realize that a company will not hire you just because you are good with people, work well in teams and make things happen back your qualities up with quantifiable facts.

4. Here’s a real hard one for Moms: you must learn how to brag about your accomplishments.
Women are taught as little girls that bragging is selfish and self serving, which is definitely “unladylike”, but in a job search a woman must be able to talk about how she can help move the company forward.

5. Treat your job search as a project. Schedule sufficient time to make a plan, both strategic and tactical and put it in writing. Ask the family for assistance.

6. Put a note on your office door or wherever you work, so the kids know it’s “Mom’s Job Search Time” and that’s serious time to leave mom alone. Plan an activity after your “Job Search Time” that the family can look forward to.

7. If you are a mom with small children, have a special basket of toys available that they only can play with when Mommy is having her “job search time.” They are more apt to leave you alone when you are working on your job search.

When you think about it, everyone on this earth came from a Mom. We moms are the foundation of the world. Whether we are working outside the home because we want to or because we have to, we must understand that the rules for finding a job have changed. Moms who understand the new rules and can articulate why a company is crazy not to hire her because she can help the company grow or even move through a recession are the Moms that will WIN what they want in their job searches!

Founder of Make It Happen Consulting, LLC and Make It Happen For Women, Vicki Brackett is a well-known career and job search expert who has helped over 10,000 people find jobs throughout her time in the industry. Her website is www.makeithappenforwomen.com