If you are a first-time mum, you are probably going through a range of emotions as you look ahead and see your maternity leave clock ticking away. On the one hand you are overjoyed with your new family life, with the prospect of spending a lot of time with your newborn and harnessing all your maternal instincts to do what mums do best. On the other hand, you’re more than a little bit daunted by the challenge of bringing up the baby and cannot imagine how you are going to cope with a schedule of work as well.
Before you became pregnant and became aware that your life was about to change beyond all recognition, your existing career path seemed quite clear to you. Of course, that certainly wasn’t the only thing that was clear either, as you were constantly reminded of the overtime that you were doing and the way that your work was already eating into the little bit of personal time which you had left for yourself.
For mothers around the world, childbirth is an amazing life-changing experience. It ranks very highly on the list of life-changing events and can often lead to further and sometimes significant changes in other areas as well. Changing careers isn’t something to be taken lightly, but in some circumstances events can create a catalyst for rapid change, and as you’ve got quite a bit of time to think during your maternity leave, this may well be an excellent time to set a course in a new direction with respect to your career path.
If you have been thinking about alternatives, why not use the time away from your existing work environment to weigh up all the pros and cons? This may be the perfect time to look into some online life coaching sites, which are supurb at helping you to organise your priorities and discover what’s really best for you. There’s no reason to worry about seeking out professional coaching, as with any kind of career change, it’s a major decision which could greatly impact several areas of your own life, as well as the lives of your other immediate family members and you new baby too.
Often a career change can be just the spark that you want and can be driven by the natural enthusiasm that you now feel following your childbirth. Some women feel that they can take on the world after giving birth and this natural euphoria could really help you to make a go of your alternative career path.
If you find that, deep down, you are dreading the thought of returning to your old job and that you feel your career may have stagnated somewhat before you took your time off, then you really should reconsider everything. Sometimes it is better to get the view of a “third party,” or someone who is not a direct family member or even a close friend, as an impartial opinion could be very important at this stage. Specialised services offer coaching for women in your position and may well be able to offer you options which you had not even considered as yet.
When you talk to a professional coach you will be prompted to go through the positive and negative, and you may be able to unveil some underlying reasons why you are thinking so much about a career change. It might not just be something as obvious as the commute time, it may also be to do with the flexibility that a career working from home, for example, could provide.
Always consider your relationship with your current employer when considering a career change during maternity leave. Make sure that you read the terms of your current agreement and always keep them in the loop as early as possible, and especially as soon as you have made your decision.
Amanda Alexander is the CEO of Coaching Mums. She is a widely renowned ICF accredited coach, who for more than six years, has been providing her services to thousands of working moms from across the Globe in an effort to bring balance back into their lives, help them lose their guilt, show them how to find the time to reinvent their passions, and most of all, to have fun every day! For truly inspiring articles and cutting edge professional coaching tips, sign up to receive our absolutely brilliant free newsletter “Inspire”, right now!
