With your new arrival now firmly ensconced within your household, it’s time to consider making the transition back to work. This has been a whirlwind few months and you could be forgiven for not thinking too long and hard about your career and your employer. The time to transition back to the real world is rapidly approaching and this can be quite a bumpy transition, to put it mildly.

Don’t think that you are alone if you feel confused, intimidated and uncertain. Now may be the time to consider online coaching to help you approach this critical juncture in your life from a position of strength.

If you have decided that it is time for you to move on and find a new employer, possibly even a brand-new career, you will need to consolidate your position and build a powerful stance before you approach any new candidate companies. Consider exactly why an employer would be interested in talking to you, by fully evaluating your skill set at this time. This is not the time for nagging worries and you have to develop assertiveness and a supreme confidence, for best results.

Take a large, clean sheet of paper and write down all the skills that you possess. Go all the way back to school and college and remember all the skills that you picked up there, as well as anything that you can remember from previous jobs and other employment. Add to this list your undoubted skills as a planner and organiser, these vital abilities which you put into practice as you started your own family. Remember that, from an employer’s perspective, skills do not always have to be accompanied by some kind of paper qualification, issued by an educational establishment or by some other organisation. Rest assured that it is difficult to find great employees, and so your prospective employer will be looking for particular skills, including self-confidence, dedication and motivation.

If you do not have a tremendous amount of formal education, never be disheartened. Any employee willing to go the extra distance and over-deliver for the employer is worth her weight in gold, believe me. If you show this side to your would-be employer, you can almost guarantee that he or she will be very interested in adding you to the team.

These days, online coaching can help you to put everything in perspective and help you to draw out all of your abilities, expertise and capabilities. Very often, we are so caught up in our daily lives that we do not realise what we have to offer a would-be employer. Thankfully, professional coaching can also help to balance your challenges when it comes to career and family life.

Whether you are going toward pastures new, or going back toward the old employer, you need to be in a very strong position, either way. Make sure that you sell yourself appropriately and enjoy your new life!!

Amanda Alexander is Director of Coaching Mums and a highly acclaimed ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums who yearn for success, balance and fulfilment. Are you a juggling mom? Download our free eBook for working moms that will give you 5 simple and instant ways to balance your life right now!

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It’s never easy taking a career break, but sometimes ‘you’ve just got to do, what you’ve got to do,’ as the saying goes. This is particularly appropriate when you have to make preparations for – and welcome into the World – a new arrival. Quite rightfully, the career must be on hold as the mum-to-be focuses on what’s ahead and places all her resources to work on the imminent arrival of the child, instead of the career. Thankfully, our society is very understanding and mum is very rarely in a financial bind during these all-important days.

While some women put a great deal of effort into planning their entire working career around their life aspirations, planning in intricate detail what will happen from the moment they find out that they are expecting a child, all the way through a transition back to regular work, for most of us this represents a process of discovery. It is, after all, very difficult to plan your entire career and personal life in advance, most especially given the financial and economic uncertainties that we have encountered in recent times. Nobody wants to go through such economic turmoil again and it’s enough to throw anybody’s plans into disarray, placing additional stress on the expectant mother, just when she doesn’t need it.

Mum needs to be very confident when she returns to work after a career break, for a number of reasons:

First, she should remember that she was hired in the first place due to a combination of skills, ability, education and personality. This is a great combination that most human resources department heads are looking for and are equally aware represents a fairly rare find. While not being overly promotional, she should shrewdly draw attention to these assets.

Second, remember that there is nothing to feel guilty about. Childbirth is a natural right for women in our society and the vast majority of employers recognise and accept their liabilities as a consequence of doing business. While it is true that a lengthy absence can be a little disruptive for the employer, this has to be taken in stride and there is no reason to feel guilty at all when returning to the fold.

Thirdly, it’s important to remember that the actual process of childbirth and family planning helps you to develop some notable planning and managerial skills, anyway. Don’t underestimate these important skills and remember that you will be able to convert them for use within the work environment, as well.

Fourth, remember that, on average, 50% of the workforce is made up of women, a large proportion of whom fully sympathise with your position, as they have been in your position! You will have many a sympathetic ear, when you return.

Lastly, the fact that you now have a family to take care of is a marvellous achievement in its own right. Not only should you be proud of what you have done, but you should consider that, after the rigours of childbirth, anything that they can throw at you in the workplace should be relatively easy to handle.

Don’t worry if you think it’s too much for you, as professional coaching can help you get through it. Within our hectic daily lives, we have access to online coaching as a solution, where professional coaching for women returning from childbirth can really help to overcome any and all problems that lay ahead.

Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, stressed working mums who long for more hours in the day. Through her coaching programmes and online life coaching courses, Amanda shows mums how to create fulfilling and successful lives. For your simple 5 step guide to balance as a working mum, download our free eBook today!