Back to work after 20 years at home!!!

Sallys_Savings

taylorsmum wrote:

hi, i have been a stay at home mum for ten years, finally got an interview on weds,been trying to get a job since feb this year, i think personally that they look at how long i have been out of work , (even though i chose to stay at home)and think i have lost all my skills. i have always worked in retail (supervisor) it makes me really angry. anyway good luck.

Ohh I wish you lots of luck with this job....phew since last feb looking for a job you certainly deserve a break.

Thank you for telling me about yourself, it makes me feel better that I'm not the only one out there trying to get a job after a long time at home.

Sallys_Savings

wolfehouse wrote:

I went back to work after 10 years of being a stay at home mom. I found that the hardest part was not the technicalities of doing the job but getting back into the social scene in the office.

Sometimes if you can basically do a job you are judged more on whether people feel comfortable working with you and get on. (bringing in the odd treat for everyone to share never hurt).

I swore I'd never lose my own identity and interests and get deskilled yet that is exactly what happened. I'm so much happier now that I'm back at work and so are the kids. Hope it works out for you, good luck.

uuummmm bribery oops I mean incentives that sounds good to me

Thanks for taking the time to let me know your experience.

I've put off going to work for so long now and I KNOW its the best thing I can do (as well as the money ) but I'm getting a bit too worked up about it all Hearing how other stay at home mums have managed really does help.
Thank you

Sallys_Savings

Savvy_Sue wrote:

You should have seen me the night before starting my first 'proper' job since having children! And what was I bricking it about?

Catching a bus, knowing where to get off it, knowing where to get on it to come home at the end of the day.

Finally, I decided that if DS1 had been managing this for the last few weeks, without adult intervention, I could do it too.

Mind you I wasn't entirely convinced by my personal pep talk. Not until I'd done it a few times.

Good luck!

*laughing*........ohhhh thats going to be just like me

Thank you for making me smile.

Just got to get applying for a few jobs ...I'm guessing its the wrong time of year right now though. I've been looking for the past few months and saw a few I liked the look of and now that I've finally made the decision there doesn't seem to be any about

MissMoneypenny

Sallys_Savings wrote:

My sister has been on a few computer courses excel etc and she has lent me her notes. So I'm slowly going through them first before I go on the course myself. So at least I'll know a little more than I do now.

Go to google and put the search words Tutorial (with the course you want). So Tutorial Word to get a free online course on word. If you do decide to take the college route, ask the staff what the tutor is like as the tutor's knowledge varies a lot! I ran a course for a local centre and was surprised to find that some of the people who came on the course had been on the same course before, but had not even been taught the simplest of things like cut and paste! The tutor had just told them to "practice" on the Internet for all 10 lessons.

I'm not sure something like Clait is what employers are looking for. Why not look in the paper and see what skills they want? Although my sister hadn't got a clue how to work a pc when she went back to work as a PA. She started off by applying for jobs as an office typist but didn't have any Word qualifications so didn't get an interview, then applied for a PA job and got it:D

BTW, I'm in the same position as you - a full time mum for 20 years and was so sorry to see my 2 got off to university (great for them), but I loved being with them while they grew up.

tiff

Glad others are in the same boat as me, sometimes it feels so old fashioned to be a stay at home Mum for so long!

djdido2

tiff wrote:

Glad others are in the same boat as me, sometimes it feels so old fashioned to be a stay at home Mum for so long!

you must remember that running a household and being a mum is a massive acheivement/responsibility and over the years you will have accumulated much "life" experience that will give you skills and qualities you will be able to use within the workplace.


stay positive and good luck

x
d

Sallys_Savings

I've been very fortunate to be able to stay at home with my four children over the last twenty years.

Always being a part of their school life...assemblies, watching their sports games, volunteering, lazy walks from school across the park when they were younger, helping out at reading clubs, being home when they come back from school, being on school committees etc. etc.
I've always worked part time on evening shifts in supermarkets, party planning & childminding to make up a bit of money.

But being out in the world of "proper" work seems so daunting now.

Sallys_Savings

djdido2 wrote:

you must remember that running a household and being a mum is a massive acheivement/responsibility and over the years you will have accumulated much "life" experience that will give you skills and qualities you will be able to use within the workplace.


stay positive and good luck

x
d

My sister came around earlier to help me with my CV, crikey I didn't realise she was talking about me Shes mentioned things that I wouldn't of bothered putting down as I wouldnt of thought they were relevant.

Over the years I have been treasurer on two committees, secretary on another. Completed first aid courses, PPA foundation course and Childrens Maths at home course.....so as my sister said it shows that I am willing to train. I have been on three holidays with the school, organising payments and trips etc so it shows my organisation skills etc...............shes added lots of bits and pieces like this and it looks alot better than before. I had a huge space in my CV with nothing there apart from bringing up children.

So feeling a bit more positive about myself ..........still bricking it though :eek: lol

CannyAnnie_3

Hi Sally

I was a stay at home mum for 16 years from 1978 until 1994. (I was a junior manager in a government department before starting the family). I don't regret taking the time off to be with the children, you can't replace that time, you just have to trade it for the job you might have had, but for me there was no contest. Then I did the party planning, childminding etc, just like you, then for the FOUR YEARS up to 1994 I tried to get job after job, got a few interviews, and failed at that stage owing to lack of confidence and no up to date qualifications. Then I took the plunge, plundered my meagre savings and went on a basic admin college course with WP and typing plus an NVQ1 in Business Admin. Before I'd finished the course I was offered a temp job in a local government office, one thing has led to another, and now 12 years later I am in permanent full time employment, earning nearly 19k per year with a responsible job, and never happier.

I have NEVER regretted that NVQ1, I tell people I have an NVQ in "sticking stamps on envelopes" but it has come in so useful, you have no idea. Also, I've bumped into a couple of the others from the course over the years, and all of them have landed and kept decent jobs. I live in the NE of England where employment isn't great. So GO FOR IT, you won't regret it. The best of luck to you. Oh by the way - I was 41 when I went back into the workplace - so don't be daunted, if you can bring up 4 children you can do anything!

Cheers Annie

CannyAnnie_3

It had CLAIT as part of the package too, I forgot