If you take a break from your career for your kids

How do the recruiters react when you go back to interviews after
couple of years or so? If you tell them you stayed home taking care of
your little kids, will they be appreciative of the fact or will they
be neutral or will they give you minus points?

Overall, how does it affect your career progression if you stayed home
for few years for the sake of your kids and then venture into job
market again?

Thanks.

"ted" wrote in message
om...
How do the recruiters react when you go back to interviews after
couple of years or so? If you tell them you stayed home taking care of
your little kids, will they be appreciative of the fact or will they
be neutral or will they give you minus points?

Overall, how does it affect your career progression if you stayed home
for few years for the sake of your kids and then venture into job
market again?

I'm sure it would depend on your career. Some fields advance so quickly
that even one year out of the market can make you obsolete. Some fields
don't require so much effort to keep in touch.

"ted" wrote in message
om...
How do the recruiters react when you go back to interviews after
couple of years or so? If you tell them you stayed home taking care of
your little kids, will they be appreciative of the fact or will they
be neutral or will they give you minus points?

Overall, how does it affect your career progression if you stayed home
for few years for the sake of your kids and then venture into job
market again?

Thanks.

It depends on what you did before you had children.

I had no problem getting back into the work force but nothing new happened
so my old skills (of 4 years) were still handy and useful today.(current job
14 months and business just sold and im staying on) I was only out of work
force for about 11 months the first time And the second time about 2 years.
Some fields are much easier to get into then others (eg hospitality vs
computers or nursing)

I think it depends on what you say and how you word it in your interviews.
Half the time the people whom were interviewing me didn't know we had
children. Also to I think being honest about them being sick or injured etc
or what ever goes in your favour, when telling them up front in the
interview (eg my son has had chicken pox but not this, this or this so if he
gets sick I might need time off between such and such as grandma or so and
so carn't mind him etc) I think a lot of people liked that as it was being
honest and not bulling around (which a lot of people do)

Part of me prefers not to disclose anything about home life or family life
as it really has nothing to do with my ability with my job. And they aren't
allowed to discriminate against you for having children.

If you have problems getting back into the work force, find a company near
you and ask them to take you on free of charge for work experience. I'm sure
they would more the likely like to help you and You could possibly use it as
a future reference to try and help you get back into the work force.

A upto date resume always helps (cept in my case where several of my old
employers have sold business so now I don't have a current resume that
people can contact for a reference.

Some people have good luck, Others dont. One of my friends ( has chlid
around same age as my older one) and she carn't get back into the work
force. She needs to study to go back. I have another friend carn't find some
one to mind her child on the cheap as her income would only just pay full
time childcare which makes working pointless. So therefore she stays home
full time whilst her partner works full time.

Let me know how you go ted

Nic

ted wrote in message
om...
How do the recruiters react when you go back to interviews after
couple of years or so? If you tell them you stayed home taking care of
your little kids, will they be appreciative of the fact or will they
be neutral or will they give you minus points?

It depends on your career. Some careers advance so quickly because of
technology that you can't keep up and some you can easily return with. It
would be better if you are in a career that moves quickly to keep your
skills up or education before you return. If you can show on your resume
that you made the effort to take more classes before returning to work,
perspective employers look at that a little better than those who have been
out of the field for a long time, with no effort being made to do something
about your skills. I found it hard to return to the workforce that I am in
and took some time to find the right job. I did eventually find work and now
I work at home.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)
I'm Just a Raggedy Ann in a Barbie Doll World...

Nic nospam@nospam wrote in message
Also to I think being honest about them being sick or injured etc
or what ever goes in your favour, when telling them up front in the
interview

I found the opposite to be true. My oldest daughter had a liver transplant
when she was a baby. When I was honest about that and honest about needing
one day every six months off to take her to her check ups, those were the
jobs I didn't get. One employer was honest enough to tell me that I was a
high risk employee, even though my skills were the best that she had seen.
So now, if I were to ever work out of the home again, I don't say anything
about my family.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)
I'm Just a Raggedy Ann in a Barbie Doll World...

ted wrote:

How do the recruiters react when you go back to interviews after
couple of years or so? If you tell them you stayed home taking care of
your little kids, will they be appreciative of the fact or will they
be neutral or will they give you minus points?

Overall, how does it affect your career progression if you stayed home
for few years for the sake of your kids and then venture into job
market again?

It depends dramatically on what field you're in
and how you re-enter the force. Fast moving fields
are much harder to get back into after a multi-year break,
as do fields where you need to be "in practice" to maintain
fluency. The easiest way to get back in is to get a job
through connections. (Actually, that's the easiest way
to get a job in any situation, but it's especially helpful
in this situation.) You can mitigate some of the downsides
by continuing your education or at least staying involved
in some professional activities while you're away (conferences,
etc.).
In general, I think you can expect that some
interviewers will find it negative, but with the appropriate
presentation and preparation you can sometimes make it
neutral. It does typically take a little while to recover
and get your career back on track. You probably want to
consider the job carefully when you get back in to find
a workplace that is more family-friendly, so that when
issues come up with the kids (and they will), it won't
be so negatively received.

Best wishes,
Ericka

ted wrote:
How do the recruiters react when you go back to interviews after
couple of years or so? If you tell them you stayed home taking care of
your little kids, will they be appreciative of the fact or will they
be neutral or will they give you minus points?


I didn't stop work for that long, but I would think at best it would be
neutral. I mean, I can't imagine an employer being "appreciative" of
the fact that you quit work to stay home with kids - who knows, if you
did it once, you might do it again. The best you can hope for is that
it won't hurt you.

Overall, how does it affect your career progression if you stayed home
for few years for the sake of your kids and then venture into job
market again?


As others have said, this is going to depend an awful lot on your field.
I'm a computer programmer - if I had taken off the past two years,
starting when my son was born, I'd be pretty pessimistic about finding a
job right now.

Clisby

(ted) wrote in message . com...

How do the recruiters react when you go back to interviews after
couple of years or so? If you tell them you stayed home taking care of
your little kids, will they be appreciative of the fact or will they
be neutral or will they give you minus points?

Overall, how does it affect your career progression if you stayed home
for few years for the sake of your kids and then venture into job
market again?

Thanks.

Asking why a person has not been working for a period of time is
off-limits in many interview situations. I know I am not allowed
to ask because, paraphrasing: "Because women are more likely to
take time off to stay home with children, asking a person why
they had not worked in sometime could negatively impact a female
candidate." I'm not sure how this would impact her negatively,
but there you are.

-TOE

"His vote against the first Gulf war was, he says, a sign of his
support for the first Gulf war. Whereas his vote in favor of the
Iraq war was a sign of his opposition to the Iraq war. And his vote
against funding America's troops in Iraq is a sign of his support for
America's men and women in uniform. On the same principle, I think the
best way voters this November can demonstrate their support for John
Kerry is by voting against him." -Mark Steyn

ted wrote:

How do the recruiters react when you go back to interviews after
couple of years or so? If you tell them you stayed home taking care of
your little kids, will they be appreciative of the fact or will they
be neutral or will they give you minus points?

When DD was born, I was out of work for about a year (at the time,
working as a SAS programmer) and I found work pretty quickly. When the
interviewer asked about the gap, I mentioned the birth of DD as well
moving to another state. Because the director was a woman (who had
raised children) and the HR was a woman, they totally understood the
staying at home part. BUT they also wanted to know if I had the skill
set they needed - luckily I did and I could prove that my skills were
current.

Overall, how does it affect your career progression if you stayed home
for few years for the sake of your kids and then venture into job
market again?

Thanks.

If you stay at home for a few years, you may want to brush up on changes
that occurred in the field by taking courses, or by taking small free
lance work. Also keep your membership in the any national/local field
association current and try to stay in touch with colleagues.

What you might also consider is that you may want to change careers
after a few years at home. I'm now looking at other fields where
opportunities have suddenly presented themselves. If things work out, I
won't be computer programmer, but in a totally different field making
this my third career change.

Jeanne

"ted" wrote in message
om...
How do the recruiters react when you go back to interviews after
couple of years or so? If you tell them you stayed home taking care of
your little kids, will they be appreciative of the fact or will they
be neutral or will they give you minus points?

Overall, how does it affect your career progression if you stayed home
for few years for the sake of your kids and then venture into job
market again?


I think a lot will depend on the profession. In my line of work [mental
health] we at my agency tend to respect this type of choice and give a
serious look at the person who is applying. The usual concern surrounds the
degree to which they have remained current on credentials/skills/changes in
the industry. Attending some continuing ed opportunities and the
intermittent volunteering in events that related to the field are really
helpful in demonstrating a desire to remain abreast of the industry and new
information.

-Aula