For many mothers, the journey back to the workforce after having a child is not as straightforward as expected. We look at strategies for getting back in the game.

At 36, having invested 18 years in a publishing and media management career, Kirsten Lees had it all. A chief

 "I thought, I know who I am, I'm this working person and I love it and I'm good at it, and I'm going to be a good mother too, but I'm going back to work."

But as her return-to-full-time-work date approached, the office, let alone a 70-hour working week, was the last thing on her mind. Instead, Ms Lees, conscious of her ‘biological clock', opted to have a second baby quite quickly, putting paid work on hold.

"I'd put in 18 years, so I thought two and a half out wasn't going to change me too much, surely?" she explains. "I felt I had a good track record, I was articulate and I knew how to get what I wanted career-wise." Two and a half years later, however, it wasn't that simple.

"After four weeks I hadn't heard back from anyone," she explains in her book Let Go Of My Leg: A practical guide to returning to work after children. "My professional ego had begun to curl a little at the edges. When four weeks turned into four months and the only replies to my applications were ‘thanks, but no thanks' it was more than curling at the edges."

Knowing what you want
Fortunately, Ms Lees identified her problem was not so much her (now) three-year absence from the workforce, but a lack of clarity for what she wanted to do.

"I still had the same skills, qualifications, experience and the commitment to work, but there was also this other dimension," she says. "My priorities had changed. I was applying for all the stuff that excited me and had been a part of who I was before," she says, "but completely without conviction because there was this nervous thought, ‘but what if they offer it to me?' "The realisation that she wasn't prepared to return to her previous hectic work schedule took about five months, but once Ms Lees had made it, she re-examined how she wanted to spend the next five years.

Through this soul-searching, Ms Lees discovered there were lots of other women in similar positions - indeed, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures for 2001-2002 showed there were close to 700,000 women at home wanting to do paid work.

She also identified a need for an Australian book providing practical advice to women negotiating their way back into the workforce.

Working out how to get it
Providing information such as ‘working out what you want to do', ‘selling yourself' and ‘managing the home front', the book Ms Lees went on to write has been sold to a United Kingdom publishing company.

Ms Lees is now working as a consultant for companies looking to create a more positive workplace for women.
"It's a small business, but I'm using all my skills and I'm doing exactly what I love," she says.
"And it's giving me the freedom to be flexible with my children."

Just as importantly, Ms Lees - now 41 and with three children - is gaining new skills so that in five years' time, she will still be marketable, confident and ready for the next challenge.

Diana Ryall, the Managing Director and founder of Xplore For Success, which offers programs for women, agrees with Ms Lees: "Before you start the job hunt, be clear what you're looking for and work out how to get it."

Part of this process, Ms Ryall says,  is asking ‘what do I like doing?' and ‘what do I want to do?' Then examine the things you've done, your strengths, the skills you possess and how you can apply them to a job.

"You might have been running a babysitting club or been on a school committee. But just because the project isn't within a company doesn't mean the experience isn't worthwhile," she says.

Initiating conversation
Ms Ryall says once the area of interest has been identified, women need to "take some risks" and make contact with companies, having face-to-face meetings to discuss options, rather than waiting for the ‘right' job to be advertised.

According to the ABS, the most successful method of finding work, for the 1.4 million people who did so in the year to July 2004, was approaching companies directly.

Cold calling is a daunting prospect, but Ms Ryall suggests first contacting a previous employer "for discussions, advice and further contacts".

Network, network, network
Like it or not, networking is a powerful job-seeking tool, with the experts saying 80% of new jobs are found this way.
It's a term Ms Ryall says scares many women. However, both she and Ms Lees concur: women are naturally very good at it.

"Mothers use networks to support their children: find out what's the best school, who's the best local GP," says Ms Lees.
Ms Ryall says, don't limit networking to just people with similar backgrounds and experience; look at establishing links to other groups as well.

Preparing for a change
From a human resources and placement perspective, Karen Connolly, a practice manager for the recruitment agency Hudson, says after any break from the workforce, it's important to step back and "reposition yourself".

This might mean doing some voluntary work or retraining. Or paying to talk to a human resources counsellor.  At Hudson, this involves a series of sessions with an adviser, an online assessment program (covering career drivers, goals, values, skills, interests, learning style) and a return-to-work strategy.  All three women agree: confidence is critical, and the key to confidence is support.

Ms Ryall suggests getting a group of like-minded mums together to coach and challenge each other.  Ms Connolly believes family and friend support is probably most significant, but she also advises having external support: "You always need an independent person to say ‘you've got great qualifications, background and experience'."

Ms Lees says surround yourself with people who are going to support you - "cheer you on". But just as importantly, she says once you've made your career choice, "really believe in it, and don't be afraid to change it if it doesn't work out". n

Working options for working mums:

• Flexible hours - employees are given the flexibility to arrange start and finish times.
• Hours bank - the accrual or banking of hours. These hours can be stored in a ‘bank' for a quiet period when employees are allowed to take time off. 
• Annualised working hours - rearranging working hours throughout the year to meet fluctuating workloads. This can work well for a part-time worker who opts to work full-time during term time and not at all during school holidays.
• Compress the working week - normal weekly hours can be compressed into fewer, but longer shifts.
• Job sharing - a part-time arrangement where two or more employees share between them the work of one full-time employee.

What's happening at the coalface?
Organisations are discovering the benefits of accommodating working mothers with flexible working arrangements. Here's what some companies are doing to attract and retain the best talent:

ANZ - named Leading organisation for the Advancement of Women in 2005. The organisation's initiatives include:

• A 12-week paid maternity leave policy with no qualifying period, available to both full-time and part-time staff.
• Five nursing mothers rooms in CBD locations. Flexible work options for pregnant employees or staff caring for a child.
• An executive-level talent identification program, with 43% of participants being women. Participants receive grants of up to $7000 to spend on training and development.
• In other talent programs, 41% of manager and senior manager participants are female. Participants on maternity leave are invited to all events.
• Online training options for staff and telecommuting options for some staff.
• Mentoring and networking programs for women.

Helpful guides

• Let Go Of My Leg: A practical guide to returning to work after children by Kirsten Lees (Hardie Grant, $29.95 RRP)
• Careers and Motherhood: Challenges And Choice by Karen Mitchell (McGraw-Hill, $29.95 RRP)
• Fearless Career Change: The Fast Track To Success In A New Field by Marky Stein (McGraw-Hill, $27.95 RRP)
• Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers (Vintage/Ebury, $22.95 RRP)

Written by Sarah Hollingworth for the HBF member magazine Everyday.

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