The definition of “Mom 2.0”: stay-at-home moms who, for one reason or another, have decided to get back into the work force after years of being away. For some mothers, their absence is measured in just a few years. For others, we’re talking ten, fifteen or even twenty years! When you were working, there was no Amazon Prime, Twitter or Facebook. Imagine what the world looked like the day you quit. Now imagine all the things that have changed since then.
Some of the questions you’re asking yourself are: How will you do it? How will you land a new job? How will you adjust? How will you compete? How will you make a living?
Do you still have the same network of contacts or have you lost touch? Do you want to do the same kind of work you did pre-kids (or PK, as we like to call it)? Do you want to change careers? Is this a chance to reinvent yourself? How much time will it take? What kind of salary to you need? What kind of lifestyle can you handle? What is your risk aversion? Blah, blah, blah.
Overwhelming.
Our readers are the mothers of children, but in this context, it is important to remember that they are also the mothers of reinvention.
Many of our 2.0 moms are well-educated and left high-paying jobs because they had the very enviable option to raise their children full-time. Others left the work force because of a lifestyle choice or out of necessity. The one thing all our readers have in common is that they are getting back into the workforce.
We’re talking about moms who have been the president of the PTA for the past ten years, who have raised tens of thousands of dollars for their schools by heading up charity events, or who have organized entire neighborhoods to protest the building of the local strip club. We’re talking about moms whose dedicated work ethic could earn them huge bucks in the private sector had they stayed. But there were more important things in life.
That was then, this is now. Hey…you can’t put “PTA President” on your resume… can you?
In this day and age of lightning-fast connectivity, the demands of work change on a monthly basis. But we’re talking years! Oh, the adjustments you’ll have to make!
Think about the steep learning curve ahead if you left the workforce when the Internet was just something you used for e-mail and IM’s. Now the average marketing job requires an understanding of 360 degree marketing. Huh? What does that mean? You’ve got to account for Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and many more multi-platform, multi-headache obstacles that most likely didn’t even exist back then. Sales jobs are extremely challenging in this economy with cut-throat competition even within company divisions and limited commission opportunities. “Service” industry jobs for professionals such as lawyers, accountants and financial planners are all about “who you know,” and as a full-time mom, who you know is usually other moms. How can they help you get work? How can they help you land a job? Get clients?
Networking? Forget it! That 7:30 a.m. networking breakfast conflicts with drop-off. Dinner with a prospective client or employer at 8 p.m.? Who is going to babysit? How often will your significant other put the kids to bed? Even more likely, you’re a newly single mom who has to get back into the workforce to support the family. It’s not like you have a lot of free time to do the extra stuff 2012 jobs require. Do you really have the time and money to tweet or join a high-profile networking group that costs more per year than a whole month’s mortgage? Are you kidding?
Listen, we get it. It can be overwhelming.
We’re here to help. We’re here to support. We’re here to recommend resources. We’re here to listen. We’re here to laugh.
We’re here to help you become Mom 2.0… the mother of reinvention.
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