This or That. Before or After. Too many choices spoil the flow. For a woman it’s like tornado of emotions. Picture a woman trying to chant this around a fire –
“Bubbling Cauldron Boiling Hot
All the schemes and plots go into the pot
Bubbling Cauldron Boiling Hot
So many choices of family, kids, work and what not!”
Looks like a scene from Harry Potter novel? But there’s hardly anything magical about choices women have to make. You can’t ask the mirror and have an answer in a jiffy, right?
There are times we are thrown to the skies and then there are times we are plunged into darkness of despair; and it’s our choices during the latter situations that make up what we become. It determines our life path. Talking about choices both genders have to encounter them – with some life-altering choices thrown in. However, for a woman it comes with a huge baggage.
A woman always has to make a decision to leave the workforce for some time and then come back after the kids have grown up. In some cases, women leave their career for marriage and then join after the kids grow up – a long gap. For those into workforce, it’s a tough decision to make and when the family calls, it’s impossible to say NO in majority of the cases.
As in case of stay-at-home moms, the idea of making a comeback is both attractive yet feared upon. They begin to realize that they have a lot of catching up to do and they’ll not be able to make it. Mostly, this is in reference to the skill up gradation required for use of technology at workplace. Despite this, nowadays the lure of contributing actively to the family’s economic betterment and the satisfactory feeling of attaining financial independence makes many women to take up the work seriously and dedicatedly.
Being in workforce and having made my comeback as a freelancer and then entrepreneur, I have met innumerable women at different stages of life and I have gathered certain tips to make a good comeback. These tips might help you make a step by step head start –
- Be active on Social Media – Surprised by this first point? I am sure you might be. You must be expecting me to say something like “Make a Plan”. However, I don’t recommend you to push buttons that way, or else you will get all panicky. Back to the point – One cannot do away without social media these days. Update your profile, add interesting points in it, search for people/pages that you feel are in tune with your current mood. Just connect in a free way.
2. Google your Industry – Do some research on how much headway your industry or field has made. Read articles and e-journals. Slideshare also has amazing stuff.
3. Lap up all relevant videos on YouTube – What to understand the current language and the way people connect to each other? Youtube will give you that. You might end up with some intellectually stimulating videos too that might give you an amazing idea to work on.
4. Follow all those scoop-stories – You may think I’m gone nuts suggesting you with offbeat things to do when your career is on line. Well a little fun never killed anyone. However, my intent is to catch up with the most trending topics in the best way i.e. through viral stories by ScoopWhoop, WittyFeed, The Logical Indian and even TVF. They’re entertaining, fun and keep you up with the latest.
5. Now PLAN! – Phew! It’s time to get serious about what you want to do. List down the kind of jobs that you want to pursue given your current situation. If you’re thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, work for days on a concrete plan of business in terms of – What you want to do / How you want to do / Why you want to do
6. Pilot and send feelers – Check out how receptive the people are to accepting you based on your profile. Give relatives/friends the feeler that you’re ready to take the plunge. If you’re thinking of entrepreneurship; pilot your idea on family and friends. Check their response. Take their feedback.
7. Network – By all means ‘Network’. It is a real surprise. You never know whom you might stumble up and meet. Check out websites like allevents that give you notifications of events near you. You can even custom set which kind of events you’re interested in
8. Make your case stronger – Networking gives you a good idea about how well people would accept you on job on the basis of your social skills. Take this opportunity to make changes in your resume/profile or even the business idea and make it stronger.
9. Invest in yourself – Work on your dressing, style and conduction. A bit of homework in this will give you confidence to face people during interview and after you get the job.
10. Go make a Splash – Go with confidence and make the world sit up and look at you. A confident, energetic comeback can really bolster your image and help you steadily rise the ranks again.
Yes, there’s a lot of work before you hit the world of work again. However, should you do this; half the battle is won even before you step in the new office on the first day. Leave the guilt feelings, esteem issues and society’s other expectations behind and be unencumbered by baggage. The spotlight should be on You. Become an Amazing You.
This is a guest post by Kavita Singh who is the Co-Founder of “Kaffeinated Konversations” and is leading eChai Ventures in Indore. She is also the co-founder of Unbound Her, a platform that encourages women to connect at different levels for greater independence and autonomy.
