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Home › Articles › Career › Trading the Fast Track for the Mommy Track

Trading the Fast Track for the Mommy Track

Is It Right for You?

By Gail Johnson

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Returning to the Corporate World
Many mothers decide to return to their careers after their children reach school age, but they wonder if their careers will suffer as a result of staying home. Will they have to start their careers from scratch? "Absolutely not," says Marilyn Anderson, career counselor at Bernard Haldane and Associates, Minneapolis, Minn. "It's like riding a bike -- you can jump on and get going again." How can mothers prepare to re-enter the job market? Anderson has a list of "dos and don'ts" for former fast-trackers ready to dip their toes back into the career pool:
 
DO make a list of achievements.
Ask yourself, "What did I do, how did I do it, what were my great results?" Then put together a resume that is organized by achievements rather than chronology. "Women are so used to doing it all that we often don't take time to think of our skills and abilities," Anderson says. "We haven't been taught to project our achievements."
 
DON'T apologize for raising a family.
According to Anderson, instead of saying "I've been out of the loop for five years," women should say "I planned well. I had the opportunity to be home with my family -- that was important to me when my children were young. I have accomplished that feat and now I am ready to enter corporate America once again."
 
DON'T mention plans for more children.
"That's a red flag to a potential employer and it's nobody's business," Anderson says. "If you are asked about family, you should say 'Not at this time,' which means no at this very moment -- that doesn't mean it won't change once you get home.
 

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