Networks - Returning to Work

Networks Work

Maternity leave for many women can provide a welcome break from the working world however breaking back into work can seem incredibly hard.

Many of my peer group of women with children a similar age talk of their fears of returning to work, "getting back into it" and talk of "being out of touch". Whilst the government has made provision for "keep in touch days" my experience is that most mums don't know about these as they are not actively promoted by employers and in many cases the door does not feel open. Its as if employers don't want to be inconvenienced.

See the following article in Personnel Today for more information http://tinyurl.com/l2p6du

My approach to returning to work after both my children is to make use of my networks, whether this is colleagues, clients, associates, or business contacts of any kind. People you have a good working relationship with who will enjoy spending an hour with you for a chat over lunch.

Some of the benefits I have seen are as follows:-

• You are in control and you can ease yourself back into work before it starts.
• Get updates on what is going on in a less formal environment
• It opens lots of doors and work opportunities you may have not considered.
• It helps to build your confidence again
• You get back into the work speak
• Reminds you about what you love about your work

In the next two weeks as my son starts his trial sessions at nursery I have fitted in lots of these informal meetings/lunches with an eclectic selection of professional friends, a coach, networking buddies and past and potential clients. I have already re-joined some of my networking associations, updated my online profiles and started online dialogue with new contacts. One real change has been Twitter not in mainstream use when I went on maternity leave it is now a key tool for many SMEs, my network has helped me to understand this tool and see its potential uses. In doing so I am starting to extend my network remotely which is even more exciting.

This process has ultimately made me feel more energised and ready to go and importantly more prepared than ever before.

Networks are not just a great way to do business they can be a support system, a launch platform, an inspiration.

A good link for networking mums returning to work http://www.beyond9to5.co.uk/