I've been working from home babysitting for years now. Now that my daughter is in school, I'd love to change pace and work an 8-5 type of job. Problem is, I've never done it. I have tons of experience in the working world, but it's mostly retail, etc. What would be the best way to go about applying and interviewing for jobs that I've never done? I won't work those retail hours again so that's not an option. Can you mom's give me any advice?
The best thing that you can do for yourself is go to a temp agency. You will gain valuable experience and contacts/leads for your fulltime search. Additionally most big companies hire their admin staff from agencies rather than directly.
For starters, you ran your own business so that alone looks great for you. Babysitting other people's children also takes a lot of patience, organization and being able to deal with parents.
My suggestion would be to sign up with a temp agency. When I was in the corporate world, we hired from the temp pool. This was a win win for everyone because each party knew if they were a fit for the job. Most of the jobs were admin jobs.
Do you have a college degree? If so, you can substitute teach. When my daughter started K, I volunteered a lot with her school and at the time there was a shortage of substitutes. The principal asked me to apply, I did and here I am 10+ yrs later still subbing at that school only. If you don't have a college degree, you can still sub for the teacher assistants in special ed, etc.
I'm with you on the retail hours. They are not condusive to moms and school schedules.
We run our company from home and I sub about once a week or so. I love the outlet for getting out of the home office environment and into the school. I probably bring in about $500 a month but if I subbed as much as they asked me to I'd make WAY more, BUT, I have a company to run and that takes priority for my time.
Good luck to you!
I suggest that if you truly love working with kids that you consider looking at child care, they hours are pretty comparable to your kids school hours, I had some staff that came in and worked from around 8am until 3:30-4. Some of my parents had hours where the mom would drop kids off around 7:30 then dad would get off around 3:30 and pick up kids. So we had a bunch leave right after nap time. The school kids came in at the time but I had some high school kids to work with them, they were a lot more fun than a bunch of women who'd been at work all day already....
Another option is the school system itself. Here's a link to the Fort Worth Public Schools site in the employment section. It does not list the jobs they may have available but once you start with the application it may show the ones they have open now.
I've been a stay-at-home mom for the past almost-10 years. I just started back to work yesterday through a job assessment, so this particular job is a temp job. My hours are 10-2. It's quite a change, but I think it's going to be great. I'll be home when the girls are home, and the job will be flexible enough to work with my girls' schedules, appointments, and my own health issues.
What do you do? Think about all of your various skills and list them. I'll actually come back and write more, but I have to get to my new job!
Educational assistant, teachers aid or paraeducator. I have been SAHM for 10 years, doing part time child care at the Y and doing child care from home. I just finished going back to school to get my educational assistant certificate. That way I will only be working during school hours and won't have to worry about before and after school care, and I will still get all the same holidays as the kids! I can ease into it too, as this year I plan on keeping my job at the Y and working as a substitute educational assistant.
When I went back to work after years of volunteering at church and my son's school, I had to go to a community college just to get office skills. The workplace is different today and you need computer skills. My advice is to visit your career couselor in any continuing education college and take the personality test to see what you are interested in. Also check for certificates that last less than a year of schooling. I did work retail for 2 years until I decided to go to school. Healthcare is another great career to choose and has different types of technical options. Good luck!
Unfortunately in this economy there is so much competition. The best way to get your foot in the door for any job with premier hours is to know someone. Let your friends and family know that you are looking. Be prepared when you do get an interview. You absolutely have to have computer skills. Maybe start by trying a receptionist position (Dealership) and do your research about the company when you do get an interview so the person doing the interview will see your true interest and potential.
I would suggest getting a job in childcare (daycare, nursery, preschool, etc.).
If that doesn't interest you, then consider taking some continuing education classes at a local college (UTA has some great programs). That could get your foot in the door. They have a great accounting program, some great computer-type programs. Those certifications could make your resume much more marketable. The job market is pretty competitive right now, you're going to need something to set you above.
