Summer job search strategies for working mothers
It’s hard to believe it’s May!
For the fellow working parents out there – we’re staring down the barrel of all the lovely but middle-of-the-workday end of school events...and the bittersweet seasonal lapse of caregiving coverage, most affectionately called, summer.
If you’ve already been job searching and getting some traction, your cortisol levels may start to amp up when you think of the extra camp drop offs and pickups, the days without activities at all and the melty (but understandable) fall out in your kid’s behavior due to the constant break in hard-won routines.
I am going to generalize here – so guys please reach out if I’m off base – the mental load of summer planning and activities and camps and coordinating with other parents so your kid has a friend at said camps and mountains of on and offline forms and procuring crazy hats for ad hoc spirit days – falls on the mom.
All while she has a full-time job. And is looking for a new one.
I see you, tired (and quietly enraged) moms.
Here are a few ways you can plan for this time to bring a bit of calm and keep your job search momentum going.
Ask for help so you continue to have (at least some) job searching time:
If you have a partner, have a meeting about summer plans asap. You don’t have to do all of this by yourself AND if you do want to share the responsibility, you must make the tasks visible to your partner. If you’ve been doing this work every year, your partner expects you will continue to do it. And, while you’re such a pro that you know all the steps and when they need to happen, I assure you that your partner doesn’t. Just as you would train someone on your team the steps to complete a project – go forth and assume good intent while you share your expertise with your partner. If you don’t have a partner, I highly recommend having a brainstorming session and community meeting with a few other single parent friends so you can help each other with both ideas and village support on tasks.
Consider a summer staycation:
If you typically take a summer vacation where you either travel or rent a home in a beach, or country spot for a week, consider staying home and planning for a day or two of whole family time. Time for you and your partner to be together without the kids and some alone time for each of you so that you can build in some networking conversations, do your homework for your career coach 😁, and see a friend that is heart filling for you. This approach can help you save money to put into your “F-you fund” - a savings that will support you if you must quit your job without one – or if you get laid off. And it saves you the time and mental load of packing for the kid/s. Also something that typically falls on mom.
Set different boundaries in your current job:
If you’re in an industry that slows down over the summer, take a beat and slow yourself down. You don’t need to be putting in 110% when the job is currently requiring 70%. Reminder, your 70 is probably someone else’s 110. If you’re not in one of those industries – now is the time to practice those boundary-setting muscles! Start taking an hour for lunch where you can do research for your job search. Begin scheduling networking meetings at 5:30 so you can still get home before the bedtime shenanigans, I mean routine. It’s great practice to draw these lines with your current employer so it’s in your muscle memory to set them for your new exciting job that you’re definitely going to get…soon!
Now, you may read this and say – these aren’t job searching strategies. Give me LinkedIn hacks. Give me resume best practices. These go in my favorite category of job search strategies.
The first category where you must focus before all others - prioritizing you.
You must believe your time, your career desires, your mental health is worthy of investing the time and putting yourself at the top of the list. After you do that – the more tactical part comes together.
If you’re ready to prioritize you, your career and need the tools and accountability – I’d love to work with you. To learn more about my 1:1 Coaching program and sign up for a complimentary 30-minute call go to rachelbgarrett.com/coaching.