Lately I find myself wondering if I should go back to work again - it's now been 10 years since I last worked!!! Just would love to hear from others who have been able to go back to work after a long time off and how did you find the best way to do that!!!

I wonder too - how to even start a resume when you haven't worked in so long - and what reasons are acceptable to give for such a long time off - does saying you were a SAHM because it was so important for you to be there for your children - make you seem like not such a good risk??

And yes I have to admit that I totally miss the feeling of being myself - you know not the wife, not the mother!!!!

Thanx to all who reply!!! Hope your day has gone well!!!!

I stayed off work for 5 years with my last child (11 now). I used to be a Social Worker and decided to give it up when she was born and not go back to work. After she started school, I got a part time job working as a vendor for American Greetings (something I had done when I was in college), later moving into a different vendor position for another company (actually I service several companies). The pay is good, but I only work part time. It is very important to me to be there for my child (the last one at home) with the job that I have now it is very flexible, I work my own hours and I work around DD's school schedule, it also allows me to take off for parent/teacher conferences, school parties, school plays, her basketball games (which are played during school hours in the afternoon or right after school) and other school functions. Also allows me to do some volunteer work for my church which I could not do if I worked full time. Also allows me to take a pottery class for myself.

I'm wondering "how" to go back to work, too! I never had a career, I stopped working when I was 22, I have had a couple short-lived "get out of the house for a while" jobs since, but nothing serious... hoping to go back to school in the next year or two and I wonder if I'm going to have problems getting a job fresh out of college at 35-ish

Alot of places would jump at the chance to hire someone that is "more mature" than some of the younger people right out of college. You will have more life experience, more patience (they say we get more patient as we get older, LOL), you will be past the partying stage that cause alot of younger people to call in sick or be late for work. Being older could definately be a plus depending on what field you are going into.

I recently read a report that places Wont hire someone out of the work force more then 5 years
they want someone who has only recently been out of work or is changing careers, in my little area
I must agree with this statement extremely hard to find a job besides our little walmart and even
there its alot of older people.

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RIP Chibby my chinchilla 10/02/09

I'm in the same boat. I've been looking in the job ads in Sunday's paper. Not sure if I want to go back to college (1/2 way thru) or get a job, or both???

Good Luck!

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I'm there with you OP. I'm going through a divorce, been a SAHM for the past 9 years and now have no clue how to get back into the work force.
Penny, how do you go about getting a job with the vendors? I want something part time for the exact reasons you mentioned...being there for my kids, attending school functions, etc. My kids are so use to having me at everything that it upsets them to think I have to get a job and may miss out on something. I know they'll adjust and survive but I'd love something like what you described. Any info you can share? Feel free to PM me or email me at tag1114@yahoo.com.

I went back to work about a year and half ago, after being SAHM for 12 years. DH was layed off from his job. I took a test at our local library, passed and was put on their list. DH found a new great job. Then the library called for me to come for an interview.

I passed with flying colors -- but I didn't really know if I wanted the job - since my DH was working again. I decided to accept it and I'm very glad that I did. I am part time, 20 - 30 hours per week. My son (age 12 1/2) has become more helpful around the house. The extra money is great!!! We have no bills --house and cars are paid for. Our savings is wonderful, and our son's college fund is very healthy.

I like my job, so that makes a difference too. It was the right time for me to get a job. We'd had several horrific deaths in the family, a bad mammogram, DH lost his job, and we were going thru a major school change for our son. Having a new job and having to learn tons of new things was very good for me. It kept my mind off of our troubles. I gained more confidence in myself.

I think a good part of it will be to find a job that you like. My bosses didn't care that I had been a housewife for so many years. I don't think that is as important as you might think. Maturity, showing a good attitude, punctuality and that sort of thing that hopefully comes with age does go a long way. Have confidence in yourself!! You know what you can do and what you have to offer!!!

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Donna

I just went back to work after 16 years. I did do a very small antique buisness for a short time [about 1 year] about 7 years ago. That was more to support my hobby than work or make money. I became disabled a couple of years after my last child was born. got slightly better for a couple of years, thats when i started the antique buisness rented space in a few antique malls. then I became very ill again this time I was confined to bed for almost 8 months . then a wheel chair for a year. now I m able to get around my house for quick runs for water the bathroom ect. with a walker. I decided I needed somthing more as my youngest is going to graduate next year. But since I cant really leve the house on my own or even sit with my legs down in my chair for long. I got a job working from home answering phones fot a teleservices company. I am an independant contractor can work on my laptop in bed and scheduale just a 1/2 at a time . I have only been doing this for 3 months but when I feel ok i pick up aime slot and answer the phone. If I have schedualed the time ahead of time and dont feel well I can try to gret my time slot picked up by other independant contractors up until the last 5 minutes of my scheduled time. not a lot of $ for me but it is money to pay fpor perscriptions. If I couldwork more it would be more $ I could not support kids with this job but it would feed them. LOl and if/when I get better again I will have somthing to put on my resume. You could always leave dates off your resume and hjust put time at the jobs. if it gets you in the door for an interview you can wow them with you. Also any of the commities you did for school neighborhood or volunter work can be used pta secretary, gs leader. hotline worker or whaatever you did you used skills and focous on the ones that you where really good at. I ended up planning all the class partys teacher teas, then all my frineds started having me help plan there kids partys and all the moms in the neighborhood too. I was a party planner unpaid of course but loved helping out and my daughter aways had a party to go to.
I found this last job due to a great poster on this site. Thanks

tag I emailed you

Even if you are an older graduating student, depending on the field, your age could be a positive. I know when I worked in Social Services and helped on interview panels we did not like to hire graduates straight out of school, not because of their inexperience of the job, but bacause of their age, an older person can bring more life experiences to a job when working in the human service field. My husband is also on invterview panels in the mental health field and finds the same thing, they would rather hire an older person with no experience than a younger person with no experience.

I don't know where you got that information, but it is simply false!

Last May I went back to work after being off for 9 years. Wow! It was a huge shift in my life...it was the first time (in a long time) that I volunteered to go to bed at 8 pm! LOL

Granted, I was laid off in January, but that was because of the employer I worked for (General Motors Corporation).

As far as what to put on your resume / job applications-- put the jobs (and dates) of the positions you held that were longer than 2 years.

For periods of unemployment simply write "Motherhood".

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SPJRNTGADL!

Nope. Have worked full-time, non-stop for the past 26 years.
We have a female engineer who joined us about 1-1/2 years ago after raising her kids to teen age and she has been successful. She did come in at a recent college grad job grade and pay. Depending on your field and/or profession, you may want to spend some time studying up and refreshing your skills.

Good luck re-entering the workforce!

cj/

I quit work as a purchasing agent for a large chain of banks when the twins were born (dd was almost 3). I stayed home for a little more than 5 years, but I worked for Prodigy from home for some of that time. Imagine getting paid $500 a month to sit at home online!? At any rate that ended and Prodigy went out of business.

The twinlets started school at 5 and I started volunteering around the school, started checking heads for lice (don't ya love it??) and eventually got hired as a "substitute teacher aide". I think I was making like $6.75 an hour! LOL. Eventually I was hired full time as an aide and went back to school and became a Teacher Assistant. I think at that time I made a whopping $9.50 an hour. Long story short, somehow it came up that I knew about computers and I now have the job of Technology Specialist. I love what I do, and to be honest I love being able to do something nobody else there can! :-) But 16 years ago if you had asked me if I would be doing computers at an elementary school I would have laughed at you! At that time I had never laid my hands on a computer much less being able to put one back together! So in my case I went into something totally different than when I quit work.

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This space for rent

Boy if there were ever a place to come for advice and opinions this is definitely it!!! You guys have so many good things to say about this subject!!! I so appreciate everyone's replies!!!

Dreamscapes I NOW remember seeing it on one of the morning programs a few weeks ago I didnt Created the story.



Good luck OP

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RIP Chibby my chinchilla 10/02/09

just from this post alone (and all the replies), it is clear that none of us are "apart from the norm" (ie: employers won't hire if out of workforce for 5 years or more)...I think that the program you were watching was skewed in their survey.

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SPJRNTGADL!

Thanks Penny!

Working in the school/school district where your kids attend is a super idea. You can start as a campus supervisor/yard duty or teacher assistant. That way, you will have the same hours and days off as your kids. You will also be more privvy to things going on in the school and the school district. Great place to start after taking time off to raise the kidlets!

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

I went to work after 16 years at home with my kids. I had been thinking of it for a few years and finally took the plunge last fall. I am VERY happy I did. I am working part time, the extra money comes in handy and the friends and confidence I have gained are just icing on the cake. On my original app I noted that the long time I had been not working was due to the fact I had taken time off to raise my family and now I was ready to reenter the work force.