A Mom's Guide to Finding a Job: New Headhunting Firms Just for Moms Re-Entering the Workforce

Returning to work is sometimes a choice and sometimes a necessity. Most women feel some guilt taking time away from home and family but some never have the luxury of long absences from the workforce in the first place. The first article suggests returning to the workforce within 10 years of your exit, for example. Studies have shown that most children do well in day care and develop faster in some ways than children who stay home with full time moms. See Pat Etheridge's CNN report for more information on that aspect of this discussion.: http://www.cnn.com/US/9911/08/daycare.dilemma/. Leslie Morgan Steiner, a Wharton MBA, wrote the "bible" about this called MommyWars.

With that in mind, women may consider returning to their former careers. They often have a great combination of skills learned on the job and resourcefulness as well as organizational prowess learned at home while shepherding their kids about town. One piece of advice that surprised me was that women shouldn't try to equate their domestic skills to office tasks during interviews but I will defer to the experts on this suggestion. So much of being an effective worker has to do with time management and a great deal of mothering, especially with 2-3 small children is also time management. Some families have only one car they have to share for example, to get dad to work and cover mom's errands. Having both a good car and a used car is probably a good strategy for young families unless there's public transportation in your area. Even then, it's just awful traveling with kids and packages on a bus or subway or train.

Another strategy mothers returning to the work force should consider is weekend morning carpool clubs. Three or four women could arrange weekly or bi-monthly shopping trips. While two moms stay with the kids, the other two could take the group's shopping lists and cash to the stores they all like. Each week one woman could be responsible for researching the best deals in town and where to find them. All you need is a grocery store or general store like Walmart or Target and a home goods place or hardware store like Lowe's or Home Depot.

Often these are found together or near each other. One thing moms really miss is the company of other adults. Those 2 or 3 hours can be a great respite from the mommy doldrums and repetitive tasks of home keeping. Two moms could also split the cost of babysitting if they hire a sitter to make these trips. The important thing is to have a firm schedule for regular time away from the house no matter the ages of your children. Guys get to be out in the world at work, meeting people and doing things like lunch or drinks after work or golf and that's not automatically scheduled for moms. So it's time to change your corner of the world a little if you feel like you are losing your identity in the joys of being "the Mrs.".