You’ve been thinking about it for a while, returning to paid work after a period of absence raising children. Whether your reasons are personal or financially driven, getting back on the ‘on-ramp’ can often be daunting; and depending upon how long it’s been, taking that first step may even be a little frightening.

For Liana Gorman, Director of parttimeonline.com.au, a site dedicated exclusively to issues and job opportunities related to part time, job share and flexible employment, the most important thing to get you started on your way back to the workforce is your own level of confidence, patience and persistence.

“More and more employers are now looking at ‘sequencing’ mothers as an untapped resource, a talent pool which offers a desirable range of experiences and skills. Many workplaces are now providing flexible work schedules suitable for part-time or casual employees so the opportunities for parents working around their personal responsibilities are growing” says Gorman.

As a mother who has successfully moved from full time employment to motherhood and back to part time, and is now running her own business, working with parents returning to the workforce on a daily basis is a role she takes personally; for Gorman, it is these steps that one needs to consider:

Confirm your commitment - Before you start looking for paid work, resolve any issues of guilt or mixed emotions about leaving the kids or going back to work. Recruiters need to ensure you’re committed to returning to the workforce and you need to project confidence in your decision to assure employers you are reliable.

Review your strengths and weaknesses – ‘Build’ your character list with supportive friends or loved ones for the added benefit of objectivity. Women tend to undervalue their talents and their experiences, and friends or family will help you build upon your strengths and capabilities in case you miss an important attribute.

Emphasize skills not job titles - If it’s been years since your last job and you’re worried about your technical capabilities being outdated, look beyond formal qualifications and work experience and define your skills and responsibilities by your every day activities, your everyday ‘life achievements’. Do you do volunteer work with a charity? Do you help your children do their school work by searching for information on the web? Are you on the school fundraising committee? Do you manage the household finances? These are all skills that transfer to the workplace – budgeting, telemarketing, sales and service opportunities, computer skills and human resource assistance.

Connect ‘experiences’ with work opportunities. Identify job positions that require your experience and eliminate fields you don’t want to work in – knowing what you don’t want is just as important! Spend some time looking at how requirements for these desired roles may have changed, and decide whether you need to up skill with extra training.

Talk your ideas through - Recognise that you can learn a lot from others people’s experiences. Talk to everyone, your friends, relatives, other parents at school, others who’ve successfully re-entered the workforce and listen to their advice.

Network - Make a point of getting in touch with your ‘professional network’, people you dealt with when you were in the paid workforce, friends and contacts who are currently working; Are there paid opportunities with the volunteer network you’ve been assisting? Even if it’s been a long time since you last spoke with them – making contact and finding an opportunity with someone who knows your attributes is a far easier option for finding work than starting from scratch.

But be clear about what you need from each contact; is it feedback, a referee, advice on how the industry has changed since your departure from the workforce? Prepare questions you’d like to ask your contacts and inform them of how much of their time you’re looking for.

Identify helpful resources - Find out about government assistance programs such as ‘Welfare to Work’, subsidised training initiatives, dedicated websites or recruitment agencies that specialise in your market or area of expertise. Look particularly for agencies or websites which have built their reputations on part-time and casual placements like www.parttimeonline.com.au and government employment agencies like Centrelink.

Be proactive – get online, check the newspapers, list your search profile on job sites like parttimeonline.com.au and let the employers find you. Talk to agencies, make direct contact with the Human Resource departments of employers you’d like to work for. Identify what it is you want from paid work and communicate it clearly; be specific about the number of days and hours you want or would be prepared to work and take time to prepare an interesting, well presented and thought-out resume.

And the last word from Gorman on getting back into the workforce? “Never apologize for taking the time off. Instead, demonstrate to your potential employer how you’ve used your time wisely – highlight, don’t gloss over what you’ve done and communicate that you’re ready and committed to return, that you’ve organised your personal life to make way for a professional re-entry to the workforce.”