Friday, May 1, 2009

Self confidence

CareerMums conducts research periodically to understand the barriers parents face when returning to work. A lack of self confidence is consistently featured in the top 3 barriers; the other common barriers include difficulty in finding flexible jobs and the cost of child care.

Many parents often experience a lack of self confidence when it comes to their career and the prospect of returning to work. It is so common, and happens simply because you are removed from the workplace for a period of time.

Consider the following suggestions to re-build your self confidence:

- Review your career aspirations. What do you want to do?
- Create a mind map that covers what you are good at, what you want to do, and steps you will take to make it happen. Make sure you have a glass of wine in your hand to let the creative juices flow!
- Research suitable job ads and see the skills that employers are looking for. You may be pleasantly surprised. If you need to improve your skills, look at doing a short course.
- Get in touch with a career / life coach.
- Consider doing some volunteer or charity work to prepare you for the paid workforce.

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