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Book shows moms how to relaunch their parachutesby: Gwen Pawlikowski
Stay-at-home moms looking to return to the paid work force are, amazingly, in a position of advantage. According to writers of Back on the Career Track: A Guide For Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work, the results of a maturing feminist movement and a shortage of skilled workers in the US combine to make now, and the near future, the best ever time to relaunch. Add to this corporations who exhibit more flexibility about working schedules plus kinder attitudes toward mother workers and you have an environment less hostile than ever before. The message is: you have multiplied. Go forth and work, and be paid. The strength of any book’s argument lies in the its research. Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin have a collection of solid sources in each of the two distinct aspects of the book. In Part 1, the writers, who are both relaunched stay-at-home moms, address the practical, how-to aspects of a job search. They cite, among others, Richard Nelson Bolles (What Color is Your Parachute?). This widely-recognized job search gospel is critical as a source for any book about looking for work. The book, published originally in 1970, has been modified and adjusted to match the changing economy. Back on the Career Track writers were astute to include Bolles’ solid advice: network, don’t rely solely on advertised positions, approach companies directly, set your own parameters for the job you want. While offering tried and true suggestions for any job seeker, the book pays particular regard to the situation of mothers and the reality of an average mother’s at-home, unpaid workload. References to Betty Friedan and Arlie Russell Hochchild’s work on shared responsibilities in the home add a feminist dimension. The result is a savvy mix of economic optimism and feminist realism. This section includes examples of how relaunched mothers have coped with their overflowing workload. There are ample practical suggestions here for the multitude of problems relaunching moms face. For managing meals, plan to have eggs at least one day a week and regularly eat restaurant food. For home maintenance, one mom gives up on daily bed making. The writers never promote a Superwoman mentality nor do they suggest trying to do it all. They include various ways that back to work moms have engaged children and husbands into the ongoing house-centred work. They readily acknowledge that not all husbands will be hip to a relaunching mom’s new gig. The writers diplomatically dismiss many of the niceties associated with mom-ness. One tip that resonated with me was the suggestion about eliminating volunteer work and extraneous socializing. Relaunched moms can’t be everything to everyone. Get picky about where your time goes and who you spend it with. It sounds easy, but this is the kind of advice relaunching moms need to hear regularly to overcome any guilt that may plague a relauncher. Part 2 describes relaunching moms’ role in the current economy. For me, this described the largest reason why we should be confident and resilient in a relaunch. Return-to-work moms are a new trend. Never before have so many women been able to work, take years off for mothering, and then return to work again, either in the same or different career. Employers like relaunched moms because we bring more enhanced knowledge and skill than new grads. Although managers still worry about us being away during children’s sick days, they are more understanding and open to flex time. After all, dads and people caring for ageing parents need flexible schedules too. The economy, say the authors, is being forced to make accommodations. That’s powerful news for a relaunching mom who’s feeling doubtful about the worth of her credentials after years at home. But there’s a caveat: get your technology skills up to par. That’s one quality new grads have that many relaunching moms don’t. While the message is ultimately powerful and positive, I was reading the book from a Canadian perspective. The economy booms less here than it does in the US. The amazingly high wages quoted in the book are far less likely for a relaunching Canuck mom. Canadian readers should keep clear on realistic wages for anyone, not only relaunchers just because of the smaller size and potential of the Canadian labour market. Similarly the writers come from backgrounds that include highly-valued cultural capital. Harvard MBAs are popular hires. Less popular universities, undergraduate degrees or no degree at all will impact any relaunch achievement. Interviews with more than a hundred women throughout the US are an attempt to provide a broader spectrum. Certainly the interviews help, but many of the jobs were relatively elite. The up-side is the motivation you’ll feel from reading about the enormous success many relaunchers have had. The book certainly motivated my intellect and encouraged me, but it didn’t stress the sheer, undiluted and expansive (add your own collection of positive adjectives here) joy of using one’s mind in a career-related capacity. Perhaps that is another chapter for a later edition, a chapter that talks to mothers about how alive they feel back at work, how stretched and satisfied they feel and why relaunching is worth overcoming all the obstacles anyway. As a reader, I am one of the converted. I believe that paid work satisfies me in a way that unpaid mothering can’t. Converted readers like me will appreciate this work. Back on the Career Track offers help to achieve goals and get back to paid work.
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