Return-to-Work Checklist and Tips

After full-time parenting, the idea of returning to the workforce and finding that perfect new job or settling back into your old job, while still finding time to manage and enjoy family life, can seem impossible. Particularly if you don’t have an employer to return to, or you are not sure what work arrangements your current employer will accommodate.

The following checklist and tips are designed to make your return-to-work experience more straightforward: These are the types of things you need to prepare and plan for. The more you know about what it is that you want, the more likely you are to find the ideal return-to-work option for you and your family.

Start by asking yourself the following questions and make a note of your answers so that you can identify what’s important and stay focussed on getting the right job and working arrangements.

• What do you want to gain from returning to work?
• Will you return to your previous profession. or is it time to start something new?
• If you are looking for a new job, what type of employer/organisation do you want to work for, what responsibilities and tasks do you want, what will motivate you and fit your family; what is important to you? How will you find a new job?
• If you are returning to thesame job/employer as you had before your leave, what do you think are your employer’s needs and expectations compared with your own? What needs could you compromise and negotiate?
• What days and hours do you want to work?
• What flexible work arrangements would you be prepared to consider?
• What childcare arrangements will you need and how will you source care? What alternative care options might be feasible eg: sharing a nanny?
• What can you do to prepare your family for your return to work?
• What are the financial implications of returning to work?

For more information and advice on returning to the workforce, spend some time on www.mumsatwork.com.au.