When I found out I was pregnant, whilst I was extremely happy…I was also worried about how motherhood would impact my career. Reality is many women feel the same. Why? This is because society has you believing that it is impossible to have a career and a family.
I was told over and over again by family members and some friends of how hard it will be to work after having a child, that it was better to stay in my job (even though I knew I could do better), that I should not change jobs as I will need stability. Whilst I understood where all these comments were coming from, this was not going to be my reality. I knew from the moment I was pregnant that I wanted to continue to pursue my career goals, strive for better and not let anything stop me.
Whilst I was pregnant I still applied for jobs and went on interviews, I was just about to get offered a new job. THEN BOOM…..COVID HIT. I always asks myself would I have taken the role 6 weeks pregnant…and honestly I would not have. Why, because although we have laws protecting the employment rights of mothers…many employers to not employ pregnant women.
However…over the more positive. Here is how I managed to get offered and accepted a new job during my mat leave:
1) I stayed up to date on trends in my field. I used to read employment law updates and HR updates on a regular basis
2) I updated my CV with all the relevant skills I had gained over my course of employment. I also explored ways to upskills myself and applied for a higher professional membership with CIPD (which I knew would make me more credible when applying for jobs)
3) Mapped out my ideal next opportunity and company and looked for companies that meet my specification. Some of these were, family friendly & flexible culture, DEI focus, Mission Driven
4) I kept positive and saw my maternity leave as a gain rather than a gap in employment. I listed all the transferrable skills I had gained as a parent. For example, ability to think on my feet, be resourceful of time, ability to multitask, be creative and manage well under stress (as well as lack of sleep). To me being a mum is my superpower and skill.
5) I didn’t get knocked back by roles I was unsuccessful at (because my god the rejections can be disheartening). What I did in each step, was reviewed personally how I could have done better during interviews and also asked for constructive feedback.
One thing I have to be honest about was I did not disclose I was on maternity leave during interviews. When I think back it was because of the fear that I would not have been offered the role if I did say. This resulted in me starting my new job and not being transparent about the support I needed as I was struggling a lot with mum guilt. In hindsight, I wish I was open that I had just returned from maternity leave once I was offered the role to explore what support that would have been available to help me transition better into work with less stress and anxiety.
If you need any support in any way on your return back to work please do not hesitate to send us an enquiry here.
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