Dream Job
From running a household to running a team, how to make the transition from
stay-at-home-mom
By Deborah S. Ross-Corbett

Desperately seeking someone who:

• Has a sharp professional appearance.

• Is a stay-at-home mom who has a desire to return to work.

• Is great with people.

• Has a desire to succeed and wants it all

Wait...that’s me!

No one shows you how to play with dolls when you’re little or helps you know
everything you need to know about being a mother when you return home with
your first child. When it comes to being a friend, a sister or a spouse, you have the
instincts to get you through.

Where do instincts come from when you’re returning to work after your stay-at-
home-mom position? Who is there to help you know what you need to know? How do you assess your skills and qualifications to seek out the job you might need or want? Are you over- or under-qualified? Are you marketable?

As a former stay-at-home mom, I wouldn’t trade that time in my life for anything. My days were filled with excitement and joy. I cherished running a “family business” with my three little shareholders depending on me to prepare meals, help with homework, organize bath time, play time and quiet time, not to mention securing the necessary funds to allow for fun time. I equate being a stay-at-home mom to a corporate project manager. Running a home business requires time management, soft skills and other qualifications. It’s great experience.

Where else would you receive real-world training to plan, execute and achieve
success? Is there prior training for all of this? No, you learn as you go, borrowing
fundamentals from your mom or friends who share their experience as stay-athome
moms. Moms benefit from on-the-job training. Running a household and the finances are two fantastic tools for entering the workforce or acting on that voice in your head that says ‘start a business’.

When I graduated from high school in the 1970s, all I wanted to be was a homemaker. Only the really smart and rich kids went to college in those days,
and although I was smart, I wasn’t rich. I entered the corporate world and felt like
someone said to me, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.” The experience was
exhilarating and terrifying.

My confidence level was high as I entered the huge building my first day, with a
gleam in my eye, eager to embark on this adventure to reach my goal. I felt full of
promise, confident that I knew how to “dress for success” and could apply what
I learned in high school and working at the bank prior to this new job. This was
a turning point for me. I still had the goal of staying at home and raising a family,
but this was just a step sideways to go forward.

Fast forward five years. I left my role as a“little fish in the big pond”—parting ways
with my desk and typewriter— excited to have my first child. Thirteen months later,
my second child was born. I then decided to be a SAHM (stay-at-home mom). I had
met my goal, and like mothers before me, I had the most critical job of all—raising
a family, supporting my husband and making sure the house, kids and clothes
were clean. Just like Pleasantville.

Daily activities included “mommy and me” outings, sports, PTA and ballet. I was
busy managing all of our calendars. It all went by so fast. Now that I look back,
the experience taught me many valuable skills: how to save money, spend time
efficiently and juggle many things at one time. Sound familiar?

The day came when I was ready to get back to talking with adults. Yet in the
1980s, we didn’t have cell phones, the Internet and technology gadgets like we
do now. Sometimes I think that’s why I managed my time better back then—no
distractions. We actually called people on the phone, wrote letters, sat and
had interesting conversations about fundraising.

As I contemplated returning to the working world, I thought, “I don’t
know how to use a computer, what am I going to do?” I read about a placement agency that will test you and assist you in learning how to use the computer and
the software to jump right back into the office and get started. So that’s what I did.

I tested and I learned and I succeeded. Not long after that, I was placed in a major
pharmaceutical company and hit the ground running. I was surrounded by adults who took lunch and worked on their computer and talked on the phone all day! How could I leave the comfort zone of my home that I worked so hard to create and maintain? Easy. It was time to focus on me.

Not long after I started my new job, things started to change. I was coming home
later. Dinner wasn’t always ready. It was 9:00 p.m. before I sat down. This was
going to be challenging; it was a different pace with outcomes I could not anticipate.
People ask me, how did I do it? What was my motivation? Did I know what the risks
were? After high school, I had goals in mind and I achieved them. Had I stopped
to think about it along the way, I probably wouldn’t have done half the things I’ve
done or met the people I’ve met along the way. But as Frank Sinatra said, “I did it my way.”

So if you or someone you know is contemplating returning to the working world after having the pleasure of being a SAHM, I encourage you to do it your way. Outline your goals. Decide what and where you want to be, and have the confidence that you can do it. After all, you already are a planner, an organizer, a financial manager and an executive chef all wrapped up in one. Get out there and network. Think of Debbie Fields, Mary Kay, Rachael Ray and many other fantastic pioneers (some moms, some not) that put women on the map for success.

Women today have the opportunity to lead departments, run nonprofit groups and
start their own businesses, even organize political campaigns and run for office. The
opportunities are endless. Above all, do it your way, not anyone else’s.

As seen in the
Fall 2007 issue of PBWC Connections

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