Finally Feeling Some Tangible (EMPLOYABLE) Results

When I started The Employable Mom, I wanted a space to organize my experiences of staying employable while on my "extended maternity leave": and so I began doing some talking (actually a lot of talking), plus some research and more research, and self-exploration and now I'm doing a lot of "doing!" To be honest it's keeping me really busy but a lot of where I am now is due to the things I was doing back then, like: goal setting, finding ways to get out of the house and be social, getting CPR and First Aid certified (which has surprisingly come in very handy,) and a ton of other things. I've loved all the self discovery but I'm even more excited to be doing something that makes me feel productive because I've finally found the mommy project I've been so desperately looking for!

Let me give you some context: a few posts back, I shared some potential BIG NEWS and now I can almost certify that it's official BIG NEWS because next week I'm going to finalize the paperwork for my purchase of a pre/post-postnatal fitness franchise! I'm really excited, I think that this will enable me to gain a lot of marketable skills in addition to trying a whole realm of new things!

Now buying a franchise isn't for everyone, and I still plan on peeking into other employable opportunities for SAHMs, because one of my goals for EM is to really flush out all of the options out there. However, EM will see a few changes, mostly in posting regularity, but possibly in content. And once I get over the newness hump of running my own business, I'll most certainly re-evaluate my plans for EM.

I guess what I'm trying to do here is give a little update on my project's progress and renew my commitment to my Employable Mom community. I don't want you to think I've forgotten about you as my posts move to being more far and few between. I'm anticipating that I will maintain this speed, but don't anticipate that I stop all-together. I've still got a journey to document; plus I've got big things planned and I'm excited to share them with you!

Sincerely,

FREE Document Publishing Site and Rotating Goal List PRINTABLE

I'm super excited to share this awesome free document publishing site and my first printable!

Lately, I've been talking a lot about working on my productivity because my to-do list has been feeling super overwhelming. For a while now I've been LOVING this Rotating Goal List that I found on pinterest because it will allow me to prioritize the important things without having to look at the whole list. Corn Flower Blue Studio gives a great tutorial on how to make it, here. However, as soon as I saw that it involved crafts, my heart sank! I am just not that crafty; but to craft something up on the computer - right up my alley.

So I got to work making my first printable, in Microsoft Word (I'm not that fancy,) but wanted to be able to display it and allow anyone to download it from my blog.

Enter Scribd, which enabled me to do this:
 
Rotating Goal List Printable

Isn't it pretty? (Click the fullscreen button for the best view!)

Scribd is great for self-publishing and can be embedded into your blog!  There are so many great ways to self-publish (another one here) but this one is super easy since you can basically upload any document in any format. It also keeps analytics for you. Awesome! (This isn't sponsored or anything, I just really like it and had to share!)

Ok, so back to the printable itself. When I was a teacher, I used to make coordinate plane white boards by slipping a huge coordinate plane into a sheet protector; then I had plenty of "white boards" to pass out to students for graphing practice. So - that's what I did with this: print, slip, write. Whenever I feel like I'm running around aimlessly, trying to accomplish too many things at once, I pull out this little sheet and refocus myself.

This rotating goal list white board has been so successful, I've come up with a few additional printable white boards that I'll be sharing in my next post.

Sincerely,

P.S. - How do you keep your to-do lists from overwhelming you?

Keep Your Head Up

I cannot get this song out of my head! So darn catchy!

So I've been kind of bumming all week. I don't know why but some days/weeks hit me really hard with urges to be working. I've been keeping really busy with other things too. Unfortunately, when I'm so busy, it takes time away from getting posts out, and then it starts to get to me. Ah, the double edged sword. (Also, my son isn't sleeping again...so that never helps.)

Just to catch you up on what I have been so busy with...

A few weeks ago I cleaned out my closet of all my old work related clothes (and other junk) and this week I finally took them to our local branch of Dress for Success. It was bittersweet. Obviously, I'm super happy to be helping other women look great at work; I donated some suits and I'm really glad that they will match them up with an owner who will love them as much as I did. But it's just kind of a reminder that I am not working, (albeit, for good reason.)

I've been working on some home projects: rearranging furniture, making a big chalk board, general organizing, and trying to find myself a little workspace in our little home. I'm also planning on staining some furniture, making some art for our super bare walls, doing some furniture repair, and picking fabrics for some reupholstering. I like doing home-y things but I'm so afraid of picking something that will turn out to be not how I pictured and becomes an expensive mistake. So, decorating the house ends up being a ridiculously long and time consuming process. I tell my husband, "I'm afraid of commitment."

We're also planning for another marathon 2 week trip to DC and having a little first birthday celebration for the baby (omg...I'm not going to be able to call him that anymore.) Of course I'm so excited, but there are lots of things to do.

I don't think I've mentioned this here before, but I volunteer as an adviser for the local chapter of my college sorority. A lot of the officers have had major questions and so I've been meeting with all 18 girls one-on-one to help sort things out before the year comes to an end. It's been interesting to learn all the intricacies of the organization, which is somewhat akin to a company. I've been giving advice on finance, marketing, HR, etc. It's been good but it's really really time consuming.

And the last thing is my BIGGEST NEWS: I've been exploring the possibility of starting a mommy business. This blog has been a great mommy project, but sometimes I feel like it's not enough. I like writing and sharing information but I don't like sitting behind a computer all day. I need to be around people. And actually, an opportunity has kind of presented itself. I'm still trying to figure out the details of everything. Sometimes, it sounds like a really great idea, and then other times I feel like I'm in over my head and that it wont work out. I'm not ready to share everything quite yet, but as I learn more about it I will def pass along the messy details.

It's funny because these things that have been keeping my busy are great things, but somehow I'm still bogged down. I'm sure his sleep issues have A LOT to do with it, combined with still working on a routine for organizing my time. Hopefully, this Andy Grammer song that I've got perpetually playing in my head for like the past three days will give me a boost.

Sincerely,

P.S. - How do you work through the exhausting, busy, unorganized days? I love tips.

Colourlovers: Design for the SAHM

In the "learn a new blog skill section" of this post I shared my discovery of a few color palette sites and apps I found while designing my blog. Well, when I was working on this weeks arty Feed Read post, I found another AWESOME palette site and it's so good and so full of employability potential that I couldn't just write one sentence about it, so I just had to write a whole post.

I found the site while playing around with twitter. While I was uploading my background to my page, I happen to click on the "Check out Themeleon" link which I though was cool because it lets you create an awesome twitter background and design a color palette, etc.

So I started exploring the site hosting this service, Colourlovers, and I have just about fallen in love with it.

(The first time, I skipped the tour, but in retrospect - do it; I learned more.)

I started with the pattern template generator, which basically enables you to make a template for a pattern, (it's best viewed in it's entirety, here.)

Then I was able to add color that resulted in this whole pattern.

And then you have so many options for your pattern:

1. Background

You can download the image for your desktop, for your iphone, or for your blog background!

2. Fabric

You can turn it into a fabric, that you can sell here. (Mine isn't for sale...yet!)

3. Art

You can turn it into framed, canvas or print art, that you can sell (however, they have put a hold on new artist sign-ups, so I'll keep you updated when I get in.)


So it was at this point that I went back and tried the tour, where I customized my Employable Mom color palette from the colors I use for my site.

I took these colors right from my site by typing my HEX#s right into Colourlovers. The COOLEST PART, was when I typed in my blue color they said that it was a "new color" to the site and they let me NAME IT (which I named after my son.) Check out Baby Blue! Also, and this is also kind of cool - it correlates to a Martha Stewart paint color that you can buy from Home Depot (however, it renders the "closest match" which for this one isn't really close at all...)

I basically spent my entire day playing with this site because it's so much fun! This would be such a fantastic site for a fashion/artistic/design mom to work on fabric design, or whatnot. If you decide to join, follow me, so I can follow back and check out all of the amazing designs your coming up with! I hope you enjoy playing with it as much as I did!


Sincerely,

P.S. - Have any cool sites that you think would enable a SAHM to get her foot in the door? (Like this one!) Share them below! (I want to try them all and report back!)

Why Informational Interviews are Great for SAHMs

When I started talking with a life coach, one of the things that she asked me to do was set up an informational interview, which I didn't really want to do because I was kind of scared.

For me the context of information interview came from What Color is Your Parachute, where the author is basically like, "call somebody up that you want to know, ask them for a few minutes of their time" and then grill them on everything related to their job. Not really my cup of tea, I just feel bad bothering people and asking for favors.

However, my life coach kept bringing it up and not wanting to reveal that I wasn't planning on doing it if left on my own, I agreed to let her contact a friend in the career field I was interested. (In retrospect, I was curious about the industry enough that I had mentioned it during our sessions probably more than once.)

Well, once the emails started flying, it finally clicked that this was really going to go down. When we scheduled our phone interview, (which was best for me because I get super nervous in person) I figured I'd better start to prepare.

How I Prepared

This basically entailed:

1. I wrote out a list of questions I had.
2. I did some basic research on the career in question.  
3. I planned on having my husband come home a little early from work to occupy our son (who ended up napping through the entire thing.)
4. I googled around for some more questions in case I forgot something.

In order to save you time here is my list:
Whatis the role like?What is the industry like?What types of other roles are in the industry? Tell me about your day?Team or individual work?Do you put on programming?Opportunities for advancement? Next steps? Where do you see yourself?What kind of education is needed?What is the best way to get experience?Are there any volunteer opportunities available?Any recommended books? Things I should be researching? 

How It Went

When the day for the interview finally came, my computer literally breathed it's last breath, and I spent several hours freaking out about how I lost all my questions and research. Luckily, my husband is a computer whiz and managed to do some sort of craziness that enabled me to view my hard drive from his computer, all with five minutes to spare.

All the stressing I did, proved pointless, because the call ended up being a breeze. Stephanie, the woman that Joanna set me up with, was super easy to talk to and friendly. We literally just had a conversation about her job and I mostly did a lot of listening. She answered many of my questions unprompted and a lot of the things I asked about weren't on my list anyway. (I was still glad I prepared though.)

 

What I Got

After I wrote all about my experience, I was kind of reflecting about it and got to thinking, but what is the point? Why is this even relevant to me, the early stage career breaker? I'm not even planning on returning to the job market until at least 2014! I almost, for a slight second, felt guilty that I wasted Stephanie's time. But once I started thinking about what I got out of it, my guilt turned to extreme gratitude, because a lot of the things we talked about will help me out in the long view.

 

1. Insider knowledge. I got a great picture of what the job really entails, how to land a job in the field, and the experience needed; all things I would have never figured out without having spoken to an insider. I had a really different perception about some things and Stephanie really straighten me out. Essentially, I was able to learn a ton of juicy tidbits without the years of investment it would have taken for me to get to the same role. Had I decided to pursue this without her advice, my first instinct would have been to go back to school (all wrong!)

 

2. Resources. Stephanie shot me an email after our conversation with tons of sites and books and WAYS TO GET EXPERIENCE that I can start working on RIGHT NOW, (which I've actually implemented and have already gotten a great volunteer opportunity out of!)  

 

3. An industry contact. I have a new LinkedIn friend! 

 

4. Confidence. Most importantly, the call reassured me that informational interviewing is not hard and that I could still have a business conversation with an adult. It was actually kind of a self-esteem boost.

 

Overall, the informational interview turned out to be a success; and just like with my inability to stop applying for jobs, there are loads of benefits. I'd definitely do it again and most certainly recommend it to other SAHMs.

 

Sincerely,

 

P.S. - Have you ever done an informational interview? Where you equally nervous going into it? How did it go?

The Comeback: Stay at Home Moms Who Returned to Their Career

Spending the week in a hotel with a baby means a lot of very quiet, no-movement time during naps. I actually really enjoy it because if I was at home I would get distracted by things around the house but in the room I get the opportunity to not do much else but play on pinterest, read, or blog.

I'm not sure where I happened upon this book, but I recently picked up The Comeback by Emma Gilbey Keller. I've only made it through the first 11 pages of the introduction, but I already love it. This woman could be reading my mind.

"My work was my world."

Mine too! I was a self proclaimed workaholic and I lived and breathed my job, to the extreme (because of my strengths) but I LOVED work in general. Before we got married I told my husband, that no way in the world would I be a SAHM, some people can hack it - but not me.

The author has the same type of situation, essentially, her husband (by no fault of him and willingly by her) had a career that received priority and essentially caused her to become a SAHM.

"The biggest adjustment women face when they give up work - more even than loosing an income - is that their confidence starts to decline. Being in the outside world, getting paid, and communicating with adults is healthy and energizing. Giving that up is tough on the ego. Some women feel diminished and inadequate. Some get lonely and depressed. They can be very, very busy and very, very bored."

BINGO. I couldn't have said it better myself.

I think she highlights two main things about being a SAHM: that it can be mind-numbing and that it effects your self-esteem. There is a strong correlation between the two, being given only menial tasks at work feels like a demotion, and while child-rearing is a very important job, changing diapers and cleaning up puke can be demoralizing.

Eventually, the author gets to a point where her daughter said to her "I go to school. Molly goes to school. Daddy goes to work. And Mommy goes to...gym." And she realized that it was time to go back to her career; which leads to The Comeback, her search for women who "took an extended maternity leave," paused their careers, and successfully returned to them. Something that I dream of doing.

I always wonder if I'm the only woman out there that feels this way, which is why I started this blog. Just reading part of the intro to this book made me feel like there is hope for me, that this is the right decision, and that I will be able to return to an amazing job someday.

Sincerely,
Jordan

P.S. - I want to hear from you! If you are a SAHM - do you feel the same way? If your a career mom - what do you think? Or if your just a woman in general who has been there or may be here someday - thoughts? Advice? Am I all alone out there on this one?

Baby's First Museum Trip

After our long car seat-testing drive to DC, and the delirious never-ending day, today has been AWESOME! I finally got a chance to get out of this hotel room and explore the city with my little one. Even though I used to live in DC I never really had time to explore all the touristy things there are to do, so I was so excited when today I was able to take in a museum with baby.

Taking baby to a museum is a lot more doable and enjoyable then I ever would have thought. It's a great outing for a few reasons.

1. It's stimulating for you.

I really enjoyed checking out the Fossil Lab at the Natural History Museum. It's basically a window into these offices that have "volunteers specially trained in fossil preparation" working on thousands of year old fossils - crazy AND who knew?! They are volunteers...you can do it too! (It says that on the piece of paper that is hard to read AND you can get more information about reinforcing your employable skills by being a fossil volunteer or another type of volunteer here. Gosh, I miss DC!)

2. It's stimulating for baby, (or they can sleep.)

I was really surprised by how many newborns were strolling around. For the most part they were sleeping in their carriers or strollers, and since it's actually pretty quiet, that seemed to work out well. For my 9 month old son, he just got a hoot out of looking around. He LOVED the fish display.

3. It's an easy place to nurse.

I actually think it would be a great place to try nursing in public if you are a little nervous. My son is to the point where eating requires about a dozen smile/look around/play breaks. He needs a really quiet place with very little to look at and no people around - at the museum there are tons of little benches and nooks perfect for just that.

4. The bathrooms are really clean.

Let's be honest, using those diaper decks in public restrooms, they gross me out. I use them but I just feel kind of germy afterward and so I limit use to "have-to" situations. (Especially the ones at rest stops and airports, because you know they prob get a lot of use.) The look of the bathroom also correlates with my idea of how clean the changer is and museum bathrooms are super clean!

So that covers the basic eat, sleep, play, and change of the museum experience. Hope you are able to get out and try it yourself!

Sincerely,
Jordan

Not a Make Money From Home Scam

I searched our house high and low just to find enough to take this picture.

A few weeks ago I posted some recommended reading for career breaking, and in it was this article with suggestions about financially preparing for a career break. I thought all of the suggestions were pretty interesting but one of the ones that resonated with my SAHM-break was freelancing through an internet marketplace like Elance. (And I also re-posted the link in yesterday's feed read.

Elance is a digital freelancing site that allows you to make a profile and bid for jobs in a variety of categories like: IT, Design, Writing, Sales, Admin, Finance, the list goes on. What is really neat about it, is that all the work you do is from home and you can choose to work on projects based around your schedule (and what you agree on with your client.) This could be a perfect naptime project, mommy business, or a way to keep your skills up. And it's not one of those scammy ads: "make money from home."

I decided to try it out myself the other day.

First thing you do when you get to their site and sign-up is design a profile, this took me an entire naptime to complete (it was a shorter nap and there is a LOT to explore.) The site is packed with resources, including skills tests you can take that correlate to each industry, and after you take one it gives you a proficiency score that you can display on your profile. I thought that might be cool to take just to know where I stand. I tried one of the easier ones, I think it was called "phone skills." Somehow I got one or two wrong because I got around a 90%...oops. I also submitted two proposals and so I'm excited to hear back if I got the jobs. I just submitted for two little jobs that I thought sounded interesting and that I could get done within a nap or two.

I was actually pretty impressed by how easy it was and how little time it took to submit a proposal. Essentially, this site is a legit way to make some cash on the side, get some experience for your resume, and network.  Perfect for the SAHM.

Sincerely,
Jordan

P.S. - I didn't get paid for this or anything, this is just me trying out something and offering advice! Let me know what you think!

What Does This Say About Us?

I was listening to a story on NPR the other day, (I tried to find the story but could not figure out what it was) all I remember is that the guy who was being interviewed was an academic who was using google for social research. You know how when you are at the google search box and you type in a question and it starts to auto populate responses...like:

From this he might conclude that we are cat loving, man hating, and exhausted. (The iron was from my search history - good to know.

What will we do without Regis!? lol

Well, I believe his research was about stereotypes but the researcher was basically inferring things about our population based on the results. What does this say about us?

Now to my point, I happened to be googling around and happened to find this Employability Checkup Report from the Department of Labor. I found it to be interesting. It takes your education and wage info and combines it with your location, job, and industry to give you a little report on your employability per the economy in your area.

The results, were interesting; I'm not sure I agree with everything. The local unemployment rate, while it is lower than the national, is only like half a percentage point lower, I don't think that counts. In our area, my education level is about average, and so I wouldn't say that counts either. Based on just their numbers, my employability is about 50%.

I decided to test it out where we used to live in DC and was kind of surprised to get the same thing. There were also some conflicts: local unemployment is low and state unemployment is high!? When I selected DC the "local" and the "DC" were one in the same (it's not that big!)

Regardless, I found the tool interesting, and although somewhat inaccurate, of possible use to career switchers or people who are moving. I would most certainly take everything with a grain of salt because...this doesn't really give you the whole perspective.

One last thing, I found these numbers on my state's job bank website: the jobs to resumes number is pretty sad (assuming the resumes are active seekers.) Our state's unemployment is pretty bad and while it doesn't entirely apply to me at this exact moment, it's enough to keep me motivated to stay on my toes.

Sincerely,
Jordan

P.S. - Thoughts? Find anything interesting in the google autofill?