Anyone else hoping to return to work after a long absence?

[juneau]

After 8.5 years I'm utterly fed up of being a SAHM. I thought I'd be okay with it - my mum was - and when my DC are at home before/after school and during the holidays they need plenty of input, help, entertainment, etc, but I'm just so fucking bored and I hate the bloody holidays and am dreading the summer (they get nearly 9 weeks off ). I'm actually becoming depressed through lack of mental stimulation and the same old shit every day. I'm starting to really resent the school run and detest making small talk in the playground. The other mums are actually really nice, but I'm just so fed up.

So I've tarted up my CV and am in the process of putting together a decent LinkedIn profile. I need to get a photo taken and upload my CV and then I think I'm ready to go.

Anyone else out there in the same boat? It would be nice to have a few fellow travellers on this journey.

I've not had a long absence from work - just 14 months - but I'm definitely ready to go back to work. My youngest is almost two and I gave up work as she has allergies/horrendous acid reflux but now it's all under control it's time to go back to work. I've had 5 interviews over March and April but haven't been successful. My confidence isn't great - and even worse after the 5 rejections - but I'm still plugging away and applying for jobs.

What did you used to do before being a SAHM? I was only a legal secretary so I've applied for a few legal sec jobs and other general admin positions too. Fingers crossed we both get jobs soon.

I always worked in finance, but in a variety of jobs inc. financial publishing, investment banking and fund admin - but with marketing and events thrown in and plenty of office admin too. And to further complicate things my background is history/history of art/languages

I hope you're successful soon. I'm expecting plenty of failure and knock-backs before I find something - particularly as I only want to work three days a week. If I can find what I want though I know it will be worth it.

Go for it! I spent 6-7 years with a very low level job, few hours a week and then managed to get a decent 3 day a week job. Have since moved to a 4 day a week job. I was scared it wouldn't be possible but it was! I would say though, consider taking less than ideal jobs or temping to get a foot back on the ladder and start getting skills back up.
Good luck!

Thank you! I am considering temping. I think to start with a maternity cover or something would be ideal to ease me back into the workplace. Also, as a temp in the past, I've often been offered a permanent job at the end of it. I'm reasonably optimistic. I know I interview well and I still have all the skills (and more) that I had all those years ago .... I just wonder if employers will feel the same way?

I would quite happily temp but I can't really as I'd need to put my youngest into nursery and if one temping job finished and I didn't have another to go to I couldn't afford to keep up the nursery place but if I took her out then she'd lose it. So it looks like it's permanent or nothing for me.

I completely understand. Last autumn after 8 years (and another horrific summer holiday) I also decided enough was enough, after going to see the doctor for depression. I knew what the answer was, and it wasn't pills.

I rewrote my CV, reached out to anyone I could think of on Linked-In and sent off job applications to jobs I knew I would have been interviewed for if I hadn't had a career break.

I think it helped a lot I work in an area where there's a skills shortage (software development) but within days I had a couple of former managers on Linked-In ask me to come in for interview, and two serious proper job interviews, although one fell through when the department "reduced headcount" so the role was cancelled.

I got the second job though, after spending several days searching sites for every possible question and answering them by typing out answers which really made me think about what I was writing so I'd remember it.

I've been back at work four months now, and it was the best decision I ever made. The whole family is so much happier as I'm not miserable, and within days of me getting offered the job, my depression totally lifted. It was, as I thought, what I needed to do. I get on much better with the children now, we're a lot closer and I'm not constantly desperately trying to find excuses to get a break from them! They appreciate me a lot more too - it's a two way thing.

On the downside, I do have to work full time as getting into IT unless you're already there on anything other than full time is impossible. But maybe in the future I'll request flexible working - that said, right now I'm actually quite happy with full time as the job is quite local and they do flexible working so I don't miss assemblies etc.

Lots of luck!

Thanks for sharing your story crispyFB. Reading that you got back into your former area of business relatively easily is reassuring to read and I've had plenty of friends and a few former colleagues saying that they think I'll find something quite easily. I'm not sure that we could cope with me working FT as I'm likely to be back in London, rather than local and DH already works FT in London and long hours + business travel, but at this point I'm trying to be open-minded. What I need is a way back in and like you I suspect it will probably come through contacts I already have. Who else is going to take a chance on someone who hasn't worked since 2007?

I am in a similar boat, though I've only been out of the workplace for 3 years. It feels like a lifetime! Sadly I've lost my previous career due to this long absense so I'm also needing to retrain and start a new career. I've done about 12 interviews and it's been very hard to have knock backs