3 months into Maternity Leave and need to make a decision already about going back and taking a promotion

[Wolfblass]

Here i am sat 3 months into my Maternity leave after having our gorgeous son Gabriel 13 weeks ago.

Last week i find out that my manager has handed in her notice and is leaving in 9 weeks time.

I am the Assistant Reception Manager and a Duty Manager in a 4* hotel. I live with my partner who runs his own business (which can involve working away for 3 nights 1 or 4 times a month depending on his contracts) and we also have a 5 year old daughter.

Originally i hadn't intended to go back to work full time - if at all. I had intended to if business took a nose dive or to even look at something new. (i'm keen to look at becoming a slimming world consultant)

My HR Manager asked me to pop in and see her and said they are anxious for me to apply for the new position of Front Office Manager. The salary is ranging 2.5-4.5k above my current salary, however the job is much more demanding and will require long hours (we are lucky enough to be 1st choice hotel for premiership football teams, who are my main concern in the relevant season). They are willing to wait until next April for me to start fully as they respect my decison to take a years Maternity leave. However i will use my 10 days keep in touch days for Management training courses, recruiting new staff, spending time with the group front office manager.

My concerns are:

The current mgr was not fantastic at the job and i was promoted to asst mgr as she was not coping. Because of this she hides things from me and it was a constant battle to do my job to the level i craved. (although all the senior managers and head office, and colleagues think i'm great, without being big headed, their words not mine)

The current manager has alienated the team and in the 5 months since i've been on leave (i had two months holidays to take before mat leave) all except one member of staff has left, the team there at the moment are a complete nightmare.

I'm not sure i'll get childcare when i need it. As i say my department operates from 06.45 until 23.15. If anything cropped up and Mark was working away childminders in this area do not seem to work past 17.30 at night or before 08.00 .

Pros:

Great Promotion

Great Further Career Prospects

Additional Position for Resume

Higher Salary

Personal satisfaction of achievement.

My partner is sooooo proud of me but has the blinkers on and cannot seem to understand the negatives. Such as my concerns over childcare, hours worked etc etc.

Any advice welcomed. Applications are due in by the 3rd July - but i've had a wink wink, nudge nudge from HR.

Thanks x

Apply!

Sounds as though you'd get the job, and you have until next April to worry about sorting out childcare issues and other problems.

I'm not sure why your first problem is a problem - isn't the person who was rubbish and hiding things from you the one who is leaving anyway?

Re the team being a nightmare, sounds like you are going to be able to do some recruiting for new team members anyway, and in the time until you will start, others may leave anyway.

Childcare - not sure, but you have months and months to work it out, and if the worst comes to the worst and you can't seem to sort something out, you can always not go back.

If you won't start til April, what are the arrangements for covering the position in the meantime, are you happy with those?

well i think i would apply to buy some more time to think about it. I was in a similar position and decided not to go for it because it would mean sacrifycing my day off with dd3 and i knew from bitter experience that that was worth more than a few extra thousand.

if you do apply, you have to get to the childcare nailed totally- if it is genuinely impossible to do then you can't! your other half is proud of you- but i guess you already feel that childcare is your problem- no face will be lost if your answer is i would love to but cant.

the other thing you need to consider if you dont go for it is that you will have to work for whoever is successful....

would work consider shifts/a job share/seperate eveningor night cover?

Wow, well done you.

This isn't going to be easy, but what comes across in your post is your energy and involvement in your work, and my gut feeling is that you'll regret it if you don't take the job, and end up going back to work, being answerable to someone else when you know the job could have been yours. It seems that your employer rates you very highly.

You are taking a long maternity leave, and a year is a long time to get childcare in place. Yes it may be tricky if you get some unsociable hours you need to work - can your partner help out in this respect?

To me, it's not the few thousand more a year that are the key thing here, but the fact that you clearly are good at your job and have an excellent opportunity here.

Good luck!

Hi wolfblass just to let you know i am a registered childminder with vacancies i am very flexable with hours ie: evenings and weekends i am also registered to provide overnight care.Hope this hels i am in the bury/bolton area of manchester.

I agree with the others that you will probably regret it if you don't go for it.

BUT. I can also see how difficult the childcare arrangements are likely to be. Is there any way, before next April, your dp can restructure his work so that either his times away are more predictable or don't exist at all? It's all very well for him to be supportive of your ambition but not to take any of the pain of organising childcare for a 1 and nearly 6 year old.

The other thing I'd say is that the team is in ruins now, so someone else is going to have to come in and pick that up as your maternity cover, rebuild the team and set its future direction, all with you not there. How would that work? You have your 10 keep in touch days but it would be difficult I think. Is there any way you could do it as a job share, perhaps with the maternity cover person? (Not entirely sure how that would work but it would be good for continuity).

I think it depends how personally ambitious you are. Sweeping generalisation coming but working f-t with small children means sacrificing something, and it needs to be worth it.

Apply. I was promoted (I knew about the upcoming role and was advised to apply by the head - I work in a school) 6 weeks after DD was born. I have used by 10 KIT days to build my team etc.

I start back next month and whilst I am DREADING leaving DD, I already love the new job and am relishing the challenge.