Principle #2: LinkedIn Pulse

            Hello again, lovelies!  I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week.  Last post, we talked about how to get your LinkedIn (LI) profile set-up so you can start networking in your industry of interest (either for immediate or future use), following companies leading the pack, and reading about the latest updates and workplace trends.

Now that you are on LI and have the access you need to all of its resources, let me first tell you what not to do: do not sign up for a paid account. If I had written this a year ago knowing that some of you are retiring from SAHM-hood and beginning your journey into the workforce, I would have said absolutely, definitely, get the most basic $30/month account even if it’s only for a month or two.  However, LI, as all companies eventually do, has scaled back the benefits of a paid account and, frankly, it’s not worth it at this point in time (at least not until you build up a profile, a following, and are prepared to spearhead your job search). So for now, leave the paid accounts alone.

            
What you do need to do is dive right into the LI Pulse section and start following topics, bloggers, thought leaders, etc. in your area of interest. To get to this portion of LI, follow these steps:

1. Logon to your account
2. Navigate to the top left side of your screen where you have a black panel with several links: Home, Profile, Connections, Jobs, Interests
3. Hover over “Interests” and click “Pulse”
4. Start perusing and…go to town!!
5. Click on “Discover” to see some recommended influencers to follow

The screen this takes you to will have a series of boxes with suggested INfluencers (as they like to call them) you might want to follow. If you continue scrolling down you’ll have “Channels” and then “Publishers” to select from as well. Since you haven’t been on the platform very long, the suggestions may or may not apply to you.  If you see something that looks relevant, click “Follow”.  Otherwise, use the “Search” box in the top middle of the page. Be sure to click the three-line icon to the left of the box and select “Posts” to search topics of interest.

Note: My personal recommendation is to always use the LI desktop site for browsing, even if you’re navigating on your mobile phone. Go ahead and download the app for your phone or ipad if you’re interested, but I personally find the LI apps very difficult to navigate and un-intuitive. I prefer going through the struggle of logging in to the desktop site from my mobile phone.

            Try to find at least 5-10 topics and INFluencers you’re interested in following right away.  You can always “unFollow” them later if they don’t provide the kind of content you’re looking for, but this at least gives LI a good view into the kind of topics that intrigue you so it can continue to give you recommendations. In the coming weeks and months you’ll see more and more topics and people pop up on your news feed (because LI recommended them or someone in your network “liked” or “shared” something) that spark your interest and you will have opportunities to increase your knowledge base and hone in on what really interests you.

            Now what?  Well, now you have to do something crazy.  Something that will go against your every instinct, but that is so vitally important, you absolutely have to force yourself to do it no matter how difficult it is:

Next time to you have some downtime,

Instead of logging in to Facebook… log in to LinkedIn. 

I know, I thought it was a completely crazy idea at first too. But it’s SO much more interesting! Browse through LI just like you do Facebook – peruse the newsfeed, see if there’s anything new happening in your network, browse some of your topics – get your head into your industry. This might be difficult at first for several reasons:

1. You may not be used to putting your head into workplace or professional mode on a daily basis – it does require a different, but equally valuable, kind of energy
2. You likely haven’t honed in on all of the topics that spark your imagination just yet, so the content you find in your newsfeed may seem bland at first
3. Your network is probably small and there won’t be many updates initially

That’s ok.  It will take some time to build all that up just like it did on Facebook, Instagram, twitter, and any other networks you use.

Tip: Start by connecting with me on LI! Simply visit my profile page here and click “Connect”.  You will likely be asked what your connection to me is (it does this with anyone you aren’t already linked to in some way) so simply click the “Friend” radio button and I will receive the request. Once you are connected to me, you will be able to connect with anyone in my network which can be very helpful if you’re interested in marketing, technical writing, or the oil & gas and engineering industries.

But stick with it and you will soon find yourself defaulting to LI because the information can be so fascinating! And on those days when there doesn’t seem to be any adults within 50 miles of your location and you are ridiculously tired of hearing 2^nd grade vocabulary and you wish you could find a single person to talk to who understands what a “relationship status” is, you will find LI to be incredibly comforting. It will be an escape, a moment of adultness, a moment of youness.  A chance to build a Mommy-interest and focus inward for a moment.

     

      I’ve never been a big fan of scheduling out time for, well, anything (exercise, study, sex…), but if it works for you, go ahead and set aside a daily 5-10 minutes (or more if you can) for browsing LI.  Or, if you’re more like me, just file it in your head on the list of “things I can do on my phone when I have 2 seconds to think” and hop on there when you can – 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, half an hour there – whatever works for you.

      To help you in your search for topics and Influencers, I’ve put together a shortlist that includes:

·      Most common industry and job-related topics

·      Influencers I’m most fond of

·      Best articles from across LI

To access the shortlist, simply click the download link and save it to your computer. It’s in pdf format so the links will open up directly in you preferred browser.

            I’d love to know what topics and influencers you choose to follow!  Please mention in the comments the “Follows” that you are most excited about.

Principle #1: Get On LinkedIn!

I guess this is the part where I start telling you stuff I've learned....

Well, let's start with the basics!  The absolute very first, most fundamental thing you have to do to get a start on career maintenance is:

Get on LinkedIn.


The value of LinkedIn cannot be underestimated.  Most tout it as a networking platform - and that is its main purpose - but I mostly use it as a knowledge vault.  There is SOOOOOOO much amazing information, advice, and work life best practices on LinkedIn.  Here's a list of very interesting things you can do on LinkedIn;

• Browse articles by industry of interest
• Browse articles by topic
• Read articles written by your friends and peers
• Find the VP's and Presidents of companies you'd like to work for someday, or ones you're simply interested in
• Follow VP's and Presidents of companies you're interested in
• Get the most popular articles from Forbes posted straight to your timeline
• Search for jobs
• Search and explore the profiles of others in your career area to see how they present themselves and describe their job duties
• Connect with people you know - and then connect with people they know that you don't know - and then connect with people that know the people you don't know who know the people you know...you get the idea
• Learn about inter-office dynamics in various industries

And much more...

So get signed up!  I know, I hate getting on new social media sites.  It takes so long to figure out how everything works and get connected with people and figure out the interface, but you will benefit SO much from spending time browsing LinkedIn - you may find yourself spending more time there than Facebook!

I'll put together a "Guide to LinkedIn" soon with pictures and explanations of the various features and how to follow your topics of interest in case any of your are newcomers.  But for now, get signed up, put together your profile.  A couple of quick profile tips:

• Put your formal work experience from the past on there, and then put whatever it is you consider yourself a professional at for your experience since you've been a SAHM.  So your current title could be "Graphic Design Consultant" and just put "Contractor" or "Freelancer" for the company.  Then list your skills!
• Don't underestimate yourself in the skills development section, but be specific.  You don't want to have "Catering", "Bookkeeping", "Dance Instruction", and "Lawyer" all on there together.  Figure out what area you want your professional image to be focused on and stick with the skills that are applicable.
• Give yourself time to write up a description.  You don't have to have anything there right away - remember you don't have any connections yet and you may not even be looking for a job right now so there's really nothing to lose by giving yourself to work up something good.  And feel free to update it as-needed.

Here is the link (I know, it's kind of a "no duh" situation, but it never hurts to be thorough): www.linkedin.com

Action Item: (I actually hate action items, so much that I actually hate the word action item, but, you know what they say: you gotta walk the walk...) Sign up on LinkedIn, fill out your profile, and start exploring!

What is the SAHM Career Guidebook?

Hello wonderful ladies, and gentlemen.

I've created this guidebook as a place to store and share ideas and strategies for women (and men) who have spent years, or are spending years, as a SAHP and would like to maintain their careers as much as possible to prepare for the future.  Admittedly, this blog is geared towards Stay-at-Home-Moms because they are simply the most common type of SAHP these days, but Stay-at-Home-Dads, rest assured, these principals will apply equally to you - and we will regularly offer posts geared specifically towards Stay-at-Home-Dads who often have unique challenges to face.

I personally am a full-time working mom.  Growing up and into my teen years I was absolutely determined that I would be a SAHM just like my mother was, so much that I even wrote a college essay on why all moms should be stay-at-home-moms lol!  But I don't think any of us really know what choice we will make until we have children and discover what our personalities crave and what lessons we want our children to learn.

As such, I often contemplate what I would do to nurture my career were I a SAHM as I had planned.

• How would I stimulate my mind?  
• How would I prepare for the future?  
• How would I provide additional security by being prepared to work full-time at a moment's notice, if needed?  
• What would I do to maintain a resume that doesn't reveal a massive black hole for 10 years?

 I have hired, worked, with, and been a friend, daughter, and cousin to many who stayed at home with their children and wanted to re-enter the workforce - it is a daunting task!  And the problem is, people who discuss this subject either don't really care what happens to your career, or they tend to approach it from a very black-and-white and very unorganized perspective:

"Well, if you stay at home with your kids, you're just going to have to take a hit and start all over when they grow up."

 or

"As long as you have a degree you'll be fine."

 or

"The work you do at home is just as valuable to the workplace - put it on your resume!"

or

"The activities you engage in at home with your kids have no place being listed on your resume."

Uhhhhh...

These statements all have some truth to them, but none complete the picture: yes, you will take a hit, but there are things you can do to minimize, perhaps even eliminate it in some cases.  Yes, getting your degree is one of the best foundations to lay for yourself, but it cannot get you there on it's own, especially when you consider workplace biases against SAHM's and older women.  Yes, your work at home builds valuable skills but being a bookkeeper or scheduler at home is nothing like being a bookkeeper or scheduler in the workplace - however there are places you can include this on your resume, and there are activities you engage in as a SAHM that are very applicable.

Let's talk for a moment about what this blog is not.

  It is not a place to:

•  Make you feel bad about choosing to be a SAHM (you shouldn't!)
• Assume you are lazy and therefore need working moms to get you in line (I know you don't!)
• Advise you that you can have a great future career without doing anything career-related today (I'm sure you know that)
• Make you think this will be easy (ha! Like anything in your life is easy right now!)
• Make you feel like you have to be a working mom to have a great future career
• Talk about great ideas without any practical applications
• Brag about being better than you because I'm a working mom

I know the mommy wars are heated right now, but they don't actually exist.  I mean, when is the last time you've seen two moms face-off about whether it's better to work or stay home??  It's not a real thing, it exists in our minds; we're all in this together.  If you're reading this, you know that all types of moms are great, make fine choices based on their own family, and you can assume anything I write is delivered with equal respect for all.  Equally, comments must all remain respectful or they will be deleted.  We are here to share knowledge we've gained with each other, no one is interested in lecturing anyone else.

What I am going to do:

I'm going to give you day-to-day, week-to-week applicable skills, activities, and concepts that can greatly increase your chance of being able to more comfortably re-enter the workforce when you choose to.  There probably isn't anything earth-shattering here, so this probably isn't a great resource for quick-fixes, but there will be lots of reminders and new ideas based on what I've learned working with SAHM's.  We will cover topics for mothers currently trying to re-enter the workforce (who may or may not have adequately prepared), as well as those with young children looking for strategies to protect their working future. *If you have been through this recently and have some advice to share, please contact me about being a guest blogger.*

If you're wondering what's in this for me, I'm not interested in bragging about my amazing work life (we all know the sacrifices we working moms make are as big as yours, just different; the blessings are too, blah blah...).  For me, talking about this gives me this strange feeling that there would have been hope for my psuedo-self who traveled in an alternate dimension as a SAHM.  She deserved a great career too.

Now let's DO THIS!