Get Hired (Part 1)

And if you’re a mom wanting to reenter the working world, come on in. A recent survey conducted by Salary.com found that as the available talent pool shrinks, employers are finding increasing value in the transferable assets a mom can bring to the workforce—like multitasking, compassion, dependability, work ethic, and management skills. The proof is in the hiring. The survey found that more than 95 percent of employers hire moms who ramped off, and more than 80 percent are recruiting moms reentering the workforce.

So how do you land your dream job? In our seven-step guide, you’ll find workplace strategies, insider networking tips, the latest in résumé writing, expert salary negotiating tactics, and some identity crisis solutions to help you make all the right moves. You can thank us when you’re looking out the window of your new office.

Assess what you want
It’s amazing how easily our jobs or life situations can lead us away from our dreams. One minute you’re battling your way from coffee-touting assistant to corporate visionary; the next—bam—your husband gets transferred or one of life’s other surprises throws you into a tailspin. Now you’re coasting in a job that doesn’t make you happy, and you don’t know what to do about it.

First, get clear about your priorities. What do you absolutely need? What are you willing to be flexible about, and what do you want but can live without? If you’re angling for a big promotion, how is that going to affect your family life? If your true passion is teaching, not IT, what’s it going to take to make that dream a reality?

“We find that people who are not happy with what they do often have a values conflict,” says Michael Bednarski, PhD, a psychologist and management consultant on the staff of the Psychotherapy and Spirituality Institute of New York City. “What they do for a living doesn’t express who they are.”

Research on job satisfaction shows that many people would like their work to be more personally and professionally satisfying. “When you don’t find your work gratifying,” Dr. Bednarski says, “it may become unchallenging, and job dissatisfaction occurs. This dissatisfaction can spill into other areas of life.”