Being a stay-at-home parent is one of the most challenging jobs. In addition to the responsibilities of caring for children, the job of a stay-at-home parent comes with many unexpected challenges, few of which are taken into consideration when parents get ready to return to work. Multi-tasking, problem solving, scheduling and logistics are all part of every caregiver’s life but are rarely considered job experience or skills when recruiters are examining resumes. Parents of babies and preschoolers often feel isolated and lack much-needed adult interactions. Stay home parents feel themselves losing touch with their professional identity. When it comes time to return to the workforce, these parents face even more challenges asking themselves if they’re still viable in today’s job market. Have they lost contact with their work network? Are they out of touch with industry trends? While they gained new parenting skills, they may have lost some technical skills. Sadly, stay-at-home parents face the stigma that their time at home signals a lower motivation and commitment to work. For women, this is a double-edged sword because historical domestic roles admire them for being “dedicated mothers,” but real-life statistics show that 46% of double-income families now have 2 working parents and the workforce is comprised of 72% mothers! Regardless of these obstacles, returning to the workforce after being a stay-at-home parent is possible. A great first step back to working is identifying an organization that honors your parenting skills and sharpens your resume. Start by volunteering in the nonprofit world!
Whether you are a new stay-at-home parent experiencing a sense of loss of career engagement or a parent transitioning back to work, volunteering provides so many benefits. On top of working towards a cause you believe in, volunteering provides valuable experiences to help you explore new options and achieve professional goals. Below is a list of a few ways volunteering can benefit your career in the long run.
- Prevent resume gaps: Employers are more likely to hire a candidate with no gaps in his or her resume. Volunteering enhances your resume as you stay home with your children. According to a government study, volunteering is associated with a 27% higher chance of employment.
- Maintain current skills and build new skills: The skills used in volunteering can also be applied to paid jobs. Nonprofits invest in training their volunteers and developing varied skill sets.
- Network: Volunteering expands your network by constantly introducing you to new organizations and people. This is particularly true of business consulting nonprofits as well as direct-to-client service providers.
- Gather references: Volunteering allows you to create strong relationships, and when it is time to apply for jobs, you have a group of people to provide current references.
- Explore different industries: You may realize you do not want to return to the same job you had before your children. Volunteering is a low-risk opportunity to explore different industries to see which path you want to pursue next.
If you’re ready to start your volunteering journey, look no further! The National Executive Service Corps (NESC) always welcomes new volunteers to our consulting team. NESC is a nonprofit providing business consulting services to other nonprofits. NESC consultants come from a range of professional backgrounds, and they use their expertise to advise our nonprofit clients. NESC offers a unique opportunity for stay-at-home parents to better prepare themselves for returning to the workforce. Here is a list of some of the reasons why our parent consultants volunteer at NESC.
- Flexibility: NESC consultants create their own schedules and choose which assignments to accept so that they fit into their busy schedules. All of our volunteers are part-timers. There’s really no more ideal way to experience returning to work as a transitional experience. Most of our meetings are conducted via Zoom so you can carve out a few hours for client facing meetings then complete any follow-up work on your own schedule.
- Add projects to your resume: Volunteering at NESC not only helps you avoid resume gaps but also enhances your resume with projects you complete from start to finish.
- Explore different paths: Our clients range across various sectors, and they each require assistance with different business functions. Our diverse clientele exposes our consultants to every sector of nonprofit enterprises: arts, education, religion, government, healthcare, and social services. We specialize in business analysis, strategic planning, board development, marketing, social enterprise, financial management and support for foundations.
- Network: Many of our consultants have worked at the most prominent American companies, including IBM, JPMorgan, Chase, Time Warner, and McKinsey. Our volunteers network with each other, and they gain access to their colleagues’ professional networks.
- Make a difference while building your resume: Volunteering at NESC is a mutually beneficial opportunity for our consultants and their nonprofit clients.
When you are ready to pursue this opportunity, apply here to join the team of NESC volunteer consultants!
If you or your organization want to work with one of our great consultants, contact the National Executive Service Corps today!