On Career Hiatus and Trying Different Things..and Loving Them!

When the pandemic started and the government imposed a lockdown on March 16, our catering business was greatly affected. We lost a number of events by cancellation and events and gathering have been restricted as well. And because no events, no income for us. This time I decided to apply for a job, I told myself that whoever hire me first will be where I’ll work with. Among tons of application, the fastest response is from bpo’s and call center companies. And because I am in urgent need of a job, I chose the Account Representative job for a collection firm. At first I thought, I just need a good 3-month stint in the company but to my surprise I’m running to my 18^th month already!  This is a blessing indeed, the job came even before the lockdown and we’re offered to work from home, I am so thankful and grateful for this job.

So you see, if I’m going to compare my current job to the previous ones, there are some I get to be paid more, and the jobs I preferred to do, but I have never been so grateful having been hired during the pandemic. Because of this job, I was able to help my husband with our bills, we managed to keep the kids in private school, we were still able to continue the construction of our house and most of all, I’m able to support my parents with their needs as well. It may not be the ideal job that I aspire to have, the Lord knows that it is the right job for me when I need one.

Being on a career break after deciding to be a stay at home Mom for years then looking forward to go back what you have left of, the odds may not be really on our favor. The chance to go back to your kind of job years ago is very slim than starting over again. My ego cannot take it at first, I did try and I ended up resigning or leaving without notice after 2 months. And I realized the gap in my resume is just getting farther because I cant include the companies I ghosted, lol.

What helped me really, first is to make peace with my alter ego then I shut off the voices in my head that are still pushing me to go after what I believe I deserve and I’m entitled to (salary & position). I was able to accept the reality that I’ve been away for many years, I need to humble myself and if I need to start from bottom again, I had to do it. It was hard at first but I carried on.

Then I also started updating my resume in LinkedIn and other social media sites and I made sure I networked with people who can help me in my new career aspiration. I’m glad I found a few people who welcomed me back, some who tirelessly supported me and backed me up,  I’m still winning and I’m willing to seize every opportunity.

With all these things, I am beyond grateful for the time I was able to do different things, whether it be a regular employee, a business woman or a self-employed person because I learned and gained a lot of skills and knowledge. Most of them are practical learning I can apply to my future endeavors. I am humbled by the fact that the Lord has made me look at the other side of the coin because it made me appreciate every change and phase in my life. There are NO regrets, only lessons learned.

So to you mommy, if you’re a sahm who also wants to get a chance back to your career, just like me, please know that you can. When you decide to come back, I’m sure there will be plenty of doors for us, we just have to be open about it - the mommy gap and career hiatus - which is the result of our noble decision to take care of our beloved families, we’ll take time and soon, we’ll be back on track :)  

Good luck!