I had a couple of interviews earlier today.
Both were women who had married and given up their jobs to take care of their kids. One had been out the workforce for around 8-10 years, and the other for two years.
I thought of the challenges that married women face, having to give up their careers for family. If earlier it would have been tough to empathize, having a kid myself, and seeing it first-hand, I can now relate to it.
But every cloud has a silver lining. Times have changed. Learning curves have reduced. And options like work-from-home make it easier to engage with companies, and yet give time to children and family.
It is also heartening to see the efforts that such women make in restarting their careers. Some start from scratch, others continue where they left off. But the motivation is there. And they tend to take what they do seriously, knowing that people may be extra critical of them.
And in my experience, I have seen them perform much better than the average.
Technology has many upsides, this being one of them. All that restricts you is effort, dedication and perseverance. And yes, patience as well. The world is changing, and at a faster rate than ever.
As they say in Rocket Boys – “the train is leaving the station…are you on it my friend…or have you been left behind?”
My two bits of advice to such young mothers – you have the skill, the talent. Procedures change, ways of working change, technology changes. But your talent, your potential is still the same. Go out there, explore, work hard, and don’t be too hard on yourself. Life is about exploring, not necessarily succeeding every time. And stay true to your skillset – no one can take that away from you.
See you tomorrow!