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Keeping Your Skills Current
By Quiana Murray
Choosing to stay home and care for your children is sometimes one of the hardest decisions parents make. The benefits children experience are tremendous, however the fear of losing your expertise while you’re away from the workforce can cause panic and worry in even the most seasoned professionals.
There are a number of great, not to mention affordable, ways for you to keep your skills and knowledge current. These include:
- Taking a course. Many colleges, learning centers, and other community groups offer low cost courses in most fields. Depending on your learning style, you may even find an online or telephone course better fits your lifestyle than having to travel to attend class.
- Networking. Meeting with former colleagues is a great way to find out what you need to know. Choosing to attend networking events also offers you the chance to meet people you may not have met in another setting.
- Industry journals, magazines, and newspapers. These are published regularly and provide the latest in trends, research findings, and notable people.
- Consulting and contracting. You get to perform work in your field but without the demands of a full time work schedule and in most cases without having to go into the office very often. You also get to choose the assignments that most interest you.
- Start a group. Forming a group of other professionals in your field, both in and out of the workforce, can prove to be a wonderful way to share ideas and keep your skills current. Everyone benefits from this type of interaction.
- Volunteering. This works really well if you are considering trying another area within your field or if you want to “check out” an organization before considering them as an employment option.
- Teach. You have the skills many entry-level employees and career changers desire. Offer to teach a course at your local community college or community center. Teaching someone else one or two nights a week is guaranteed to keep your skills sharp and cause you to learn even more.
- Give a speech. Similar to teaching, you can offer to come in as a subject-matter expert to talk to students about the true day-to-day operations in your field of expertise. You can even talk to other professionals about a specific aspect of your industry they may not currently be too familiar with.
- Barter. This is an often overlooked but very valuable resource. If your industry is making major changes and you just don’t feel like you’re keeping up, you can find another professional with that experience and offer a skills trade.
There are many ways to keep your skills sharp for your reentry into the workforce. The key is to be creative and do what you enjoy. As you begin trying the different methods, stick to those that seem to bring the best return on your time investment. You’re sure to feel like you haven’t missed a beat when you do transition back.
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Quiana Murray is a life coach for busy moms. She and her husband enjoy raising their toddler twin boys in Southern Maryland where they own and operate Q & A Consulting, LLC a consulting and coaching firm. Visit http://www.QuianaMurray.com to learn more about Quiana’s Work It Mama! Coaching System™.
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