Nine months into a year of maternity leave with my firstborn, and in addition to birthing and caring full time for my beautiful son, I’ve developed a new professional skill and added a significant project to my CV. Workaholic? Nope. Masochist? Definitely not.
I’ve simply decided to take a slightly unconventional approach to making the most of maternity leave.
I love being a mother, and I’m loving maternity leave. Over the past few months I’ve secretly delighted in not having to be my ‘best professional self’ every day. My baby doesn’t care if I’m ‘demonstrating good leadership skills’ or ‘contributing to positive workplace culture’. My performance appraisal is now self-conducted, and I consider myself to have ‘exceeded expectations’ when my nine month old doesn’t fling his dinner across the room and sleeps through the night. It’s certainly no holiday, but maternity leave has been a welcome break from office life and an incredible opportunity to bond with my child.
That being said, in recent months my mind has sometimes wandered back into work world. It’s not that I need the physical challenge – full time care of a baby is gruelling work. But frankly, there have also been periods of free time, mental boredom and frustration. Occasionally snapping myself out of baby zone and into career mode has helped me get perspective and re-connect with other facets of my life.
It has also dawned on me that it will be years before I am this unencumbered again, so why not take the opportunity to earn a bit of extra credit for my CV, while I’ve got the chance.
A disclaimer: every mother and every career is different. Some won’t want to engage with their career at all during maternity leave – and that should be encouraged. It is, after all a unique chance to immerse yourself in your new role of mother, and some mothers understandably prefer to do that single-mindedly.
I would also say to new mums: don’t even think about work until you’re well and truly out of ‘the haze’. During the first few months, sleep deprivation, raging hormones and the general madness of new motherhood turn you into a Completely. Different. Person. I’ve often heard this period described as ‘the fourth trimester’. You’ll be exhausted, your world won’t exist outside of your baby, and you’ll find yourself still wearing your maternity clothes. Go with it. Enjoy your baby, your new role as mum and those stretchy waistbands.
Now, in saying that, the haze will eventually lift, and if you find yourself entertaining career-minded thoughts consider these three strategies to keep your career bubbling away during maternity leave.
1. Volunteer in your professional arena
This is the single most valuable thing I’ve done for my career while on maternity leave. A friend needed help getting her non-profit organisation off the ground, and so I volunteered to work on the communications strategy for it. Given my career is in non-profit communications, it was a great way to keep my brain in the game and keep building my CV – and all it took was a few hours a week, from home, at times of my own choosing. Because it wasn’t paid work it didn’t interfere with my parental leave payments (although do be careful about volunteering for a competitor company – check your contract with your employer first).
There are all kinds of skilled volunteering opportunities out there in professional industries. Many are advertised on sites like Seek and Good Company. Others are available by just asking around. Be realistic about how much time you can give and choose opportunities that can fit easily around caring for baby.
2. Skill up and mingle
I’m not a great public speaker. Actually that’s the understatement of the year – I’m a sack of nerves when it comes to talking to an audience. It’s something I’d been meaning to address for ages, but in the throes of full time work I’d always managed to put it off. Maternity leave was the perfect time to take the bull by the horns, so I joined my local Toastmasters club. It’s an easy commitment – just two evenings a month. Not only am I developing a new skill that will undoubtedly benefit my career, I’m also getting some interaction with living, breathing human adults! Win-win.
Skills development while on mat leave can take all forms – your employer might be willing to send you on a short course (just ask) or you might prefer to self-teach through books, blogs or an online tutorial.
Networking events are also a great way to stay engaged with your professional life, catch up on innovations in your industry, and gently get your head back in the game while enjoying a social drink or two!
3. ‘Keeping in touch’ days
There is an actual law that allows actual mums on unpaid parental leave to be actually paid for keeping in touch with work. Who knew! You can use the days to do training, get re-acquainted with the workplace before going back, or participate in planning. You get 10 days per year, and another 10 days if you extend your parental leave a further 12 months.
I had no idea this provision existed when I went on maternity leave, and neither did my employer. It’s a valuable tool and more mums should know about it, so spread the word and check out the Fair Work website for more information.
So there you have it. Since going on maternity leave (and coming out of ‘the haze’) I’ve still managed to spend around 95% of my time focused on my baby, but the other 5% has been a worthwhile investment in my career – not to mention my mental health!
What tips do you have to keeping engaged with your career during maternity leave?