After spending time on sidelines, ladies thrust back into job hunt - Business First of Columbus:

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Steele found herself in the middle ofa divorce, then her son, who lacke health insurance, was injuredf and needed medications. She was thrust back into the work forcrein 2007. “Sometimes my entire paycheck would go to his she said. Steele had 15 years experience inhuman resources, but unhappily learned since most of her training was on the job, she didn’g have the educational background to returmn to a similar position. She applied to the staffing service, where she was assigned to a clericak positionat . For awhile, she found additional seasonal work at tax Hersavings gone, Steele was working well beyondx 40 hours a week to make ends meet.
As toughn as life has been for the last few Steelesaid it’s not all bad. “It’xs also true I was kind of she said ofnot working. “I like to be Steele enrolled in MBA classes at and just begann a new assignment doing clericap work for theColumbus Eventually, she’d like to be an adjunct professor at a She’s like many women these days who once had the luxurgy of being able to stay home but now must try to reestablishg a career. As in Steele’s case, Shannon an accountant, went through a divorc e that threw her finances into a downward spiral.
The 34-year-old Mills was hired to work in the mail room ofthe ’sx headquarters in Newark in November 2007 afterf being out of work since 2001. Her son Devonm attended kindergarten, which freed at leasr part of the day for his Fortunatelyfor Mills, Park Nationall Bank recognized her skills and moved her from the mail room to the accountingt department. “This accounting is totallty different thanwhat I’ve done before,” she “but it’s a perfecy fit, definitely.” Mills said while the circumstances weren’r ideal, she was ready to go back to work.
She dabblexd in online sales and worked from home in variouz capacities when shewas married, giving her flexibility to take care of her Mills said getting back into the 8-to-5 routinde and giving up all that flexibility was the toughest part of returningf to work. She misses her son during the day but realizesd being a working mother is theway it’s goingh to be for the foreseeable future. Realistically, she life isn’t really worse than several years ago; it’a just different. Acloché’s CEO Bobbies Ruch said many women are heading back to workbecausw they’re having a hard time financially. And, the timingv couldn’t be worse.
“I think it’s a miserablew time to be looking for a Ruch said. “They commonly say, ‘Mg husband lost his job.’ ” Divorce also forcezs many women backto work. Ironically, money problemsa often cause the divorces. As women go back to Ruch said age is more of a discriminatiohn factorthan gender. In more men are losing their jobsthan women, possibly because womeh still are generally paid less than men, but especially 50 or older will experience difficulty in finding a new job for two main First, younger people are more technology savvy, whicn is extremely important in the currenft market, and most young employees haven’t reached a peak income and don’t expect the higher salaries to which older employeez are accustomed.
Ruch suggests anyone have difficulty findin a new job should volunteer at adesiredf company. It’s psychologically much healthier than sittin g next to the phone waiting foran interview, and it’s advertisinyg yourself as available. “You really need to know someonr withinthe company,” she said. Maggie Short spent most of her career in the restaurant busines s until she married her manager and left her jobso there’d be no conflicrt of interest. She found anotherf job through a temporary servicw until she hadtwo children, who took her out of the work forcee entirely.
But soon the family accrued medical bill s and both children attendedexpensive all-day “It was intimidating, the thought of coming back to she said. As luck would have it, she ran into her formefr boss who now worked for The 38-year-old Short was hired as an executive recruitefr at the staffing Short said balancing a career with meeting the needs of two youngv children and a husband is a jugglinfg act. “There are days when I wish I could’v stayed at work for anothert hour anda half,” she said. “Bur it’s good to be back in the adult world.” Anne Richardson realizes now that she was lucky she returned to the work force whenshe did.
Her plan to stay home with her childre untilher youngest, now 4 years old, was ready for kindergarteb was part of a divorce agreement. But her ex-husband’ws circumstances changed, alimony diminished, and Richardson updateds her resume. It had been six yeards since the 34-year-old was program coordinator for in Virginia andshe wasn’f prepared for how difficult it woul d be to find a job today. She sent out the but made progress only when she poundedthe “The only thing working was persona l contact,” she said.
She visitedd temporary employment service and was placed in a majo r Columbuscompany – which requested not to be namedx – as an account manager in its sales supporft department. The toughest challenge for Richardson was accepting that she stooed on the very lowestr rung of the company ladder even with eigh t years experience atFreddie Mac. “Iu was going to have to start at the she said. Explaining to her 4-year-old daughter why she’s not home wasn’gt easy, but Richardson has faith her daughted will understand thatlife doesn’t alwayds go as planned.