5 Ways to Enhance Your Career After You Have Kids

As any new parent will know, your career can take a substantial hit after having children. Not only do you have less time to invest in your job, but you may no longer have the capacity to be able to work extra hours, or have the energy to work efficiently.

Whether you are a shift worker, 9-5 office worker, or enjoy freelance benefits, here are five ways you can continue to enhance your career after you have kids.

1. Request Flexible Working

During the Covid-19 pandemic, flexible working was in demand due to the nature of how families isolated at home.

In post-pandemic times, many families continue to request flexible working arrangements in order to facilitate childcare arrangements for children. Flexible working can allow you to focus on caring for your children, and work around their needs by completing work during nap times or in the evenings.

This may increase your productivity, and will often allow you to continue to complete your work on your own terms from the comfort of your own home.

Flexible working will also enable you to juggle your childcare commitments with your partner or other family members to allow you to work your schedule according to your needs and the needs of your children.

2. Complete a Distance Learning Degree

Whatever industry you work within, completing a degree can be a great way to fast forward your career progression and open you up to significantly more opportunities.

Providers like Signum Magnum College can offer a range of distance learning courses to suit everyone, whether you want to complete a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate. The benefit of the courses from Signum Magnum College is the ability to study on your own terms; the courses are distance learning based, and so perfect for studying around any existing work commitments or childcare commitments.

3. Improve Your Time Management Skills

Time management is essential for furthering your career. As your spare time is likely to be limited with having kids around, using your time efficiently is important for getting your work done.

Whether you organise your time using a diary from stationers like WHSmith, or digital calendar, or a mixture of the two, using resources to plan your time can also stop you from procrastinating and ensure that you can prioritise your tasks well without wasting time wondering what to tackle next.

4. Be Open to Change

If your current career choice or situation isn’t working for you, it’s important to be open to moving on. Some careers are more compatible with childcare than others, and electing to switch jobs may give you a better work/life balance or more time with your children. Websites like TotalJobs can help you keep an eye on vacancies and current opportunities.

You can also keep an eye out for new opportunities in your current role. Whether this looks like a promotion, a change of department, or a different team, change can bring a wealth of opportunity to your door.

It’s important to remember that life will naturally change after you have children. Not only do your natural priorities change, but your career aspirations may also change too. If you have a child with additional needs, or difficulty obtaining childcare, your plans may need to change entirely.

5. Take Care of Yourself

Ensuring that you take regular time to rest and regulate will help you to become more productive in your role, and prevent you from burning out. Additionally, ensuring that you manage to eat well and not snack on unhealthy foods can also enhance your concentration and energy levels to help you perform better at work.

It’s important to base your self care around things that work for you, not necessarily what works for everyone else. Your self care could look like going for a solo walk in the fresh air with a hot drink, doing a skincare routine using YouTube tutorials in the morning or evening, or taking time to work on a hobby.

Your diet can be one of the first things to take the sidelines when you have young children, as time is usually in short supply. Reaching for convenient snacks can be easier than cooking full meals for yourself, and can leave you feeling sluggish and lacking in energy. This coupled with the inevitable sleep deprivation that comes with parenting can greatly affect your mental health and productivity at work.