By: W2W Ventures Staff

2-4 weeks before interviews or returning to work:

• Update your resume, this a great time to tailor your resume to the job you want. By working on your resume now, you’ll have time to think about how your prior experience will benefit the employer you are going to meet.
• Brush up on skills. It is not too late to take a short course online or attend a seminar. Look into Continuing Education through an association relevant to your industry or profession (also, see W2W Ventures Education section).
• If it has been a period of time since you last put on your business attire, suit or otherwise, put it on. Put it on before you go to the interview, networking lunch or your first day back. Does it fit? Is the style current? Do you feel comfortable in it? Does it suit who you are now? Remember if you’ve been out for a bit and your daily life does not mandate a suit, you will be taken aback for a moment. This however, is a great time to reflect on the life you used to have and the natural ease with which you performed your job.
• Are you current on the industry you are interviewing in or returning to? Get online, check in with relevant association websites. Know the latest cases, laws, contracts won, whatever is relevant to the job you want. Don’t assume a crash course will cut it; the depth of your research will show. If you have colleagues or friends in the company or industry you are interviewing or returning to, have them give you a 15-minute primer. The earlier you start visualizing your interview or first day back the more time you will have to think through your positions and strategies. This is important even if you have been on maternity leave for only 3 months.
• Regardless of your profession or industry, start reading the paper now and everyday. The subject matter, the writing style and the intellectual stimulation are vital to preparing for those discussions you will be having soon.
• How are you feeling physically? If you haven’t been now is great time to sweat it out. Working out for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week will help burn nervousness and allow you to sleep better every night. We all know this and we all know it is hard to find the time to work out, but your physical strength will have a tremendous impact on your confidence and poise.

1 week before:

• Ask yourself the challenging questions about your workplace absence that the employer may want to know. (The better you can articulate a well-planned strategy, the more committed you will seem; e.g. - “I know I have been out for 3 years. I made that choice because I am dedicated to achieving top results. My focus for the last three years has been my 2 children. Now that they are in a place where I am comfortable, I can re-shift my focus to achieving the results your customers are accustomed to.”) Here are some of the questions that may come up.
• What did you do while you were out?
• Can you still do the job? Do you still have that edge that drives results?
• You should think about:
  • What perspective did you gain that may enhance the employers offering or service?
  • What are your boundaries in going back?
  • How will you handle weekend requests, late night requests?
  • There are many websites with interview questions on them, find some relevant for your industry or profession and think through your answers. Even try writing them out and reading them back to yourself out loud.
  • Attend to your physical presentation (See Appearance Check List)

The day or evening before:

• Re-read the most relevant industry material you found. Over-preparation never embarrassed anyone.
• Think through your interview question responses again and read the ones you’ve written out.
• Lay out all of your wardrobe items from top to bottom. We’ve all seen the detrimental affects of wardrobe malfunctions.
• Mentally review your professional successes.
• Check in with your closest confidant for a pep talk. It is hard to remember that you were really good at working before and will be again.
• Don’t tune into other peoples garbage. Your decisions are right for you.
• Get a good nights rest.

The day of:

• Give your self ample time to arrive on time
• Review, again, your past success
• Practice your introduction complete with smile and confidence. If you are still feeling a bit nervous, remember the adage I love “fake it until you make it.” You won’t be the first person to fake confidence, nor the last.
• Remember, you deserve success, everyone does, and there is not a limited amount in this world.

Good luck, W2W Ventures is pulling for you. We believe in you and know you can do it!