It has been a long time since I contributed to my blog spot on relevant professional topics for the Working, single parent. Typical topics will likely include: worklife balance, family growth and enrichment, networking, career growth, freelance projects, etc.
I’ve often wondered the “monetary” value of my resume and/or portfolio in today’s economy. A few months back, a company was searching for a “go-getter” a “high performer” so I got recommended by one of my colleagues – – and yes I was 6 months pregnant and already have a great job! Went through the interview process and was selected as one of the top 2 – – but I didn’t get the job. This would have been an $85K gig, so does that mean my resume or professional experience is valued at that much. Not necessarily.
Does that mean that the value of my resume or stock has gone down since I didn’t get the job. Then what about the politically incorrect topic of being “pregnant?” while interviewing, does that have an impact on the value of my stock?
I don’t think anyone can necessarily put a value on moving forward in your career. You may have a stack of student loans that still need to be paid off, but there are inexpensive alternatives:
External courses and practices – These may cost about up to 10% of a traditional college degree and yet due to practical experience may prove very valuable. Some may come with a certification while others improve upon workplace skills such as Communications. I must recommend Susan Stageman and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) courses which actually have a moneyback guarantee.
Volunteering and Freelance Work – The most important thing about these types of gigs is that they are great networking opportunities when you are learning different fields. Freelance gives you the opportunity to get paid but sometimes the pay is not that high. Does that diminish your value? Not at all, but you must have a plan and a timeline. If you decide that you just want to add to your portfolio, then great! But you should have a six month plan to transfer that responsibility to someone else because by then your stock should have gone up and you should now be getting paid for your skills instead of volunteering.
Networking – networking is only relevant if you actually have something to say. I have known a lot of people who want to network but don’t provide anything of value to the other person besides a business card and their back. It takes time to build trust and a network and you also have to plan in advance to have a conversation every once in awhile with someone in your network.
These are simple tips, but they are non-traditional ways towards building your background and boosting your unique value proposition as you develop your career.
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