Patricia Miller's Friends

View All

Patricia Miller's Page

Gifts Received

Patricia Miller has not received any gifts yet

Give Patricia Miller a Gift

Profile Information

What is your zip code?: 12065

What is your industry or field of interest?: Administrative/Support, Consulting, Sales, Other

How Many Children Do You Have?: 3

A little about yourself...: I have been a stay at home mom for 23 years. I have enjoyed every one of those years with my kids. I will now be downsized very soon, My youngest son will be heading off to college in the fall. I am really very interested in working outside of the home. It is a little scary and somewhat difficult to know where to even start looking. How does one explain a 23 year gap in your resume. I do not feel as though I have properly prepared myself to reenter the work force. I would love to connect with women who might be able to share advice or who may have been in a similar situation. In the tough economy that we face the competion is pretty stiff and I need to figure out how to compete. Any help or advice is welcome......

Comment Wall (5 comments)

You need to be a member of Working Mother's Social Network | MyWorkButterfly to add comments!

Join Working Mother's Social Network | MyWorkButterfly

At 3:46pm on June 2, 2010, Terry Starr said…: Hi Patricia,
Wishing you all the best for a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!
Hope you're enjoying your day.
Best,
Bradi and Terry, Co-Founders, Butterfly

At 12:09pm on June 2, 2009, Bradi Nathan said…: Hi Patricia,
Have a great Birthday today!
All the Best- Bradi and Terry
Co-Founders, MyWorkButterfly

At 12:04pm on May 12, 2009, Julie Cohen said…: Hi Patricia - Thanks for sharing more of your situation with me. It is a scary prospect and fear is a natural response. I'm wondering if it might serve you to 're-frame' this process - instead of worrying about the gap, how might you feel if you perceived this as a 'new adventure' or 'starting fresh' or even 'entering the workforce on your terms!' I don't think you have to worry about explaining your gap. I would recommend an exercise to help you lighten the pressure on this move. Take some time and get a journal (or open a file on your computer) and think about your vision for the future around work/career/job - what do you want from this new part of your life? how do you want to feel about it? how do you want the mix of things to be with work and life? if this process was painless and worry-free, what would be happening? Take some time and answer these questions and have fun. There is no right or wrong answer. Feel free to let me know how this goes. Best, Julie

At 11:57am on May 9, 2009, Julie Cohen said…: Hi Patricia - Welcome to Butterfly. I read your profile. It sounds like you're in a scary and and exciting time. First off, congratulations on the accomplishment of putting three children out in to the adult world. What a contribution! Now, it's time to focus on you!

First off - you can now start preparing yourself for the work force. First step is to get curious. No need to worry about explaining your 23 year gap. It's a choice you made and now you're starting again. I would encourage you to think in terms of 'baby steps' if you can remember you kids when they started walking. They didn't go from crawling to running marathons in one day. :)

Here are a few ideas:
-start thinking of what you'd like to do. From your profile, you mention admin/support, consulting, sales - what still interests you? what are you curious about?
-start letting your friends and family know that you're looking to get back out in to the world of work. Ask people to talk with you about possibilities. Have a partner to brainstorm with will help you think of ideas.
-what interests, hobbies, volunteer work have you done over the past 23 years - sometimes you can find interesting opportunities pursuing those from a job perspective.
-look for other moms in similar situations in your area - have partners in this process will support you emotionally (this is a hard journey) and tactically (how do we do this?)

I hope this gives you a few ideas to get you started. Let me know how it goes and if I can answer other questions.

Best,
Julie

At 9:54pm on May 7, 2009, Bradi Nathan said…: Hi Patricia,
Welcome to Butterfly!

You can start your journey here by looking to join some of our many groups (under members tab) to connect and network with like-minded women. Or, start a group of your own called EMPTY NESTERS!

Next, please take advantage of our Resident Career Coach Julie Cohen, accessible on the home page. She is an expert in guiding women.

Enjoy the Celebrity working mom Videos and inspiring working mother interviews as well as the Lifestyle/ Career Counselor Editorial. There is wonderful info. regarding being out of the workforce. Please comment below the edit to share your feedback. Also feel free to blog away!

Don't miss the Mother's Day Contest on the home page for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree to Club Monaco.

Let me know if you need any help navigating the site and please invite your circle of friends to join by way of the invite tab/upload you photo.
Best,
Bradi Nathan
Co-Founder