November 3, 2009
Single Parents… Job searching, especially this past year, can be a painful process. Let’s face it, no one likes to do it. For those of you that have had to participate in the grueling task, what has it been like? Did you find a job you wanted or did you have to settle? What were the positive and negatives, because you are a single parent? Have your prospective employers or current employers been understanding of your situation? How have you handled the demands of a job while being a single parent? We’d like to hear your thoughts so we can address them in the next issue.
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It’s a struggle looking for work when you’re a single mom. Especially if your child is young and still requires a babysitter or some form of daycare outside of school hours. Ideally, the perfect job for a single parent would have the same hours as your child does school hours. That is often not the case. I was in retail for 20 yrs before getting hurt and having to switch to a less physical career. Before my daughter was born, the hours were not a problem. But when she came along, the hours were difficult. Many days I would be required to start at 4:00am, how many daycares open up at that early? Not many. Some days I was required to work until Midnight or even overnight. How many daycares are open 24 hrs? very few. My former boss noticed my struggles. He took me aside and asked me what the best hours for me would be. I said 7-5:30 M-F. Just like that he kindly made that happen for me. However, now that he knew that I had struggled with the hours before hand, and even though I always found a way to make it work, I was denied a promotion. But with all that was the worry, will I earn enough to pay all my bills plus pay for the 1000.00 a month for child care?
My Child is now 6, and in school full time. I am also in school full time as I am still in the process of changing careers. Thankfully my daughter’s school offers before and after school child care. So I am covered from 7-6 m-f with no problems. My new career choice starts off with Paralegal and when I am done with school, I will be a Lawyer. The hours are perfect, generally 8:30-5pm. During the summer, my child will have to go to full time daycare. Thankfully, I have found a perfect place for her and the cost is only 145.00 per week.
So, yes, being a single parent and having to look for work is much more difficult than a 2 parent home. Child Care seems to be the biggest concern, at least for me.
Well first I want to say congrats on going back to school and pursuing your dreams. Going to school full time is hard enough when you’re single and have no children. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the insight into your situation. Reading about others experiences and knowing YOU CAN DO IT, helps to stay strong.