Many women sacrifice their careers to get married, start a new family, and raise children. But when this marriage falls apart, women have to earn a living on their own to provide for themselves and their children after divorce.
“But what about alimony and child support?” you may be wondering. In many cases, alimony and child support payments are not enough for a woman to afford the standard of living she enjoyed during the marriage.
So what should a woman do after getting divorced to earn much-needed money? In most cases, re-entering the workforce is the best solution, but it is not as simple as it sounds. After all, it has been years or even decades since you worked the last time, so applying to jobs and attending job interviews may feel unusual and weird.
“Most women who were unemployed in the course of marriage feel unqualified or even unprepared to re-enter the workforce after divorce,” says our Salt Lake City divorce attorneyEmy A. Cordano. And that’s where our tips on rejoining the workforce will come in handy to help women who have been out of work during their marriage.
Consider your options
Before jumping right back in and going back straight to the type of work you used to do before quitting your job to start a family, consider your options. Do you really want to work in the same industry again? Is the type of work you used to do before becoming unemployed something that is still in demand? Would you be excited to try something entirely new? Are you qualified to work in a different industry or position to earn more money than before? Do you want a part-time or full-time job? How is your current child custody or timesharing order will affect your ability to work?
These are the questions you will need to ask yourself before starting to apply to jobs. Do not rush into making decisions without giving much thought to them, as you could end up being stuck with the job you hate or cannot handle for months or years. This will cause more stress in addition to having to cope with the stress that comes from your divorce and child custody battle.
Apply for jobs
Once you have realized what is it you want to do for a living, you can dip your toes into the application process. But before you do, do not forget to update your resume and write a unique cover letter for every position you apply for. In this fast-paced world, employers want to hire the best workers out of dozens or even hundreds of candidates, which means you will have to go the extra mile to land that job.
There are plenty of websites where you can easily apply for jobs without having to bother their HR departments with calls or emails. However, in some cases, cold emails can work wonders and be more effective than applying for positions.
Prepare for the job interview
Preparing for a job interview may seem like a nerve-racking experience for women who have been out of work for a while. In addition to being under a tremendous amount of stress from recently being divorced and having to get used to your new life, you will have to cope with the stress that is an inevitable part of the interview process.
Our experienced divorce attorney in Salt Lake City advises to pick the right outfit for your job interview and rehearse your answers to commonly asked questions in advance. Do keep in mind that there are dozens or hundreds of other job applicants who are eager to land this job, which is why you will have to make your job interview stand out from the crowd.
Unless you have been living in a cave for the past year, you are probably aware of the sexual harassment scandals that have gripped the nation recently. What you might not know is that lawmakers across the nation have strengthened sexual harassment laws. So if your prospective employer keeps making sexual advances or otherwise sexually harasses you during a job interview, you may be able to sue him.
Above all, wait for the right opportunity and do not jump into a job that you are not really passionate about. Finding the right job after your divorce is crucial to not only be able to earn money in addition to alimony and/or child support payments, but also to preoccupy yourself with a distraction that can prevent you from getting sad, angry, or sentimental about the divorce.
Let our Salt Lake City divorce attorneyEmy A. Cordano help you secure child support and alimony payments, which will be a useful addition to your salary. Get a legal consultation by calling our lawyers at (801) 901-8159.