Navigating the Job Search: A Black Mother’s Guide to Balancing Applications, Interviews, and Family Life
September 2024 | New Jersey
Securing a new opportunity takes dedication, especially in today’s job market, but it is absolutely achievable. For mothers looking to make a change, here are 4 tips to help you efficiently reach your goals while taking care of yourself and your family.
Writer: Chante Dyson | Photos by Nicole Guillen
Many of you who have been following my content know that I recently created a survey for Black mothers as part of my Co.Lab Product Sprint course. My research aimed to understand the specific challenges and needs of new mothers balancing caregiving responsibilities with their professional goals after returning from maternity leave.
From my findings, 73% of mothers considered pivoting to a new career path or seeking advancement opportunities since returning to work. Work-life balance (87%) and salary (67%) were the top two factors influencing their decisions regarding career changes.
As you may know from my last blog post, I pivoted into tech from a marketing career when my baby was just four months old. Like many women in my survey, I wanted a more flexible career to be present with my family.
I’m excited to share that I will be starting a new position as Apprentice Product Manager at Pinterest! 🎉🎉🎉 Pinterest has been my dream company for a few years as I’ve pursued a career in Product Management. My passion for technology and content creation led me to wanting to work in social media, and I was drawn to Pinterest because of my creative background in fashion and the contemporary art world. I’ve used the app to plan everything from my blog photoshoots to my wedding! I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to dive in soon!
This blog post is for all the mamas navigating the job search, whether during pregnancy or postpartum. Securing a new opportunity takes dedication, especially in today’s job market, but it is absolutely achievable. For mothers looking to make a change, here are 4 tips to help you efficiently reach your goal of landing a new role while taking care of yourself and your family.
By now, if you’re ready to start applying to new jobs, I’m assuming you’ve already gained the skills and knowledge needed for the roles that appeal to you. If you’re not quite there yet, I recommend checking out my last blog post, which focuses on advancing your education as a mother. Before diving into the job market for better opportunities, take the time to ensure your skills are relevant and sharpened for your chosen field. Also, make sure your resume is updated and polished. If you’ve taken courses or earned certifications (which I highly recommend during any downtime you may have during pregnancy or maternity leave), be sure to add those to your resume. Then, find a peer or someone in the field you want to enter to review it.
Side note: I could do a whole separate post on optimizing your resume to land a new position, but for now, let’s focus on the basics. The main things I want you to do are to research what makes a great resume in 2024 and make sure your resume includes the key words relevant to the jobs you’re applying for. Many companies use AI and other tools to sift through thousands of resumes, filtering for those that match a certain percentage of key terms. Being strategic about this will help you stand out among candidates!
Also, be sure that your resume highlights impact, not just your job responsibilities. For example, if I’m an employer, I already know what a Social Media Assistant’s responsibilities are—I want to know how you impacted the business in that role. Include data points (even estimates) because businesses run on data. You need to show that you make data-informed decisions and can quantify the impact of your work.
Before I started interviewing, I made sure to add my new certifications and side project experiences to my resume. I also reached out to a Black woman career coach to ensure it was in top shape. There are tons of free resources on social media that break down what makes a great resume, so take the extra time to upgrade yours. Highlight your most recent experiences and upskilling efforts to show employers you’re serious, which will help you stand out in the candidate pool.
Keep in mind, you likely don’t need to do too much to land a new job with higher pay or more flexibility. You just need to leverage your existing skills and experience and rework them to align with roles that can better support your family. If you have the capacity, I encourage you to earn that certification, take that online course, or read that book. But don’t feel pressured to enroll in a 4-year degree program to make a change. A little dedicated effort can go a long way, goddess.
Now, my first tip for navigating the job search as a mom is to get crystal clear on what you want. Start by asking yourself: What does my family need right now? Every family has different circumstances, and what works for one may not work for another. So, get specific about what you need in a job at this stage in your life.
Consider questions like: What salary do I need to cover all childcare-related expenses? What work hours can I realistically commit to in this season? How much flexibility do I need from an employer? What values are most important to me as a working mother? Which companies align with those values?
Once you’re clear on what you want, start researching companies that match your needs. As I mentioned in a previous post, tech is the most flexible industry in 2024. I’m not saying every mother needs to work in tech, but that’s where flexible jobs are most in demand. And don’t forget—almost every industry uses technology now. If you’re in healthcare or education, for example, there are many tech roles within those fields.
Get creative and unapologetically map out exactly what you and your family need. I recommend seeking roles that align with your background and have a tech component, as these often offer more flexibility. Then, focus on companies that offer positions you're interested in.
My particular approach might not work for everyone, but at this stage as a mother, I was very intentional. I only applied to companies I truly wanted to work for and to roles that aligned with my goals. I didn’t cast a wide net—I applied to just two Associate Product Manager (APM) roles, and I landed one of them. Now, I recognize that this is a privilege, as I have the support of my fiancé, which allows me the freedom to be selective. But if you have the ability to be this intentional, I highly recommend it. The last thing we want is to end up in a job where we’re underpaid, working unsustainable hours, doing work we don’t enjoy, or where we can’t see how it connects to our larger goals.
My second piece of advice, after identifying the roles and companies that meet your and your family’s needs, is this: Get that referral, goddess. We often focus on perfecting our resumes and other aspects of our strategy but overlook the power of networking. Take the time to let people know you're interested in working at the companies they’re at. Employee referrals make you 4-5x more likely to be hired, and 82% of employers rank referrals as the best way to get quality hires with the highest return on investment (ROI).
As Black professionals, this strategy can be incredibly impactful — we need to be strategic and intentional. Use LinkedIn to connect with other Black professionals at the companies you’ve identified. I suggest setting up an informational interview to share your background, your journey as a mother making a career change, and the work you’ve put into studying the field. Ask for their advice on how to land a role at their company.
Keep in mind that 9 out of 10 times, that conversation won’t directly lead to a job offer — but it might! More importantly, it opens a door. Instead of immediately asking for a referral, focus on building an authentic connection. Stay in touch and follow up in a few weeks to share how you’ve implemented their advice. Ask them to keep you in mind for opportunities, and when the time feels right, ask for a referral for a specific role. Be sure to send them the job link and express your strong interest in the role.
The key takeaway is to be persistent but genuine. Get to know the person, nurture the relationship, and show them that you’re deserving of a referral. Taking the time to do this can make you stand out from thousands of applicants, so don’t rush through this crucial step.
This strategy worked for me when I landed my first Product Management role through a referral from a Black woman at the company. It’s worth a try, and I believe it can work for you too! I want you to work smarter, not harder. Once you’ve identified the companies that align with your goals and your family’s needs, take the extra time to secure that referral. It can significantly increase your chances of getting an interview. After all the effort you’ve put into studying and optimizing your resume, don’t skip this step — it could be the very reason you’re selected from the candidate pool and invited to that all-important conversation with HR.
Tip #3 is to refine your interview skills. I can’t stress enough the importance of practicing through mock interviews. A mock job interview simulates the real-life interaction between you and the hiring manager, helping to reduce the chances of blanking out, stuttering, or losing your train of thought. It’s a chance to go over the most common and anticipated questions your interviewer will ask.
Thanks to the internet, we can easily search for the types of questions we’re likely to encounter for specific roles. There are thousands of mock interview videos on YouTube that you can study. I recommend watching these daily; over time, you’ll pick up effective language for your own responses and learn how to structure your thoughts to impress your interviewers.
For Product Management, there’s a specific framework for answering interview questions. I wasn’t familiar with it at first, as my previous marketing interviews were much less complex. Reading Cracking the PM Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell really helped me understand what hiring managers are looking for. This book made me feel prepared for all my interviews with my current big tech employer! I also relied heavily on Exponent for mock interview preparation. If you’re not familiar, Exponent is an all-in-one platform for interview prep across tech fields, including Product Management, Engineering Management, Software Engineering, System Design, Data Science, Machine Learning, and TPM. Their videos and articles were spot-on, easy to understand, and provided a solid framework for breaking down complex problems and showcasing my thought process as a Product Manager. I highly recommend exploring Exponent’s library of resources to help you prepare for your interviews if you’re aiming for a tech role.
My last tip is a bonus that often gets overlooked in the job search process: Pray, and pray some more, goddess. I truly believe that faith without works is dead, which is why I emphasize the need to put in that extra effort to stand out and secure those interviews where you can showcase how impressive you are. Along with your hard work, dedicate time to your spiritual practice. Talk to God and express your desires. Start praying that, if it is God’s will, you experience yourself as the XYZ role at XYZ company. Meditate and journal about yourself in your dream role, excelling at your work and being valued for your contributions.
When you journal, affirm that you are already the XYZ role at XYZ company. Write it repeatedly to crystallize those intentions. I believe in the power of prayer, working with spirit, and bringing our dreams into existence, just as we brought our beautiful children into the world. While you’re putting in the work to land those interviews, keep your spiritual life aligned to support your goals. With these tips, you can make it happen for yourself and your family, just as I have! Sending you the best vibes as you embark on this journey — remember, I’m rooting for you every step of the way!
Thank you for reading!
With love,
Chante
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Chante Dyson is a Lifestyle and Wellness Content Creator based in New Jersey. She is the founder of The Godyssey, a lifestyle blog where she helps Black mothers find balance, empowerment, and fulfillment in every aspect of their lives. On her blog, you’ll find lifestyle content touching on motherhood, career, wellness, style and empowerment. She hopes that her content helps Black mothers to honor and express their divine feminine energy and power as goddesses.
Read more here.
