There are lots of mums out there who want to stay at home and be around for their children whilst they are small. Some of you might decide to be a full time mum and not go back to work but there are others of you who feel the time is right to get back out there. This could be purely for financial reasons or, in many cases, you need to do it for you. To be out there achieving goals, communicating with others and just taking a bit of time out and wearing a different head for a few hours each week. If you are that person, then you might be thinking about the best part time job ideas for mums.
What’s Been Stopping You?
When it comes to finding employment, there are lots of issues facing mums who are looking to get back into the world of work. It could be that you have been out of the job market for some time and feel you have lost touch with developments in your field of experience. Maybe you are lacking the confidence to get out there and find something new because it has been so long since you were in the workplace.
Or perhaps – and this is of course a problem for many parents – you just can’t find the best way to juggle your time between work and childcare. Whether you are a single parent or a parent with a working spouse, juggling childcare and time at work is an issue. After all, if you need external childcare for your children, the cost of this will need to be factored into your decision about whether to work or not.
Top Part Time Job Ideas For Mums
So, what are the options for you if you are chomping at the bit to get out of the house and get back out there to the world of employment? We’ve come up with a list of top part time job ideas for mums looking to work – hopefully ideas that could cut right down on childcare arrangements and costs. We’ve also got a few suggestions about how you could improve your chances of landing one of these part time jobs. Let’s take a look at some ideas for part time jobs for mums.
Volunteering
Obviously, volunteering is not going to pay you a wage and give you the benefit of having some extra cash in the bank but not all mums want to go back to work purely for financial reasons. But there is a reason why it’s here at the top of the list:
Volunteering has many benefits as a starting point:
- Time Management: Lots of volunteering roles are only for a few hours each week so you might be able to negotiate your hours of work for while your children are in school. Other volunteering roles might be one off projects such as National Trust initiatives where you go out to do beach clean ups.
- Less Pressure: Going out there to volunteer can mean you are putting less pressure on yourself to succeed. If you have been out of the workplace for sometime, actually taking that step to go back to work might feel a daunting prospect. Volunteering allows you to dip your toes back into the world of work, familiarise yourself with routines and duties and generally build your confidence.
- Boosts self-esteem: Volunteer posts can be good part time job ideas for mums because they can boost your self esteem as you are out there meeting new people – your fellow volunteers and, depending on your role, the people you might be helping.
- A good stepping stone: Depending on the type of volunteering you are doing, some roles can give you the work experience and skills update you need to apply for other roles. Your volunteer position could also become a paid role in the future. And, of course, a problem for lots of mums looking to go back to work is that yawning gap on your CV where you took time out to start your family. A volunteer role helps you fill that gap, shows that you have been proactive in getting yourself back out there and gives you recent experiences to talk about when you manage to land yourself a job interview.
Job Share
A lot of parents looking to go back to work after starting a family might want to go back to the career they had before they had children. If that’s the case for you but you really don’t want to go back to work on a full time basis, it might be worth asking previous employers, or any contacts you might have in your industry, whether it is possible to do a job share with another member of staff.
Job shares can be good part time job ideas for mums because you can have fixed hours and restrict the amount of time your child needs to be in childcare. Part time jobs are often said to be not well paid but a job share opportunity could allow you to step right back into your previous career or allow you to retrain. An increasing number of employers are creating job share opportunities and there could be roles currently on offer in the vacancy listings.
Job share opportunities are often available in a variety of sectors so whatever your previous experience, you could find roles close to where you live.
Teaching Adults In Further Education
Other part time job ideas for mums could be teaching school leavers and adults in further education in places such as technical colleges. Before starting a family, if you worked in a profession where you gained professional qualifications or you had a particular trade, why not consider training young adults in that profession or trade.
Some part time roles like this are paid by the hour and you could only work a few hours each week. You could be helping young people towards apprenticeship, training adults to achieve NVQs at various levels or training staff towards professional qualifications.
If you have a spouse or babysitter who is available in the evenings, some course could be taught as night school courses but otherwise, technical colleges generally operate during term times. This means you get summer holidays and other holidays off to spend time with your children while they are off school, too.
Home Carer
If you are interested in helping people around the home, part time job ideas for mums could be working as a carer in someone’s private home. Depending on training and qualifications, this could be helping older or vulnerable people with tasks such as washing, cleaning and preparing meals to administering medicines.
Term Time Jobs
In an ideal world, perfect part time job ideas for mums would be those where you can work during term time. That means you are at work whilst your child is at school and you have the school holidays free to look after them and spend quality time with them.
They might not be easy to find, but slowly, more and more employers are offering part time flexible working hours where you can work term time and perhaps work a few hours from home during school holidays.
Of course, another option is to try and land yourself part time jobs that are based in or around schools. Even better if this is your child’s school so that you are getting the same school holidays. What are the types of jobs you could do that would tally with school hours and school holidays?
- School receptionist – If you are an organised person with previous administrative experience, working as a school receptionist could suit you down to the ground. School receptionists have a range of duties and, depending on the size of the school, you could be working as part of a team or working alone.
- School graphics assistant – Teachers’ duties are many and these days, many schools hire graphics assistants to help lighten the load of teachers. As a graphics assistant, you are usually responsible for photocopying and creating pamphlets and booklets – whatever teachers and the school needs to be given to pupils and parents.
- School catering assistant – Part time job ideas for mums who enjoy being in the kitchen; perhaps working in the school kitchens could be an option.
- School catering manager – If you have previous experience, term time jobs could be working as a school catering manager. A passion for food and leadership qualities could see you leading the kitchen staff and taking charge of stock, deliveries and menus.
- School welfare assistant – If you are looking to work in term time and want to work just a few hours each week, term time part time job ideas for mums could be working as a school welfare assistant. Affectionately known as the ‘dinner lady,’ by many, you will be responsible for supervising children in the dining hall and outdoor areas and class rooms during the school lunch break.
- Before and after school club supervisor – Lots of schools now run before and after school clubs for children whose parents need to drop them at school early and pick them up after the school day has finished. These clubs need supervisors to run them and look after the children.
- School crossing patrol – Another term time job idea where, if this is at the same school as your child, you might not need to take childcare fees into consideration.
- School or college careers advisor – Work term time hours and help young people on their way to a career that is suitable for them.
- Student support officer or student counsellor – Especially in universities, students can sometimes feel overwhelmed. Away from home, managing their own finances and studies, surrounded by new people. Student support could be good part time job ideas for mums if you live close to further and higher education centres.
- Retail jobs – Many retail chains specifically look for staff to work part time flexible hours. Particularly larger chains, such as supermarket, could offer you part time flexible hours that you can fit around your child’s school hours.
Acting On Part Time Job Ideas For Mums
As well as just getting out there and applying for part time jobs, there are one or two things you can do to help get yourself on track and give yourself a bit of momentum.
If you are interested in school term time jobs, speak to teachers and other staff in the school. Get involved in school events such as fairs, school trips, plays or sports days. This will get you known in the school and you could be recommended for roles that come up within the school or in schools nearby.
If you are working with children or vulnerable people, you need to have a valid Disclosure and Barring Service certificate. If you had one in the past, these are valid for three years and can be reused so dig it out for and voluntary work or job applications you might be doing.
And finally, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want in interviews. If you apply for a job that doesn’t quite fit your criteria but you get an interview, that employer clearly wants to find out more about you. There are many top companies out there with good flexible working policies so don’t be afraid to ask about this in interview. Your interviewer will appreciate you being honest and upfront with them and this could result in you landing your ideal part time job.
So what are you waiting for? Wherever you are based in the UK, take a look at current part time vacancies in your locality or in your area of expertise and see if there is anything to suit you.
