Back to work? How to get back to work

You can only burn all day. Burning part-time because you have to race to the nursery afterwards is difficult. But being satisfied with your job, happy, happy because you have something that nourishes you financially, intellectually and socially - that's possible. And if you consider a few things when thinking about returning to work, it's even easier than you think.

1. take your time.

How long does it take you to decide to buy a house, a car, a lounge suite? Calculated in hours, including all the preliminary considerations, passive waiting time, discussion time with your partner? Exactly! Big changes need lead time, and that's how it should be when returning to work. If everyday life consumes you with baking cakes, changing winter tyres and checking homework, retreat to a monastery for three days. And think about nothing else but getting back to work. Why do advertising agencies work late into the night? Because they don't have a home? No, because the best ideas only come when you brood long enough.

2. sort your wishes.

It is important that you write down all your wishes first. It is just as important to sort them out. 15 hours a week, permanent employment, 5,000 francs is a bit like your son standing in a toy shop and demanding «a games console, a camera, a Lego Star Wars and a drone». How do you keep the «want-it-all» quiet? By sorting his wishes according to urgency and importance. In terms of my job, this means: I need a solid income first, further training to become a mediator can wait until I've found my feet in my job again ...

3. be honest with yourself.

And strict with your language. Even stricter than Miss Rottenmeier is to Heidi. It's easy to say «I want to work creatively», but do you really mean it? Do you want to work creatively - and be judged on this work, which will always be a part of your identity? Do you want to constantly deal with criticism, because creativity is not categorised as «right - wrong», but only as «like - don't like». Check every formulated wish for precision. Do you like to experience wellness (who doesn't?) or do you want to give others wellness? - Unfortunately, this is not at all a relaxing industry.

4 Not every hobby can be successfully turned into a profession.

Sure, reading is great. But recommending a crime novel to an undecided customer that she probably won't buy anyway can be very stressful. («Don't you have anything else like Donna Leon? No? Well, then I'll have another look. Thank you very much.») What's right in principle - looking at what you like to do, because that's usually what you do well - only works if there's a market for it. «Just do what you enjoy and then you'll be successful» is a fortune biscuit saying. Millions of DaWanda women know that this is not true. And Aristotle already knew it, even though he didn't know Dawanda yet: «Where your talents and the needs of the world intersect, there lies your calling.» Even felted music boxes are beautiful, but only very, very rarely do they promise to feed a family. So when looking for the right job, it's also about the question: how much reality, how much dreaming can/should/may I afford? But you can take comfort in the fact that any hobby that cannot be turned into a job can remain your hobby and is therefore not desecrated. So you have an activity that offers you a balance to your job. Not to be underestimated!

5. be prepared to undergo further training.

Maybe it's enough for you to vary the size of the company? Maybe you like the beehive atmosphere of a corporation and are fed up with the sticky, close-knit atmosphere of a family business (or vice versa). Maybe all you need is a little further training to make controlling more social, more human, more communicative, and you switch to internal auditing? It is simply not the years to find a completely new profession, but the honest question to oneself, how willing I am to continue my education, is absolutely necessary at the beginning.

6. independent means:

yourself + all the time. If you are thinking about becoming self-employed, there are many aspects to it that you don't think about at first: sales, acquisition, marketing. Would you like to advertise yourself or your product? Or do you need a colleague to support you? Have you familiarised yourself enough with modern media to know whether you want an SEO-optimised website? Or would you like to use Facebook as a sales partner? You don't need to have the answers to these questions now, but you do need to be prepared to deal with them.

7. find people who think differently.

Many people would like to have people in their team who think exactly like them. Wrong! Look for people who occupy the niches that you don't master, who shake you up, get you excited and help you move forward. You can have a good coffee with your best friend and agree with her. With colleagues in the team, it's more like colourful bird feathers: Many colours make a dress. So at the beginning, consciously look for colleagues who accept your framework conditions («we always take the big holidays off», «one person fills in for the other», «the profit is shared exactly» ...), but who think differently to you. Because you don't need a double-sayer, you need a complement.

8. don't be a torch that burns out quickly.

And if you have taken all the points into account, you will be pleased that you are not a torch that flares up or burns out quickly. It's a bit like the tea lights from Ikea at work: they always have the longest burning time. And nobody can get past them.
Image: Alexandra Dost / Lumi Images / Plainpicture

Three reasons why finding a job in Switzerland is so difficult

• Childcare: It is important to set the organisational course early on. Can the parents/parents-in-law help out? Can the husband reduce his working hours by a few per cent? There is often no other way to finance childcare time. But perhaps you can make a virtue out of necessity and become a childminder? www.kibesuisse.ch/tagesfamilien

• Like many other neighbouring European countries, Switzerland has little that is American in its work culture. Failure is still bad! This makes it all the more important to make a deviation from the professional path appear as logical and comprehensible as possible in your CV. Otherwise, as a former carpenter who now wants to become a debt counsellor, you will be highly educated - but unbelievable.

• Switzerland is still a large country of immigration. But unlike in the 1970s, when employees were mainly sought for the construction industry, highly qualified academics are also sought today. However, the sector plays a decisive role here. Foreigners, for example, find it difficult to gain a foothold in social institutions, especially if they have an unorthodox background. This must be taken into account when looking for the right job. After all, the best job is worth nothing if you don't get hired.

About the person

Katrin Wilkens is a journalist and founded the Hamburg agency i.do together with Miriam Collée. There they advise women who want to change careers. www.i-do-hamburg.de