Preparing to re-enter work force

[RainbowBrite]

I have been thinking a lot about when I re-enter the work force, and I find it incredibly daughnting. I just feel I do not have much to offer a potential employer.
All of my little ones will be in full time school by 2014. I have not been in paid employment for 4 years.
I am 38 and have 7 kids my eldest is 16, so I have been a SAHM for 16.5 years. I have had a lot of night jobs and weekend work, mainly in hospitality (bars, restaurants, service stations, lunch bars etc)
I have never had a full time job, never worked in an office situation or with clients.
I am a bit of a IT geek, so I am computer litterate.
I would really like to forge a career be able to use my brains and be able to move ahead and challenge myself.
It does not make for much of a resume. I don't want to go back to what I was previously doing as I did not find it challenging, it just paid the bills.
I have thought about uni, I would love to study photography (I am doing a home course) but that is another 4 years so I will be 45 when I finish ( I know that is not old, it is more a financial thing as well)
I am intelligent and if I was given a chance I can learn quickly and prove myself, but what can I do in the next few years to make my self more attractive as a future employee?
I would ideally love to go back to work now but the situation does not permit, so I want to spend the time doing what I can to be employable when I do.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
(sorry if it is all over the place, it was more organized in my head )

[krysalyss]

Can you do some volunteer work? That always looks great on your resume and you can sometimes do it from home in your own time.
What about some short courses? Something like website design is often in demand.

[Traveller]

It sounds like you have a lot of experience, and can certainly use that to demonstrate CV fillers such as excellent communication skills, adaptability to new tasks, customer service. Don't worry too much about the time out of the workforce as that is often the case with mature women, and there are still ways to make your application stand out (especially if you are willing to start lower down the ladder and work your way up).

Although you are computer literate already, would you consider doing an IT course at TAFE or through distance education? That would demonstrate that you are up to date with computing as well as demonstrate recent education and would open the doors to doing something that would push you intellectually a bit more, and you wouldn't necessarily have to start with the basics but could jump into something a bit more exciting.

Other options are volunteering in a field that interests you, to demonstrate people skills as much as anything. Helping at the school your older children attend can also be used to fill your CV and show that you have been busy in your time out of paid employment. Good luck

[RainbowBrite]

.
What about some short courses? Something like website design is often in demand.

I have done website design and know XHTML, CSS and can write it, I can apply changes to PHP and SQL but can't write it but unfortunately i have not got that all important certification (self taught) so it may be worth doing some courses.

It sounds like you have a lot of experience, and can certainly use that to demonstrate CV fillers such as excellent communication skills, adaptability to new tasks, customer service. Don't worry too much about the time out of the workforce as that is often the case with mature women, and there are still ways to make your application stand out (especially if you are willing to start lower down the ladder and work your way up).

Although you are computer literate already, would you consider doing an IT course at TAFE or through distance education? That would demonstrate that you are up to date with computing as well as demonstrate recent education and would open the doors to doing something that would push you intellectually a bit more, and you wouldn't necessarily have to start with the basics but could jump into something a bit more exciting.

Thank you for the reasurance. Happy to start lower and work my way up.
Again it comes down to being able to prove your credentials, so it looks like some courses are the way to go.
Maybe something I could look into next year. I just have to try and find time to fit it in.

[Phteven]

Look at job ads and learn the skills they ask for.

It would be useful if you could lean to use MYOB and also be able to use spreadsheets/excel.

[OceanPrincess]

I did an MYOB course through my local council-run learning centre, three hours a week for about 8 weeks I think. Wasn't too expensive - less than a thousand dollars I think - and I'm now qualified as a basic bookkeeper, apparently!

All sorts of things are out there.

Look into distance/correspondence education, short courses, the CAE... do some googling!

[Phteven]

I think I'm going to show this thread to DH. We have issues hiring admin staff. We always end up having to let them go because they spend more time on FB and arranging their social lives than working. I keep telling DH to hire a mature woman who is re-entering the workforce because IMO they're more likely to be ambitious and hard working than 22 year olds but he won't believe me.

Anyway, another thing to look into would be your council and state government programs - they often have initiatives to get women into work. So does the federal government. As well as discounted courses they often offer seminars in things like resume writing, interview skills and so on.
Also the Public service used to have public service exams. If they still do maybe you could sit it.

Also the careermums website might be worth a look.