Start your return to work after a career break with online quizzes

You want answers right?

Before kids you could easily talk about your career strengths and skills and had a clear career path, but after a few years out of the workplace being a multitasking goddess of motherhood, your brain is finding it difficult to give you the inspiration you need to get your head back in the game.

Well, I have a solution for you!

If, like me, you loved taking the quizzes in teenage magazines that you hoped would give you the answers to life (lol!), then you will enjoy kicking off your career comeback by taking some free online career assessments.

So here I share the 4 best career quizzes that I regularly recommend to mums who want to start thinking about heading back to work after kids.

Who am I now?

A common feeling among mums who have taken time out of their career is that they’re not sure who they are now. They’re no longer a ‘career girl’, but still have career aspirations. They no longer want to shoulder the responsibilities of having a ‘high-flying’ job, yet want to do meaningful work. In the world of return to work coaching, we call this ‘identity shift’ and one way to work through the confusion is by reflecting on your current persona.

For a description of who you are and why you do things the way you do, head here: https://www.16personalities.com/

How do I know what I want?

Returning to work with confidence involves working out what you stand for and need in a career to gain job satisfaction through doing meaningful work. In career coaching speak, we summarise this as ‘Career Values’ and a useful multiple choice quiz to help determine the work values you value most is: https://www.123test.com/work-values-test/

What have I got to offer?

To help you look at job ads strategically, you’ll need a response to the question ‘what am I good at?’. This is the best free strengths assessment and report out there and will point you in the direction of being able to articulate what you’re brilliant at and what jobs/careers will enable you to do what lights you up: https://www.loveandwork.org/standout

Which direction should I take? If you’re thinking a career change may be on the cards, then you’ll want to know what your transferable skills are and how you can apply them to different contexts. A skills health check to identify your personal and work-based skills is a useful place to start: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/skills-assessment

What to do next

These quizzes provide you with a starting place from which you can start to make decision. However, further strategic reflection on your identified career personality, values, strengths and skills is what will really help you to gain the clarity, confidence and self-trust needed to make sure you get your career comeback right for you and your family.

**Click on the link to take a deeper dive into discovering your Core Career Values.