Hey mama, it’s been years since you worked, and you’re terrified no one will hire you
Getting a job at any stage of your career is challenging, but if you’re a mum returning to work, that challenge is compounded by multiple factors.
Chances are, you’re struggling with one or more of the following:
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You have NO IDEA where to start: you’ve been out of the workforce for so long that the industry has completely changed, you don’t know what your career options are, and you’re worried you’ve left it too late and won’t get a look in.
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You’re EMBARRASSED about your career gap: your confidence has nosedived, you haven’t looked at your LinkedIn profile in years, your skills are rustier than the Tin Man, and the last time you looked for a job, AI only existed in science fiction.
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You’re STRESSED about AI: whether to use it, how to use it, and you’re wondering if AI is filtering out your application before it ever gets seen by a human.
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You’re OVERWHELMED due to information overload: you’ve gotten so much contradictory advice from family, friends, ex-colleagues, Facebook mums, and ChatGPT, that you have zero clue about what will actually get you a job.
If you said, “Oh my god, yes!” to any (or all) of the above, you are in the right place.
Who I work with
Hi, I’m Ashlynn! I help mums with a large career gap like yours to confidently tackle the job hunt so you can bypass the bots, land more interviews, and get the job you want faster.
You’ve already tried the obvious
By this point, you have:
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Run your resume through ChatGPT or Claude (no shame - we’ve all done it!). BUT, deep down, you suspect this vague, formulaic-sounding version of your work history won’t actually get you more interviews.
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Skimmed a few jobs on Seek or Indeed. BUT between the lack of flexible options and jargon-filled job descriptions, it's really hard to tell if you're qualified (or if your ideal role even exists!).
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Asked your friends, AI, and random mums on Facebook groups how to frame your resume gap, how to talk about your work history, and how to get recruiters to notice you. BUT every piece of advice is different, contradicted by another, and not really reflective of YOUR experience.
The crazy thing is, you haven’t really had a problem getting jobs before, so you’re left wondering why it feels so much harder now. You used to be confident about what you brought to the table, but now you can’t even remember what you’re good at. You know you’re worth more, but you’re worried you’ll have to start again at the bottom of the corporate ladder, for lower pay. You’ve heard employers only hire young workers, and you’re so scared of rejection. And the part that’s really aggravating? KNOWING that you’re awesome but not being able to make anyone else see it. You’re so frustrated that you want to throw your phone across the room and scream into a pillow (no? Just me?).
It’s okay, I’ve got you.
I’ve been there
When I had my second baby during COVID, I stepped back from running my own small business to focus on raising my kids.
Sooner than I was ready for, the rising cost of living forced me to look for a part-time office job with a steady income so I could help support my family.
However, years of isolation and not working had dented my confidence. Despite some solid work experience, I had a 4-year gap on my resume, and I thought that meant I couldn’t compete on the same level as other candidates. I was worried I would sound weaker in interviews. I believed everyone else was judging me for not being serious about my career.
And on top of that, I was facing a whole new world where AI was now the gatekeeper, job applicants were ghosted 99% of the time, and all the rules of networking had seemingly changed overnight.
I felt EXHAUSTED before I’d even started.
With my previous experience as a career coach and resume writer, I knew exactly how difficult it could be to get a job, AND exactly what I needed to do to make sure my own job search would be successful:
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I knew which keywords to highlight in my applications to help beat the bots, AND how to back up my claims convincingly to the human who received it.
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When I didn’t hear back on applications, I knew how to reach out AND how to increase my chances of getting a response, so that I wasn’t left in limbo.
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When I spoke to hiring managers, I knew which questions to ask to get the information I needed, AND how to make a great impression so I’d be remembered.
Because of this, only 3 months, 41 applications, and 2 interviews later, I managed to get a part-time admin job. Yay!
But this experience made me realise how much more difficult it must be for mums who don’t know what I know.
What makes this different from general career coaching
In this economy, regardless of your preference, being a stay-at-home mum is no longer a choice, but a luxury many of us simply can’t afford.
Unfortunately, our patriarchal capitalist society isn’t set up to support (let alone celebrate) working mums. Choosing between your career and motherhood comes with a multitude of impossible expectations, prejudices, and a truckload of guilt. Women of our generation have been told they can have it all, only to fall short of these expectations and then face endless mansplaining for getting it wrong.
But you aren't behind because you are less capable, less intelligent, less deserving, or less committed to your career.
You were simply never taught the rules of the game.
General career coaching tends to focus on your branding, your documents, your online presence. And while these approaches aren’t wrong, exactly, they tend to overlook the unique circumstances that mums with a career gap face in a very crowded, competitive job market.
When you work with me, I don’t rely solely on resume updates, outreach strategies, or mock interviews (though we do cover all those things!). I go beyond simply handing you the tools of your job search and instead focus on a whole-of-system approach:
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I dive deep with you to help you understand what the job search rules are and how the system is stacked against you, so you can play the game to YOUR advantage.
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I help you decide which skills (including the invaluable ones you gained in motherhood) are best placed to give you an EDGE in a crowded market, so you can strengthen every application.
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I teach you not only when and how to use tried-and-tested job search strategies, but WHY they work, so you can problem-solve your way out of any stuck point.
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Ashlynn helped me dig beneath the surface
"I was struggling with direction mostly, but I didn't know where to start looking. Ashlynn helped me dig beneath the surface of what was holding me back and view my own abilities more positively, which in turn has presented me with more options than I thought I had. Now, I understand how to pitch myself for success without sabotaging myself! Many thanks!!!" - Kate Bukovac
Why you can trust me with this
For the last eight years, my specialty has been helping people with their job search: writing resumes and cover letters and coaching them to reach the next stage of their careers. I’ve worked with almost 400 clients across all industries, from students to executives. I know how to get a recruiter’s attention, how to speak to potential employers in THEIR language, and how best to answer the most common (read: hated) interview question: “So, tell me about yourself?”
Now, I offer one-on-one coaching to mums with a career gap so they can feel confident heading into the job search. As a mum of two who went on my own return-to-work journey, I understand:
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How difficult it is to prioritise the job hunt when there’s a mountain of dirty dishes piled in the sink and eighteen other things on your to-do list.
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How scary it is to put yourself out there and ask a LinkedIn acquaintance for a referral when you’d prefer to build a Lego spaceship with your kid.
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How demoralising it is to hear absolute silence from the last ten applications you submitted when you know that you’re the perfect fit for those jobs (even though you suspect the hiring manager went for the easy candidate who didn’t have to explain a career gap).
And because I know all these things, YOU should know that I am just as committed to your job search as you are. I’ve been in that boat, I’ve felt all the feelings - loneliness, isolation, fear, resentment, embarrassment - and I am here to help you shift back into that more confident version of yourself with everything you need to get a job.
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I was struggling with self-confidence
"I was struggling with self-confidence and the daunting task of applying and interviewing for jobs. You gave me a fresh perspective, and it really gave me the boost of confidence I needed. Thank you." - Andrea Toro
What this shift actually looks like
I stepped away from my career to raise two beautiful children. And when I needed a job again, I realised my confidence had tanked. Not just because the job market had fundamentally changed (it had), or because I was worried about AI (I was), but because I thought the only things I could bring to an application or an interview were skills and experiences I hadn’t touched in years.
I linked my professional value solely to my previous career.
It wasn’t until I sat down and mapped out my key strengths, hard and soft skills, and previous work achievements that I realised something that was staring me in the face: I actually had incredibly valuable skills that I used and honed Every. Single. Day:
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Communication and conflict resolution - AKA handling toddler meltdowns.
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Task prioritisation and time management - AKA getting everyone out the door on time every morning for daycare, school and work.
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Multitasking and efficiency - AKA managing laundry, meals, cleaning and life admin in between daily naps and snacks.
My patience, my ability to set boundaries, and my productivity have become so much SHARPER since I became a mother, and that is incredibly confidence-boosting.
I shifted my thinking away from the societal assumption that having a kid will hold you back in your career.
Instead, I decided to lean into the strengths that motherhood gave me. And this raised my confidence level from “no one’s ever going to hire me” to “I have a solid chance”. THAT is what I help my clients to do, and that’s what I want for you: not only to speak about your professional strengths in a way that resonates with recruiters and employers, but to recognise and accept within yourself that those strengths and skills that you started building all those years ago in your old job are still very much alive and well today.
A little about me
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My guilty tv pleasure is every season and spinoff of NCIS. I live by Rule #8 (IYKYK).
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My favourite hobby is making my kids’ birthday cakes. I can get sliiiightly carried away (like the time I just had to make a Transformers cake that actually transformed), but all the planning, late nights, and epic humidity battles are worth it when I see their ecstatic faces.
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Word games are my superpower (NYT Mini, Wordle, Quordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Scattergories & Bananagrams). But not cryptic crosswords. Ever. Screw that nonsensical sh*t.
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My favourite family holiday that we celebrate is Chinese (Lunar) New Year. Who doesn’t like dumplings and free money?
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My love language is tea (English breakfast, milk, no sugar). ‘Decaf’ is not a word that exists in my dictionary.
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I have a degree in Linguistics, which I’ve never used, but now am super grateful for because I get to bond with my 8-year-old over alliteration, compound words, and her favourite punny jokes (see what I did there?).
