Her Next Chapters

95. Back-to-School Season: Time for a Career Reset for Moms

• Christina Kohl

Share episode

Your next chapter starts now.

Back-to-school isn’t just for kids. I share what this season looks like in my home right now: a son starting his final semester of college, another settling into his first rental for sophomore year, and a daughter thriving in her first job as an Interior Designer. With the house, calendar, and routines shifting, I name the mixed emotions of this stage and offer a gentle, practical way to step into your own next chapter.

You’ll hear:

  • Real-life moments from this week that mark transition at home
  • The identity shift of motherhood across seasons: hands on, hands nearby, hands off
  • Why “empty nest” is a misnomer and how to see new space as capacity and choice
  • A permission slip to equip yourself too: maybe a fresh resume format, updated headshot, or a simple morning routine
  • 3 reflection questions to clarify what you want next
  • A 45-minute reset you can do tonight: clarity sprint with a job posting, quick resume top-third audit, and a low-pressure network nudge
  • An invitation to journal your answers and not white-knuckle these shifts alone

Resources mentioned:

Next week:
Labor Day, why it matters, and how to turn caregiving and volunteering into resume gold.

Keywords: back to school, empty nest, motherhood identity, career clarity, resume refresh, return to work, midlife career change, women’s career coaching






Christina:

Hi and welcome to Her Next Chapter's podcast. I'm your host, Christina Kohl. I'm a mom of three and soon to be an empty nester. I'm also a certified HR pro who restarted my career after being a stay-at-home mom for over a decade. I created this podcast to connect with moms who have an empty nest on the horizon and are wanting to redefine their identity outside of motherhood, which might include a job search. On this show we'll have raw conversations about our ever-changing roles as moms. We'll hear from women who restarted their careers and share tips for a job search after a career break. So if that's you, you're in the right place. Friend, let's get started. Hi, friends, and welcome back to Her Next Chapters.

Christina:

So this past weekend I cleaned out my craft table. You know the one you might have one yourself the drawer where the colored pencils go to multiply. So I have three kids, which means 15 first days of school, and every August I bought another pack because you know it's a new school year, you want to start fresh. And this weekend I gathered them all up, all those colors, and there was hundreds, if not more, and it really kind of hit me Like we keep restocking our kids for new year new pencils, new notebooks, new shoes. What about us? So I don't know about you, but my social media feed is full of first day pictures. So, backpack as big as their body, kindergartners, high schoolers playing it, cool college move-ins that require an SUV, a dolly and snacks for an army. So at my house it's a season of big shifts.

Christina:

My oldest is on day two of his final semester of college and my youngest is settled in his first rental house. He's waiting for his sophomore year of college to kick off next week. That was a very different move in than into a dorms, because it's an unvirtuous place. So that's a whole nother conversation. And then my daughter. I've got three kids. My daughter. She actually graduated last spring. So if you've been listening for a while, you've heard me talk about her graduation and she is absolutely loving her job as an interior designer. She is absolutely loving her job as an interior designer. So the house, with all these changes, and, to clarify, my oldest, two are living at home. So my daughter just graduated recently. She's looking at apartments and she'll be leaving the house before I know it. And my oldest is graduating soon. So he'll, as soon as he lands his career, job, you know he'll he'll have his transition period and be leaving home as well. Um, so my hope is that they don't all leave on the same day, cause that's a lot, but even still with them home. They have their own lives, their own schedules.

Christina:

It's rare that all of us sit down to the table for dinner together, it's just everyone's kind of coming and going doing their own thing. So the house sounds very different, feels very different, the calendar is different and obviously my role looks different. And if you're feeling that way too, you're not alone. You might have kids that are, maybe they're going to middle school for the first time, and that's a big shift. You're not at the elementary volunteering, you're not seeing all the other parents that drop off, and it's just a big shift, as your kiddo is getting older and before you know it, they're going to be in high school and looking at colleges and be like my kids going to college, whether they're on campus or living at home doing it.

Christina:

Time keeps going forward right, and through all of these phases, our role as mom, as parents, changes, and here's the thing that we don't say out loud enough when our kids start a new chapter, we do too. So motherhood is a lifetime of changing roles. Hands on, hands nearby, hands off, but you don't disappear as they grow right. We evolve too. Hands off, but you don't disappear as they grow right we we evolve too, and the space that opens up as our kids get more and more independent, it's not a void, it's not empty.

Christina:

That's kind of a misnomer, just like stay at home Mom, I think, is a miss. It is a bad description because when I was a stay at home mom I was a stay at home mom. The last thing I did was stay at home. We were busy on the go. My neighbor commented like how often they would see my SUV driving up and down our street throughout. You know, multiple trips in a day. Same thing with an empty nest. It doesn't have to be empty. The space that opens up is for you to fill. It's your choice. It's your next chapter tapping you on the shoulder choice. It's your next chapter tapping you on the shoulder.

Christina:

So do you guys remember and this may be fresh for you if you've just gone through it, because this episode is going live on August 20th, so it may be very fresh but the back to school shopping, especially when the kids were little, so new jeans, shoes that made them run faster, and a bonus if they lit up a hoodie they refused to take off. We made sure that they felt ready for who they were becoming. But what about us? Well, I'm here to give you a permission slip and ask what is your version of the new school wardrobe? Maybe it's a brand new colorful shirt that makes you feel alive and it makes you sit taller on Zoom calls. Maybe it's a cleaner resume format, an updated resume and a fresh headshot to go on your LinkedIn profile. Or maybe it's a new morning routine that includes 20 minutes of exercise before you start the rest of your day. It's a new season, new gear. It's for you.

Christina:

So I just want to name the swirl of emotions, at least the ones that I'm experiencing, and maybe you can relate to this too. So, as I'm launching my kids right that we're kind of in the middle of their launch all three of them I feel immense pride and relief and, honestly, a little grief. I miss when they were little. I miss the hugs and the sticky hands and the chubby cheeks and the kisses. So it's different. I still get hugs, maybe not the sticky hands, but I still get hugs and kisses and love, but I do miss that time when they're little.

Christina:

But I'm also filled with excitement and a little bit of fear. I'm still like some worry, like how are things going to turn out? Are they going to land a job? Where are they going to live? All of those things can happen at once and all can be true. And if you've spent years running the invisible operations of family life, stepping towards your own goals, it can feel strange. But, friend, that feeling is not a stop sign, it is a starting line.

Christina:

So take a breath and ask what did I put on hold that still matters to me? And ask what kind of work could make Monday mornings feel less like of a dread and more like excitement. And if I were modeling growth for my kids, what brave step would I take this week? So say your answers out loud, make them real, make them tangible, write them down, text them to a friend. We are not meant to white knuckle these identity shifts alone. And if you're like me and you're like listening where you're walking the dog that's when I usually listen to podcasts or maybe you're driving and running errands, maybe take time later and come back to this part, come back to this episode and use these questions as journal prompts and take time to this part. Come back to this episode and use these questions as journal prompts and take time to write down your answers.

Christina:

And then, while we're getting practical and writing things down, if you are ready to return to the paid workforce, maybe you've been at home for a while with your kids and raising your family, or maybe you're working but you're just ready to make a change in your current career. Here's a simple 45 minute reset you can do tonight. So clarity sprint. Grab a job posting you actually like, circle the skills and results they care about and then list three stories from your life that match, whether it's paid or unpaid, from home or the office. If you let it, fixed it, coordinated it or improved it, it counts. And then next, a quick resume audit. Find your current resume and ask does the top third tell the truth about who I am now and what I want in my next role? Take the time to update your headline to match the role that you want and then just rewrite one fluffy sentence and make it one that's a punchy with bullets, with action, scope and result. So give context through numbers.

Christina:

Okay, and so this. This is just really brief, high level right. Just a little bit just to get you started. And then, finally, a networking nudge Another, take another, as my notes say 15 minutes, but honestly this can take you two minutes. Think of people that you haven't talked to in a while, that you want to connect with, and just send them a message. Just, I was thinking about you and wanted to check in and see how you're doing, just something to say hello. Just start reaching out to your network because, friends, you have a network. It might feel like it's gone dormant, but it is there waiting for you to tap in. So just take a few minutes, send a couple texts to say hello and maybe see if you can set up time to get together. These small steps will help move you forward into your next chapter. You don't need a 20-hour plan to take a 20-minute action. You got this.

Christina:

Before we close, I want to share a couple moments from this week. So, with my oldest, we are planning a celebration trip for when he graduates college, and so he and I spent a couple hours yesterday and he has the whole document and all the links and all the things, of all the things that he wants to do. So that has just been really fun and something we've been dreaming of for years. Mom, take a look and on her phone or photos of her first project where she's been the lead designer and the whole kitchen remodel is done and it's absolutely stunning and gorgeous. And for her to see her ideas come to life is just amazing. It's just kind of like parenthood right. Seeing our kids follow their dreams is just such a really neat thing. So that was really cool with her. And then my youngest seeing him settle into his rental very different than the dorm situation, like I said, a lot more independence and you guys, it's been such a blessing. He has called me probably three or four times just to talk and we've had the best conversations. And he's not even in the house anymore. We're having all these conversations more so than we did when he was living here and just down the hall. So these moments, these little moments along the way, have reminded me that my job has always been to equip them and cheer them on, and today I'm reminding myself and you to equip and cheer on ourselves too. Right, we need to be that for ourselves and friends.

Christina:

If you want to nudge, I'm offering a limited number of free resume reviews this month, only for podcast listeners. We will look at your headline, your top bullets, how to translate unpaid work into strong accomplishments. Basically, it's your back to school supply kit for your career. So if you are interested in that, grab your spot via the link in the show notes. There's only a couple of these spots available, so grab it quick. And if you want deeper support and accountability, I am here for you. My one-on-one coaching has a couple of spots open for the fall. We'll make sure to get you clear, current and moving in the direction of your next career.

Christina:

For your next chapter, check the link in the show notes if you're interested in learning more. All right, well, thanks for being with me here today. Share this with a friend who's in the thick of back to school transitions and make sure you're subscribed, because next Wednesday we're going to be talking about Labor Day, why it matters and how unpaid labor powers careers. Why it matters and how unpaid labor powers careers. We will turn caregiving and volunteering into resume gold. All right, friends, that is it for this week's episode. I will talk to you next time. Thank you so much for listening today. I hope this episode hit home for you and, if you haven't already, be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn and say hello, so I can personally thank you for listening. Until next time, remember, your story is uniquely your own, and your next chapters are ready to begin.