The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “Balance for Better” which officially takes place on Friday 8 March and calls for a more gender-balanced world. In the lead up to the day, Jenny Jones took the time to sit down with us and talk about balancing motherhood and business.

Jenny’s career at Capstone started in 2013, joining as an inaugural team member of the Melbourne office she is now Associate Director of Property & Development, Victoria. With over 15 years of property specific recruitment experience, Jenny has a wealth of knowledge across multiple disciplines spanning property and development. In this Q&A Jenny discusses re-entering the workforce after having 3 children, challenges faced and transferable skills honed as a mother. 

1. Have you been able to achieve work-life balance? 

I don’t know many people that would be able to confidently say yes to that question. I think like myself, most people are in a constant state of limbo somewhere between the two. Trying to keep the equilibrium can be challenging! The important thing is to be able to recognise when the balance isn’t there and you become too weighted to one and to take a slight step back and try to put things in place to rectify it.

2. How do you try to manage work and life well? 

I wanted to continue having a successful career when I decided to have three children. It was equally important to make sure I enjoyed the whole process of having a baby and knew that in order to keep the balance I would need support. As we don’t have family locally, we decided to take on a live-in au pair which enables both my husband and I to be a bit more flexible with our hours.

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“The whole ethos that I try to remember is that in order to be the best person I can be, I need to put a focus on all parts of my life; my work, my relationship and the bit that’s easy to forget when you become a mum, me.”

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3. What advice would you give women who are re-entering the workforce after having a baby?

Try not to worry about it too much! I know I did, particularly with my first. I questioned my ability and if I could still hold an adult conversation. Your vocabulary feels like it’s halved in the time you have been off work! However, the truth be told I actually felt more confident having had children, you have so many more life skills which make you a more rounded, efficient and more understanding person.

One thing I would say however is don’t settle. When I was on maternity leave after my first child I was anxious about going back to work, I questioned my value, I didn’t think the work environment could give me the flexibility I needed. I knew I didn’t want to spend time away from my son for a job I wasn’t passionate about. I put my concerns aside about my ability and joined Capstone while I was on maternity leave, helping them establish the Melbourne office in 2013. It was a risk and quite high pressure but it massively paid off. There are not many days I don’t enjoy going to work, I love the people I work with and I feel proud to work for such an engaging and high performing business.

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“These are the reasons I feel happy to drop my kids off at day-care, knowing I love what I do, and it is making me a better version of myself and in turn, a better mother.”

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4. What are the most important strengths mothers bring to a business?
Having returned from maternity leave I can compartmentalise things better than before. I am aware that while my job is important, I don’t overanalyse things as much as I once did or get overwhelmed in situations as easily. I am more confident in my ability and recognise where I can add value. I think being a mother has a number of transferable skills, one of which is time management. Coming back to work I feel like even though I have less time, I am far more productive. Which is ultimately positive for me and the business.

5. Who inspires you and why? 
My mum is one of my main inspirations; she was a stay at home mum with three kids and it’s only now, having had kids myself that I realise how selfless she was and what a tough job that would have been!

Jenny Jones is a specialist Property & Development recruitment consultant working within our Property Division. Jenny focusses on managing mid to senior level search opportunities, specifically property and development roles with institutional groups, through to boutique private development clients. Get to know Jenny by connecting with her via LinkedIn or by email.