Congratulations! So you’ve decided to make a leap back into the workforce after having a baby (or two!).

Millions of moms have known for years that you can manage the two and do it without being burnt out and without sacrificing quality time with your family.

In fact, most working mothers report that their life is much more rewarding because they have the best of both worlds. How do they do it?

If you want to get back into the workforce what you really need to do is find a good, flexible job that allows you to have time for your family and still bring in some extra money.

The problem is there are a lot of scam artists out there tying to sell you jobs that aren’t legitimate.

How do you separate fact from fiction? Simple. Good flexible jobs have several characteristics in common.

You should look for these characteristics when considering any job offers that come your way as you prepare to re-enter the workforce:

Short Commute – You want a job that you don’t have to spend more than 20-30 minutes getting to on any given day. Why? You will cut back on the amount of time you spend driving and increase the amount of quality time you are spending with your family. Unless you are the primary breadwinner in the family, there is no reason for you to be driving more than 30 minutes to work every day. You’ll simply be wasting time and energy.

Flexible Not Rigid Schedule–Now you’ll have a hard time finding a job that will let you come in whenever you want and work for as many hours that you want on any given day. However you can find a job that might allow you to work flexible hours certain days of the week, or even work four days per week instead of five. You should also look for a position that allows some flexibility if you need to take a longer lunch break to say, take a sick child to the doctor or pick someone up from daycare. If your employer is going to meet you at the door at 5 o clock to make sure you don’t leave a minute early, then your job isn’t flexible and you need to find something else.

Work Hours and Pay are Compatible – Don’t go for a job that requires that you work 60 hours per week and only pays you for 40. Your money is hard earned, and every dollar you make is time spent away from your family. Because of this it is important that you get the most ‘bang for your buck’ and find a job that pays decently and requires that you work a reasonable amount of hours every week.

Benefits – Always look to see that a job offers you some kind of benefits. Even if you are only going back part time, many employers now offer perks and some benefits to their part time employees. If you don’t think the benefits are reasonable, ask for more. You never know what an employer is willing to give to attract high quality candidates such as yourself.

You’ll want to avoid jobs that are obviously scams. If a job sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You want to be sure to do your homework when it comes to working.

There are hundreds of jobs out there that target moms looking to stay at home, and many of them aren’t legitimate.

If you’re not sure, call your local better business bureau to ensure that the company is legitimate, and at the very least ask for references… then check them!

You can find a great job and still enjoy time with your kids, as long as you keep in mind the above points when searching for a career!