Returning to the workforce after time off can feel exciting and invigorating, but it can also feel scary and daunting. The job market and the business world both move at a quick pace, and the job search might be different from what you were used to the last time you were working on your career.
Whether you took time off to care for a family member, to raise your kids, to travel the world, or for any other reason, use these tips to break back into the workforce in the best way possible. With a strong job search strategy, you’ll get back to work quickly.
1. Stick to Your Old Career Path
You might think that now is the perfect time to reinvent your career and choose a different path to follow, but this may make your job search much more difficult. Returning to the workforce is tough enough on its own, but it’ll be nearly impossible if you’re trying to enter a new business sector that you’re unfamiliar with and aren’t qualified for.
You built up specific work experience in the past, and you have this experience to put on your resume and to market yourself to potential employers, so it might be best to stick with what you know for now, and make a career change later on.
2. Take Inventory of Your New Skills and Experience
Sure, you haven’t earned a pay cheque in a while, but that doesn’t mean that you haven’t gained some skills during your time off. If you travelled the world, then maybe you picked up some new languages along the way. If you took a few years off to raise your kids, then you probably perfected some transferable skills from being a parent, such as multitasking, organization, and interpersonal skills. You may have done some volunteer work, joined the PTA, or taken part in other groups that you can also highlight as experience.
3. Brush up on Your Skills
In the business world, if you don’t keep up with trends, new best practices, and new technologies, you become irrelevant and out of date very quickly. Before returning to the workforce, brush up on your skills. Take a computer class, take some free online courses, and take advantage of volunteer opportunities in your field.
You can check out job postings online in your area of expertise to see if any there are any new required skills you need to learn and new technologies you need to become familiar with.
4. Network, Network, Network
If you’ve been out of the game for years, then it’s absolutely critical that you have people on your team that will be able to help you out when returning to the workforce. You’ll need as much support as you can get. Get in touch with old supervisors and colleagues. There might be a job opening at your old company. These contacts might be able to give you job leads. Or they might be able to give you testimonials, job letters, or recommendations, which can help you get noticed by potential employers.
You can also make an effort to reconnect with old clients, vendors, or alumni for job leads and advice. Family and friends may also be a great resource.
5. Don’t Hide Your Time Off
Hiring managers often see a gap in work experience as a red flag. So you don’t want to just exclude those years from your resume. Fill in the experience section with any volunteer work or educational courses that you took during that time. Certainly do not lie to fill in the space, though. It may also be best to use a functional resume rather than a chronological one in order for potential employers to notice your skills first, rather than the gaps in your work history.
During the interview, there’s no need to apologize for your time off, either. Be confident and showcase what you did and what you learned during those years, but don’t dwell on it.
Contact Liberty Staffing for help returning to the workforce.
