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Career Change

Changing Careers

Career Planning

Resigning

Redundancy

Returning To Work

Different Careers

Graduate Careers Advice

Returning to Work

Returning to work after a career break is never particularly easy. Whether you took time off to raise a family or to travel, or whether your career break was due to illness or redundancy, it can be hard to motivate yourself to get back into work mode. However, returning to work after a break can be seen as a good opportunity to find exactly the right job for you at this particular stage in your life.

Identify your skills

When you have been out of work for any period of time, you may worry that your skills are a little rusty. However, during your time off you might actually have acquired some new skills that may be transferable to the workplace. For example, any involvement in voluntary groups could have led to skills which you may find invaluable in the future. In addition, time spent bringing up a family can provide you with a wealth of experiences such as working to a budget and planning a hectic daily schedule.

Maximise your potential

If you think that you are still not going to be what potential employers are looking for, try researching exactly what skills and capabilities are required for the type of position that you hope to obtain and take any necessary training courses to give you those attributes. This is particularly important if you are using this break as an opportunity to completely change the direction of your career. You may find that you need to take a computer course to ensure that you are up to date with the latest mainstream software applications commonly used in most working environments. There could also be professional qualifications that you can study for which will put you in a much stronger position when applying for jobs in a new industry sector. Whatever you decide to do, it is important that you show potential employers that you have not been idle during your career break and that you have some knowledge of the industry that you wish to enter, even if this has only been acquired through reading newspapers or relevant industry publications.

Prepare yourself for lifestyle changes

Having been out of the workplace for some time, you may find that you have settled into a comfortable routine that involves sleeping in, having lunch with friends and staying up late!  This will all change once you return to work and it is important that you are prepared for the impact that this will have on you and your family. It is also possible that the commitments that you now have in your personal life need to be taken into account when applying for jobs so part-time or flexible hours may be worth considering.

Sell yourself effectively

Once you have made the decision to return to work, do everything you can to make your job search as easy as possible. Arguably the most important thing to do is to have a new CV prepared that really brings together the skills and experiences you have gained both before and during your career break. It is not always necessary to include in the CV the reasons for your career break but you should write a powerful letter that explains this and also details why you have decided that now is the right time for you to return to work. It is important that you let potential employers know that you have not lost your competitive edge during your period of unemployment and that you can offer them the skills and attributes that they are looking for.