Tips When Returning to the Workplace

Gaps in employment can occur for many reasons.  These can be planned or unplanned gaps.  Planned gaps may include taking time out to travel the world, maternity leave, relocation, full time education, staying at home to bring up children, voluntary redundancy.  Unplanned gaps may result from employment being terminated, compulsory redundancy, economic downturns, caring for an ill family member or close friend, contract roles being cut short.  As gaps occur, it can be useful to have some tips when returning to the workplace.

The reasons for employment gaps are many and varied.

The reasons for gaps are many and varied.  The common denominator of all employment gaps is the challenge of returning to work for the individual.

Tips When Returning to the Workplace include:

Be familiar with your profession

If your employment gap has been for an extended period of time, take the time to research your profession.  Be familiar with the key changes and updates that have happened while you have been out of employment.

Build your confidence

The most common difficulty is lack of confidence.  Modern society use work to define people and this can damage confidence when work situations pause.  Lost confidence takes time to build up again.  However, it is possible to do so.  Take the time to work on this before entering the application process to maximise your chances.  There is a lot of writing and advice in this area.  One individual who has produced useful and practical information is Pat Divilly.  Pat is an impressive motivational speaker and has a lot of useful detail within his podcast series which can give you practical tips in this area.

Update your skills

This is not always necessary and will depend on how long you have been absent from your profession.  If you discover that your skills are out of date when returning to the workplace, you will be best advised to work on updating them as you apply for jobs.  Some skills will take longer to obtain.  That is ok.  Make a start anyway.  At interview, it will be more impressive to state what you have started to study, rather than on what you “intend” to study.

Research the current market

Take the time to familiarise yourself with the job market in your desired location.  Find out who the key recruitment agencies are in your field and make contact with them.  Build relationships with established professional recruiters who can guide you along and support you in your return to work.

Create an updated CV

Relevant and well-presented CVs will get you interviews for relevant jobs.  This is the purpose of a CV.  Remember that when you are creating a CV to ensure that your updated CV produces maximum results for you in your job searching efforts.

Work on interview technique

Interviews are daunting for most people, regardless of whether they are in employment or not.  Interviews are also competitive and employers want to ensure they hire the right person for the job.  Have a read here to find out more about preparing for an interview.

Apply for relevant jobs only

Returning to the workplace can be daunting and it is vital to keep focused on your goal.  There can be a tendency amongst people to apply for a large volume of jobs as they think it will maximise their chances of getting a job.  This does not work.  A high volume of irrelevant applications waste your valuable time.  Apply to relevant jobs every time you send an application and you will maximise your success.  Relevant applications with relevant CVs result in interview requests and job offers.  This is the goal!

Remember your worth

You have a skill set that is valuable.  Remember that as you approach this.  If you need further tips when returning to the workplace, feel free to get in touch.  Aspire Recruitment is focused on supporting your career aspirations and we are well placed to support you in your efforts.