Have you been out of the workforce for a period of time and now are ready to re-enter? Don’t worry – it’s not that uncommon these days to go back to work after a period away! Many moms take a hiatus after having a baby and then go back to work. Or, life circumstances change, you get a divorce and need to go back to work after being home. Here are some tips for preparing:
Holes in your resume: During an interview you may be asked about time lapses in your resume. Don’t be too concerned. If you have been out staying home with children or an elderly parent, a short quick answer will do. You can simply say, “taking care of family” or “staying home with children” and leave it at that. The interviewer should drop the subject right there. It is not relevant to the job to ask any more. No big deal!
Interviewing Skills: Brush up on your interviewing skills. Have a friend ask you questions. Get ready with the basic questions like, what are your strengths and weaknesses. Also check out our page on Interview Tips to learn about Behavioral Interviewing. Many organizations are using this strategy to determine whether or not someone is a good fit.
Translate activities into Job Skills: Think about how your activities during your time away from the workforce can translate into useful skills in the workplace. Have you been juggling lots of activities? Well, you have good organizational skills. How did you keep track of it all? Did you work with the PTA? Did you coordinate a car pool or use a computer to keep stats for a softball league? All of these things can translate into workplace skills that you can highlight in an interview.
Have a Positive Attitude: Make sure that you have the right attitude! Know that you have the skills and abilities that an organization would be lucky to have. Use eye contact during the interview to show how confident you are.
Start Slowly: If you’ve got some time before you really need to jump back in with both feet, try to do some freelance work first. That way you can start slowly and a lot of times can work from home. You can also add the projects to your resume.
Update your Resume: – and don’t forget the activities that translate to the workplace – add them under a “Skills” section. See how to write a great objective statement in the article from last month DOWN WITH THE OBJECTIVE
Invest in a new interview suit: You don’t have to spend a lot of money. You’ll want to feel your best and having a nice new suit that fits well and is up to date will help. Just find something basic and fairly plain. Interview tip books always tell you to stick with navy. I think that any basic color that makes you feel good is fine. If you are interviewing with a more creative organization you can always add a more colorful top underneath the jacket to add some personal flair.
Send that Resume!: Send your resumes to lots of places. If you get called for an interview for a job that you are not particularly interested in go anyway. It will give you some practice for when you get the call for that job that you REALLY want!
RELAX! The right opportunity will come along.
Are You Ready to ReEnter The Workforce Back to Work Strategies that Work - To learn more about this author, visit Kirsten Ross's Website.
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Kirsten Ross
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For years, career women have heard that it’s fine for them to quit their jobs in order to become stay-at-home moms. They’re told that it’s the best thing for their children and eventually they can make their way bac...
