Without question, to reenter the job market is a challenge that requires strategy to navigate. No matter the reasoning, whether you’ve started a family, took the time to care for an aging relative, re-invested in yourself by returning to school and finally finished that Master’s Degree or just needed to dedicate a portion of your life to traveling, cracking out the old resume takes patience.
Overcome the Bias.
Recruiters and ATS technology are directed to find the “best talent,” which means they rely on specific indicators to narrow the search. These indicators include recent dates, length of previous employment along with, specific acquired skills and job title. When reentering the job market these indicators are vital.
To help combat any stigma, job seekers need to communicate clearly and focus on the right indicators.
Reenter the Job Market – 4 steps to begin:
- Begin updating your skills before you start to look for a job: If you can, start padding your resume a few months before you want to start looking for a job. Volunteer, take an online course, investigate internships — do anything that can help fill gaps and reboot your resume.
- Create a resume that is functional rather than chronological: The key is to take the focus off precise employment dates. As professional resume writers, this is second nature to us, however, if you are planning to re-write your resume you’ll want to create headings that show the experiences, successes, and benchmarks and then list your achievements accordingly.
- Be courageous. A killer resume is a good first step, however, to land a great job, you gotta nail the interview. If you’re out of practice, consider hiring an interview coach. These highly skilled professionals are masters of streamlining your dialogue and presence once your foot is in the door.
- Be open to new experiences: The reality of reentering the work world is that you might have to make some compromises. Be open to part-time, project or contract work. These short-term jobs provide great experience and contacts that can help you land a job that is a perfect fit for you and all of the experiences you bring to the table.
What if they ask why I was away so long?
If asked about it, discuss your time away briefly. Don’t worry about the details. Emphasize your skills and work ethic rather than your time away. Sell yourself as a blank slate ready to jump in and work hard in a new work environment.
When applying and interviewing, you just have to showcase what you did, where you went, and most importantly, what you learned. It’s about communicating why you made those choices.
As always, we at Power Writers are here if you need a professional resume writer. We offer a free consultation, free resume review and free quotes. Bridging a time gap on your resume is technical, although with our expertise you are certain to enter the job search with a confident and direct resume.