Your 5-Part Strategy To Reenter The Paid Job Market After A Hiatus

I’ll admit it, I’m a sporadic health nut – also known as a yo-yo dieter. I go through bursts of motivation where I cook every meal, guzzle a gallon of water a day, and work out four to five times a week, but within two months I’m back to junk food and deep-fried everything. The older I get, the harder it is to start again after I’ve fallen off the wagon. Not only is it an issue of motivation, but it’s also the feeling of failure I get from quitting and feeling even further behind.

These days, more and more women want to return to the job market after a hiatus on their own terms, but they feel left behind and lacking in motivation, just as I do when I think about getting healthy again. Whether it was due to the pandemic, burnout, overall career dissatisfaction, or a life event, they took a break, and now they’re wondering about the years of impact they might have sacrificed. There may be thousands of positions open, but that has nothing to do with you unless those roles meet your needs. The job market is a rat race, but it doesn’t have to be if you reengage with an organized plan of action that makes sense for your current career needs, level of experience, and long-term goals.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the American labor force is projected to reach 163.5 million people in 2022. Now is an incredible time to rejoin the job market if you’ve been on a long absence. Utilize these tips for returning to the office when you’re ready to get your career back into full swing.

1 | Assess Your Needs

Today’s employees have shifted their entire career outlook. People who had never heard of a hybrid work schedule or a fully remote work position now can’t imagine their lives without one. The “laptop lifestyle” has been promoted for years to entrepreneurs and side hustlers, but some organizations never gave the option to their employees until now. The state of women and WOC in the workplace is especially changing, as women find new opportunities that balance the role of wife, mother, and or caregiver.  

So, what are your requirements for your next job? I challenge you to take an inventory of what you need to meet the requirements of your lifestyle and goals. Take inventory of how your needs have changed since you were last in the workforce.

You may not know exactly what you are looking for but, based on your past work experience, you probably know exactly what you don’t want. Building a career brand and establishing yourself as an industry subject matter expert gives you more flexibility, role options, and negotiation power.

2 | Enter with Confidence

You might have been out of the workforce for a while, but that doesn’t mean you are less valuable. If you’re feeling low on confidence, go back to that highlight reel to remind yourself of your accomplishments and the results you have gained in your industry. It’s important to rebuild your self-worth to help eliminate the fear of invisibility. Believe that your industry has missed out on your contribution, and you’ll start to internalize that feeling. Confidence is contagious.

3 | Reconstruct Your Network

Nurture the old and invest in the new. Hopefully, during your time away you continued to keep in contact with at least one industry colleague. The more seasoned you are in the corporate rat race, the more you realize how important connections are. Did you know that 88% of employers say referrals are the best source of candidates? When I decided to take a break from full-time entrepreneurship to restructure my business, what brought me back was a push from a former coworker who had a lead on a “perfect opportunity” for me. And, she was right.

Due to her referral, there wasn’t a long exhausting interview process, and I was hired within a week. The job checked all my boxes, and the organization was well aware of my business and didn’t care as long I fulfilled the requirements of my employment. One of the best ways to reenter the workforce after a long absence is to lean on your network. People in your industry who know you want to help you. And those who don’t know you? Well, they could be an excellent point of contact for your next opportunity. Networking matters.

4 | Update Your Skills

A great way to build confidence when rejoining the job market is by upgrading your skills. Dust off old skills and develop new ones – depending on how long you’ve been out of the game. There are many online certification courses, intensives, and masterclasses to choose from. Technology is and will always be a fundamental part of every job. Increase your personal value by learning new software, code, tech-based tools, etc.

If 2020 taught us anything, it was how quickly the workforce can change, and how we must be able to adapt. Being an industry expert means that you remain up-to-date on industry changes and are able to implement them, so you and your organization can ultimately benefit.   

5 | Hire Help If Necessary

If you feel lost, frustrated, or not seeing results from your job search efforts, hiring a career coach might be the perfect solution when you need help getting back to work. Even the most successful six- and seven-figure entrepreneurs and celebrities have a coach to help them with roadblocks to their next level of goals, so you should think of yourself as no different. It can take a while to wrap your head around deferring to someone else for guidance, but once you find the right one and set proper expectations, it’s a win-win. Seeking knowledge only makes you more valuable.

Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all method to rejoining the workforce after an absence. Follow your instincts and do what feels right for you. Assess your personal and professional needs first, then work on reconstructing your network, updating your skills, and building your career confidence for success. In time it will all come together.

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Looking for career coaching? We can help. At Career Global, we provide high-touch career brand coaching services that guide ambitious professional women through our signature framework to gain clarity, define their niche, get paid for their value (not for time), and increase industry impact in and out of the workplace. Click HERE to learn more.