There are many reasons for taking a career break, for example caring for a child, caring for a elderly relative, needing a break to get a fresh perspective, returning to higher education or taking an opportunity to volunteer or travel. Returning to work after a break can appear a daunting prospect but there are a number of steps you can take to ease this transition.
What would I enjoy doing?
A career break can be a good opportunity to re-evaluate what you are looking for from your career. Before rushing into the next job, you can take time to consider your values, interests and motivations. This is an opportunity to explore doing something different. Just because you were in a certain career before your break doesn’t mean you have to return to the same industry or role. Consider your transferable skills and your strengths and where else these could be used. You may need to take some additional training to move into your ideal role, or possibly you could get some volunteering experience which would help. Volunteering can be a good opportunity to boost your confidence about returning to work.
Networking
When considering your work options, think about what your friends or former colleagues are doing. If what they are doing is of interest to you, then reach out and ask if they can help you. Your network is a fantastic source of information. There are many networking groups or free digital resources that can help you and it is worth searching what is available in your local area to further broaden your network.
If you’re not currently on Linkedin then now Is a good time to join. There is the option of adding career break to your profile in Linkedin. Along with the headline of your primary reason for taking a break you can add more detail about what you have been doing. In this respect it can be treated as any other position on your profile and future employers can easily see what you have gained by taking the break away from work. You can use LinkedIn’s search facility to find contacts in your desired industries and you can use LinkedIn to approach employers and recruiters.
Return to work opportunities
Many organisations now offer specific return to work programmes for people who have taken a career break. These employers value your experience and offer training programmes to ease the transition back into work. If you are looking to re-join the corporate world, a quick search for return programmes will identify many of the organisations offering this.
Consider seeing a career coach
Friends and family can help you bounce ideas but you may still be feeling a little lost and overwhelmed. This is where a career coach can be of real benefit and help you regain your confidence about returning to work and your career direction.
Career coaching is a process where a qualified career coach will help you come to your own informed career related decisions. Using a variety of tools and techniques a career coach will help you explore your interests, values, skills and motivations. You will consider your past experiences and identify what you enjoyed doing. Taking time reflect on these past experiences will help identify patterns and themes about what you are looking for from a career. A career coach will challenge you about the reality of your ideal role and support you in creating an action plan of steps to work towards achieving it.
Get in touch
If you have decided it is time to return to the workplace and you are looking for support in taking those next steps then do take a look at my website www.dtcareercoaching.co.uk or get in touch via email at dtuke@btinternet.com and arrange a free no obligation 20 minute call. Take that first step towards your new career!