There are very many reasons why a woman might choose to take a long career break; she might have chosen to stay at home and raise a family, for example, or perhaps she wanted to travel the world. At some point, however, some women will feel that they want or need to return to work.
This can be hugely daunting, especially if the career break has lasted for many years, but it is certainly not impossible. Here are some ways to get prepared and ready for the next stage in your life.
Assess your situation
If you have had a break, now is the ideal time to assess your situation and decide what you want to do next. It might be that you adored your job but needed to have some time away from it for any number of reasons, in which case going back to it, or a job in the same industry, could be exactly what you want.
If this is what you are thinking, do you want it to be exactly the same as it was before, or would you prefer part time hours? Flexible working? The ability to work from home? There are lots of options to consider and there will be something that works well for you.
Alternatively, it might be that you have realized you actually want to do something different, and you now have additional training and life experience to help you with this goal. You might even want to start your own business and become self-employed.
This needs to be determined before you start applying for jobs or make any steps in any particular direction. You don’t want to waste your time or anyone else’s, and you want to make returning to work as easy as possible.
Get ready
Once you know what you want to do and how you hope to do it, you can start to get ready. You’ll know if there are any skills gaps that need to be filled with additional training, and if that is the case, you can book onto a course and get your updated qualifications or knowledge.
You’ll also need to prepare your household for the change. If you live with other people who are used to a certain routine, you’ll need to let them know how things will be different when you go back to work – it might be a big shift in what they are used to, and it will take some time to adjust. Don’t just plunge into the new routine on day one of your new job. Instead, build up to it slowly so that by the time you are back at work, everything is running smoothly.
Your CV and cover letter
You can’t apply for a job without a good CV and an eye-catching cover letter. Or rather, you can’t apply and hope to be successful without these things. It is a good idea to click onto LiveCareer to get some useful tips on how to write these important documents since without them your chances of gaining employment are slim.
It might be several years since you even looked at your CV. Maybe you never had one to begin with. Either way, it is best to begin again and ensure that it is completely up to date and says what you want it to say to show that you are competent, confident, and ready to work.