Get Back Into Career Shape
There are dozens of life-changing reasons why you might exit the workforce.
You’re caring for small children. Twenty-eight percent of women and 18 percent of men leave their full-time jobs to be stay-at-home parents.
Or you are in the armed forces. There are 5 million veterans who served during the Gulf War Era II (from September 2001 onward).
Or you have been diagnosed with a serious illness or injury.
You’re taking a sabbatical or are reconsidering your career after a relocation.
But children grow up. Terms of service are fulfilled. Health is restored. The mind is refreshed. And now, you are ready to re-enter the workforce. Yet, for many, this can be daunting.
“What will future employers think of my absence from working?”
“What if the job that I loved before is no longer available or I don’t love that type of work anymore?”
“Are my skills up to date?”
“My professional network is not as robust as it once was. It’s all about who you know, right?”
Considering the Current Economic Climate
The most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment to increase to 169.1 million between now and 2032. That means new jobs will need to be filled—4.7 million of them.
Although there may be factors beyond your control such as job market conditions and fluctuations in the economy, you can still prepare for opportunities. After you’ve addressed your worries, seek support that will help you reignite your career and get back into the workforce.
And don’t be afraid of AI.
Here’s how you can do it.
Related: Becoming an AI Native
“What will future employers think of my absence from working?”
The paper version of yourself is your résumé. If you’ve been out of the workforce for a while, you may be concerned about the time gap since your last job. So instead of listing your previous work experience chronologically, play to your strengths and focus on your skills with a functional résumé format.
Create headings like “marketing experience,” “sales successes” or “benchmarks met,” and then list your achievements accordingly.
Think about how you spent your time when you were not actively employed. What experience and skills did you develop that could be translated to a work environment? For example, mediating between two bickering children can be translated to conflict-resolution skills. Taking part in activities and volunteering develops your interpersonal and problem-solving abilities.
Showcase your ability to manage responsibilities and still maintain a work-life balance. Life events—such as parents having to organize child or elder care—can be big (and expensive) reasons to take a break from your professional career. You can translate your success during this period through your demonstrated decision-making, time-management and communication skills.
Employers find these soft skills highly desirable.
Related: The Future of Work Podcast—The Hybrid Role, Fusing Technical and Soft Skills, Part 1
“Because I was on a dependent visa, I could not work at that point, and by the time my green card was processed, I was a mother of two kids,” says Meenal Agarwal, who sought out new career skills in financial planning and analysis to re-enter the workforce.
“What if the job that I loved before is no longer available or I don’t love that type of work anymore?”
Know thyself. Take a look at formal assessments that match your skills and interests to an occupation. “Quizzes will ask you about your values, interests, skills, and goals and give you some ideas for careers or types of careers to explore further—in other words, they’re a ‘jumping off point,’” says The Muse career coach Lynn Berger.
Or set up an informational interview with someone who is doing your current work or the work you want to get into. This will help you assess the current state of your former position and see if it still fits with your career aspirations.
One thing Priscilla Vivio knew after her children were grown and when she would reenter the workforce was that she did not want to go back to a career in engineering or programming.
“As my own children started the college exploration and application process, I started to provide some guidance to their friends, other parents and students at the high school,” she explains. Her active volunteering in community-based organizations led her to reconsider her own career path to college admissions advising.
“I also started volunteering with 10,000 Degrees, a nonprofit that mentors first-generation college applicants. At the same time, I knew that I wanted to find a job that would allow me to work part time, on my own schedule, with flexibility to travel.”
Volunteer at an organization that offers the type of position you’re interested in. Tap into your networks or directly contact the firm to see if they are accepting volunteers.
This is what graduate Marie Coreil did:
“After two years of volunteering with Leach Botanical Garden, I began the Professional Sequence in Editing. I had noticed that the botanical garden’s newsletter lacked style consistency and included many common errors. I approached my supervisor, explained my new career goal to become a professional editor and asked if I might copyedit the newsletter. At the time, no one was performing this editorial task. My offer was accepted. I gave myself the title editorial assistant and worked closely with the board secretary, who supervised newsletter production.”
Interested in volunteering? Here are some great resources:
“Are my skills up to date?”
How do you refresh your skills and learn the latest techniques and trends in your field?
Try a “returnship”: an internship for experienced workers. For example, Worklife’s Cloey Callahan notes Chevron’s Welcome Back Returnship Program is a 12-week paid opportunity “that has integrated learning, formal training and support from supervisors and mentors. Upon completion of the program successful participants may be offered full-time employment and benefits.”
Companies are beginning to offer these internship programs specifically to job-seekers who have taken career breaks and need to up their skill set. IBM has been offering its 12-week re-entry program for the past few years. Other companies also offer returnships, with many more joining the bandwagon. LinkedIn even lets you set an alert for U.S. returnships.
“I was really interested in learning the hard skills the business analysis program was teaching and combining them with the soft skills the Army was teaching—when used together, they are so applicable—not only for work, but also for life in general,” says Isaac Stuart, a U.S. veteran who returned to school to supplement his civilian career in business analysis.
Of course, education will help you refresh your current skills or teach you new ones if you’re thinking of moving into a different field. Whether it’s a single course or a certificate program, education geared for adults who want to learn the latest professional skills and tools are a great way to make sure that you’re prepared for today’s demands.
Take graduate Megan Rupert. Out of the formal workforce during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic as a stay-at-home mom, Megan wanted to make a change and pursue her long-held interest in writing when she re-entered the job market. She was sold on our Professional Sequence in Editing to augment her skill set and complement her master's degree.
The courses’ online exercises, discussions and assignments were also reflective of what Megan needed to succeed in her freelance editing. Coupled with her work history in teaching oral and written communication in diverse settings, she felt prepared in her new career path in technical writing.
Related: The Future of Work Podcast—Are Skills the New Degree?
“My professional network is not as robust as it once was. It’s all about who you know, right?”
It’s true that networking can boost your opportunities in finding a job. But just because many of your Facebook friends are fellow stay-at-home parents doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tap into that group. Post a status or message your social-media followers that you’re looking for work. You never know who is in your friends’ professional networks and can make an introduction.
Sandra Titre bounced back after a lay-off by completing our Professional Sequence in Digital Marketing and maintaining her network with former clients. “In March 2023, one of The Mom Project recruiters reached out to me, and said, ‘There's this role at Workday that I think you'd be a really good fit for based on your education and your experience.’ Turns out that they had somebody who was going on maternity leave.”
Also, take advantage of your gainfully employed friends: Have them scrutinize your résumé, hold mock interviews, re-read your cover letter or scan your LinkedIn profile.
And go to Meetups.
You Can Do It!
Take it from Senior Director of Student & Alumni Career Development at UC Berkeley Information School Rebecca Anderson: “The career landscape is continually changing and presenting new opportunities for meaningful work. Careers often are not linear, but have twists and turns that require innumerable decisions in shaping your path.”
Anne Chiruvolu had dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but had gotten sidetracked. It wasn’t until she relocated with her family to the Bay Area that a complete career change became a possibility. Job searching in her field at the time, Anne found she couldn’t get excited about the positions she was interviewing for.
So instead, Anne started over in the sciences and got back into career shape—in the field where she really wanted to be—by completing our Post-Baccalaureate Health Professions Program.
Your past can provide you with the motivation and tools to get you back into career shape, but it will be your commitment to your path that will get you back into the workforce.
