Return to Work after a Long Absence

Take the first steps

Returning to work can be both exciting and overwhelming. After all that time off, you may no longer feel confident that you can cope with the workplace. Remember, though, that you’ve also developed skills in your time away, skills you didn’t have last time you held down a job.

Here are some common concerns about returning to work:

‘I don't have any work skills.’

Even though you haven’t been doing paid work, you’ve still been using all sorts of skills that are relevant to work.

‘My skills are out of date.’

Consider retraining, or upgrading your skills. A key skill for many jobs is using computers. If you have one at home, you can train yourself in the use of some of the more common software packages. If that sounds too daunting, think about taking classes; community colleges often run computer courses for beginners. And there are still many jobs available that don't require you to use a computer at all.

‘I’m too old.’

Employers make decisions based on factors other than age. Research shows that there is no link between age and ability. Ultimately, companies focus on getting the right person for the job, regardless of age. Make the most out of the experience you have, the work ethic you’ve developed and your reliability.

‘I’m tied down by family commitments.’

Before you start thinking about returning to work, think about who will take on the role you have been performing during your career break. Perhaps you can share this with others. Many people hold down a full-time job, have children and a partner and manage a house. It's all a matter of planning and cooperation.

‘I’m still not feeling 100% after my illness.’

If you’re returning to work after a severe or long-term illness, you should do so gradually. Your illness may have made it impossible for you to continue in your former occupation. You may need to set new goals, and these may be quite modest when you first start back at work. As your health and confidence improve, you can revise or build on them.

Work out a strategy

What skills do you have?

What work can you do now, given your current skills? Skills are activities that you can do right now. The average person has between 500 and 800 skills. You will need to identify only 5–10 skills for an employer. Many people returning to work have the skills they need to get the job they’re looking for, but they need to re-package these skills to make them marketable.

Job-specific skills are skills required to complete a job related activity like cleaning, computer programming or record keeping. These are also called ‘hard’ skills.

Self-management skills are those that are required in almost all jobs. These ‘soft’ skills include being punctual, dependable, independent and flexible.

What career field are you interested in?

you can start to set your career goals.

Setting your short, medium and long-term career goals is an important step towards getting the job and future you want. Planning can make the difference between arriving at your dreamed-of destination and ending up in a job you can’t bear.

Improve your chances of achieving your career goals by setting realistic goals. Set target dates, too, so that you’ve got something to look forward to at a given time. On average, short-term goals should be achievable within about a year, medium-term goals within three years and long-term goals within five years.

When setting your goals, note down everything you will need to do to achieve each goal. Your short-term goals will include jobs that you can take on now, given your current level of skills.

Is your next job a survival job, an entry-level job, a transitional or a dream job?

This is a very personal judgment; one person’s survival job may be another’s ultimate dream. But here is a rough guide to the definitions:

Survival jobs are not even in the career field you’re interested in, but they’re useful for immediate short-term employment. They earn you money while you study or train or look for a better job. Aim to move away from a survival job quickly, on towards a job that interests and challenges you: your dream job.

Entry-level jobs allow you to begin a career path within your career field. The level at which you enter a career field depends on your experience and education, and on the state of the industry and the local job market. All industries offer entry-level positions.

Transitional jobs move you from an entry-level job towards your dream job. These take you a step further in your field of interest and teach you the skills you need for your dream job.

Dream jobs give you a sense of fulfilment. They utilise your gifts and talents rather than your skills, and they align with your passions and values.

When you know what your dream job is, you’ll have an idea what entry-level and transition jobs you should seek on your way to it.

Develop an action plan

When you have identified the dream job you’re aiming for:

• Compare what you’ve got to offer an employer with what the employer needs.
• Identify any gaps in your skills, knowledge and experience that might be barriers to getting a job.
• Work out ways to overcome them.

Barriers and how to overcome them

A barrier can be anything that you believe will stop you from reaching your planned goal. Something that is a barrier for someone else might not be one for you, and vice versa.

Some of the biggest barriers to people re-entering the workforce are:

• thinking you look bad to a potential employer when you’ve spent time away from the workforce
• worries you have about your transition into the workforce
• feeling as if you have only outdated skills to offer.

In a job interview, you need to have confidence in your answers. You need to steer the interview around to focusing on:

• the skills and knowledge you can offer
• how quickly you can become productive in the workplace.

If you’re worried about all the barriers that face you, it’s hard to conduct the interview confidently. You must have thought through how you’ll overcome the shortcomings you feel you have, well before you sit down to talk to a potential employer.

Sometimes this is not easy. It may be best to look for help and advice from some informed person, such as a career counsellor. These professionals are very used to helping people prepare themselves for the workforce.

How do you explain the gaps in your resume?

An absence from the workforce can often mean that you have gaps in your resume. You do need to indicate what you did during these times, particularly if they are very recent or ongoing.

Do so briefly and calmly. Don't apologise for your decision to take time off. Make a positive statement about what you did, or have been doing, in the time away, and then focus on why you’re ready to rejoin the workforce.

Employers don’t just want to know where you’ve been and what you’ve done; they want to know what you can do now.

Try putting together a functional instead of a chronological resume. A functional resume highlights your skills rather than on how continuous your employment has been in the past. Remember, life experience has value in the working world.

Don’t forget to include volunteer activities on your resume. These always look good to an employer.

If you really feel that you have no skills to offer an employer, consider further education and training to open up your options. Any kind of training is an investment in your future. Part-time study can help you build up confidence, and bring you into contact with other people changing themselves and their lives.

Dealing with change

If you have been out of the job market for a number of years, prepare yourself for some changes there. Talk to employed people you know, particularly people who have recently been job-hunting.

Other changes might bother you, changes in yourself and possible changes in your way of life:

• You may lack self-confidence.
• The idea of moving from complete independence to taking direction from an employer may be unattractive to you.
• You might be nervous about having to work in a team.
• How will you cope with the change of pace, after having had so much time to yourself?
• You might feel left behind by technological advances.
• The idea of changes happening to your life roles or identity might unsettle you.

Getting help

Where can you get expert help in planning and implementing your return-to-work strategy? You might only need one person to talk things through with. You might want to enlist a whole team of people to cheer you on.

Use a professional counsellor, career advisor, mentor, colleague, family member, friend, or any combination of these. Anyone who can give you objective opinions and help you feel cheerful about job hunting is useful to you.

Consider all your work options

Permanent work

If you have had a short career break, or you’re confident about your return to work, you may wish to go straight into a permanent job.

Temporary work

If you are not sure about what work or hours you’re looking for, temporary work is ideal. It’s completely flexible—you can choose the days and hours you want to work and the jobs you want to take. Working as often or as little as you like may solve child care problems.

Temporary work can also provide a great training ground.

Some other benefits are:

• You can try out the work before you make your final decision whether this is an area you want to work in
• No long-term commitment is required of you.
• You experience, from the inside, companies you might not previously have considered working for, but which are real career possibilities for you.
• You get to work for businesses of all sizes, and see which you prefer.
• You may have the chance to try working for non-profit organisations.

Do some research

The Centrelink website is a good place to start when researching your return to work. It provides links to publications and services of all kinds that are useful to job seekers.