Top Tips for Returning to Work After A Career Break

01 March 2018 Peak Recruitment

Career Break

You Need to Go That Extra Mile

It’s likely that your career break will be sitting at the top of your employment history. As our last article evidenced, this is likely to set alarm bells chiming for any prospective employers. So you are going to have to work doubly hard (more so than the average candidate who is moving from one post to another) to prove how passionate you are about the work itself, and how much you are looking forward to working for this specific company.

Talk Openly About the Career Break

It is essential you do not refrain from talking about your career beak. The interviewer will have noted the time gap in your CV or application form and if you are not subsequently open about it, it is likely they will assume there is something to hide.

Go out of your way to draw attention to it, but make sure you have your facts straight first. Make sure you put a positive spin on the details surrounding it. You need to be honest, bur clearly state why you needed that time out, how it has helped you get back on the right career path and how it has powered you up to re-ignite your career where you left off. Prepare for the interview by listing all the positive factors you have gleaned from the career break – and how these relate to the current vacancy you are going for.

Don’t Start Creating Histories

One of the mistakes people often make is to talk too much about how long it has been since they were at work. You may be able to couch this in a nice positive framework but the more you talk about the time that has long gone, the more your interviewers are going to feel that you are stuck in a past era and will find it difficult to get back in to work mode.

Don’t Get Left Behind

One of the things that is changing all the time is technology. If you have had a career break, it is highly likely that the methods and processes used in your job role may be totally different. As much as you have cleverly kept how it all fits together front of mind while you have been away, you may be shocked to find the role you used to do has become a bit of a stranger.

So, do a bit of research. A great way to do this is to sign up to an industry newsletter or blog and get the low down on the cutting-edge changes to how people are working in your department. Or, if you still have friends and colleagues working in the industry, ask them for a low down as to how things have changed.

Fools Rush In

If you have been away from the work environment for some time – a sudden change to working full-time can be quite a jolt to the system. In order to break yourself in slowly, consider doing some kind of voluntary work or working part-time in some capacity.

Not Just the Here and Now

One of the biggest things you have to prove to your prospective employer is long-term commitment. They need to see that you have had your time out – it has served its purpose, you are coming back even stronger and this time you are here to stay.

In order to put that message across you need to be talking not just about today’s job in hand but your future goals too – in other words, the career you wish to build with the company. If this is a new company, you will need to do some thorough research into the hierarchies within the company and what the outlets for the future might be.

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Peak Recruitment is the leading recruitment agency in Thailand. A human resource specialist, our pioneering methodology and commitment to deliver exemplary services has placed us first for executive recruitment in Bangkok. As a team, we offer a distinctive approach that you just won’t find anywhere else in Thailand. For contact information click here