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Three tips for piloting a smooth workplace re-entryBy Peter Gray
1. Look for a job that is similar to your last one. After our first few years out of college, the job market rewards us for making a commitment to an industry and functional specialty. If you hated your old job and want to make a career change, that's another story. But if your main concern is returning to work at an attractive level of responsibility and compensation, your best bet is to pick up where you left off. Look for jobs in your former functional area, at companies in your last employer's business sector. Don't fall for the "I need to broaden my job search" fallacy. If you are having trouble finding opportunities, look deeper before you look wider. The farther you stray from your experience, the more likely you are to lose out to a candidate who is seen as having a more relevant background - and the more likely you are to take backward steps in pay and job duties. 2. Show that you kept a toe in the workforce waters. During your time off, make the effort to keep in touch with former colleagues - who may be a good source of job leads and referrals when you return to the job market � and keep a toe in the work force waters. I know a management consultant who did freelance research for her former employer during a three-year hiatus and an equity research analyst who, during a four-year break, got her CFA and converted her family's investments from stock picking to an asset-allocation model. When you're ready to resume your career, take stock of everything work-related you've done during your break: volunteering, writing, consulting, giving free advice to friends and colleagues, starting a business on the kitchen table ... everything. Then translate it into the kind of relevant experience that can catch an interviewer's interest and make re-entry easier. Some call this approach "keeping your skills fresh." I think the real benefits are maintaining relationships with valuable networking contacts and giving yourself the kind of interview talking points that improve your professional credibility and confidence. One of the most difficult but often unspoken questions on an interviewer's mind is, "What did you do during your time off to stay current professionally?" 3. Take control of the conversation Whether and how to discuss your hiatus in interviews is a touchy topic. Most states have laws that forbid employers to let marital or parental status influence hiring decisions. So, generally, a U.S. job interviewer who asks for details about your time off either doesn't know the rules or is flouting them. For the job seeker, this situation is actually a mixed blessing. On the plus side, these rules were created to protect workers from gender and age discrimination. On the other hand, an interviewer's silent concerns can become the proverbial elephant in the room. Use your judgment. An employment lawyer would advise that the whole subject is off-limits, but personally, I believe that you usually benefit from taking the initiative and opening up. Interviewers naturally want to know who you are and find it awkward to dance around that gap at the top of your r�sum�. So be yourself and tell your story. If you can talk coolly about your life situation, your commitment to returning to work and what you've learned in the interim that can benefit your next employer, I believe you'll win more respect from good interviewers at good companies. You can dispel unstated reservations, demonstrate your ability to confront tough issues gracefully and open the door to a more open and honest exchange. The good news is that reentering the job market is far more common than it was even just a few years ago. The better news is that you have a set of skills that the right employer needs. And the best news is that with diligent networking and interviewing, your communication skills will improve with every conversation until you achieve the outcome you want. peterg@qstaff.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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