📲 I received this question over text last week:
𝘐'𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘱?
When the school supplies hit store shelves, 'tis the season for paid work re-entry.
When you sense your career break is at its end and paid work is the goal, look forward (not backward) when determining your career direction.
And once you know the role(s) you're after, position yourself as THE must-have candidate.
Remember: Your career break is an asset, not a liability.
4 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞:
❶ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
Use a “Related Experience” heading in your resume to list experiences that matter for your job target. This simple trick allows you to demonstrate skills, wins and roles that translate to your ideal role.
Consider including volunteer experience, leadership positions and side hustle (or freelance work).
❷ 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠
This tactic is a great way to create continuity from a collection of experiences. Group like experiences and roles together, delineating the experiences in a summary section. Then, focus on the successes in your bullet points.
Share the data of your efforts as it relates to the work you want to do going forward. Think money raised, the number of committees led, results of new programs built, etc.
❸ 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬
If you have a short gap as a mid-career professional, you can use an easy formatting fix: Delete the months on your resume to eliminate your short gap.
For gaps longer than a year, use the date sandwich method. Instead of formatting dates to the right-hand side of your file, create a sandwich 🥪.
The bread is the company name on one side and the location on the other, with the employment dates in the middle of the sandwich.
This way the focus is being taken off the years out of the workforce and focusing more on your job title and the value you brought to the position.
❹ 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬
These are one-line statements sharing the WHY behind your paid employment exit. Research shows applicants who disclose the reason behind their work gap were 60% more likely to receive a call back for an interview than those who didn't.
Your exit line is a straightforward statement, not a novel. It can be placed in the line of the job title.
For example:
Product Manager | 2015 – 2022 | Left for a 2-year stint to care for children
OR your exit line could read: Left position to get MBA
If you have an extensive break consider a one-liner between roles in your work experience, like: Career sabbatical to care for family
❓What else?
