Jump Back Into The Job Market After Being On The Sidelines

One minute you’re in the job force, the next moment you’re not. Reasons vary.

• There’s a downturn in the economy that leads to a job loss or small business failure.

• Your job position is eliminated because of a buyout, merger, or general corporate restructuring.

• Your company relocates. You don’t.

• You leave your job to take care of a baby.

• You leave your job because of an illness.

• You leave your job to take care of a sick loved one.

• Due to forces beyond your control (e.g., recovery from an accident, housing crisis, war), you can’t earn a living.

• A novel pandemic throws the world into turmoil.

Temporary unemployment becomes long-term unemployment then – permanent? No matter the circumstances, entering the job force after a long absence has extra challenges. To make matters more difficult, the pandemic accelerated and magnified glaring deficiencies in our labor market that create additional barriers to returning to the workforce, most notably the lack of childcare, which disproportionally affects low-income women. In addition, some sectors of the economy suffered catastrophic losses that are still slow to recover.

We’re still at a point when everybody gets a Covid pass, but, if things keep moving in the current direction, that won’t last for very much longer. The job market is hot. If you’ve been on the sidelines and are ready to jump back into the game now is the time. That does not mean you can rest on your laurels. Job seekers may have the leverage now, but the one thing that never changes is you have to win the job in the room.

Here are some tips to catapult you back into the professional ranks:

• Resume, resume, resume. If it’s not on the page, it’s not on the stage. Find that old resume and update it. Updating your resume does not mean changing the font. Modernize it.

• What have you been doing? Catalog what you’ve done since your last job, including during the pandemic if you were affected. If you are engaged in any enterprise that can fill in the gap in your employment, detail it on your resume and frame it in professional terms. Volunteer activities are certainly appropriate – and applicable.

• Why have you been out of the job market for so long? Prepare to answer this question. Chisel the perfect answer in advance and practice it. Push the idea that you are ready to be back in the workforce full-time physically, mentally, and emotionally.

• Be interview ready. We push the basics because so many people ignore them! Get a haircut. Dry clean your best interview clothes. Print multiple high-quality copies of your resume on high-quality resume paper. Polish your shoes.

• LinkedIn. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, create one. If you have one, update it. Just like your resume, even if you have not been working in the traditional sense, highlight any training, volunteer work, or self-directed enterprises. Enable the “OPEN TO WORK” function on your profile and optimize your settings to alert recruiters you are actively searching for a job and what you’re searching for.

• ·Flood the job boards. Monster. Indeed. Glassdoor. LinkedIn. Career Builder. Zip Recruiter. Upwork. Simply Hired. Craigslist. Angels List. Snagajob. Just to name a few. It takes time, but create profiles and upload your resume to as many job sites as possible.

• Shake off the cobwebs. Get out there. Exercise those interview muscles. Do the advance work. The more prepared you are the more confident you will be in interviews and articulating why you are the best person for the job.

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.