Coming Back After a Career Break
It doesn't matter why you needed a career break—to look after family members, recover from an illness, explore other cultures, or recharge your batteries—whatever your reason for taking extended time off, eventually it will be time to return to the workplace.
If you had a special agreement with your employer, the task of resuming work is relatively easier. On the other hand, you may be restarting your career by searching for an entirely new place to work. Either way, being clear about what you want, as well as what you have to offer, will move you closer to success. The most important thing to do is to take time to consider your career plan and your objectives for returning:
- What do you seek from your work—just income or is it more than that?
- What are your immediate work goals? What do you hope to achieve in a year? Three years?
- What kind of job would most utilize your knowledge, skills, achievements, personality, and potential?
- In what kind of work environment would you best thrive?
While it's true that experience is never wasted or lost, an extended career break (depending on your career field) could be seen as problematic. If it has been a while since you worked or if you need a license to practice, you may need to refresh your skills. Some recommend a "ramp up" to your return, a period in which you recalibrate where your profession is before you resume work. Those with technical aspects to their job will need to put extra effort into updating their knowledge (and perhaps retesting). However, always keep in mind that previous experience does count. It tells your employer that you are capable of success in the job that you did previously. It's also reassuring to the employer that you'll most likely be able to perform on new assignments, since you were successful before.
You should do. A loss of confidence in your abilities often occurs after illness, job loss, or a maternity break, and those returning often doubt their ability to cope with a busy and responsible job. Don't worry! Lots of people take up the challenge every year and are successful, enjoying their return to the office. In fact, one source that studies the impact of career breaks on people with extensive experience (as opposed to those right out of college) claims that your confidence may actually go up: "Our investigations have confirmed that many more employers see a career break as a positive move that can ultimately benefit them—when employees return refreshed, motivated and with increased self-confidence."
While you don't want to take a career break and then spend most of it fretting over what's going on back at work, it's a good idea to keep up some regular contact with your team to reassure them of your ongoing commitment and enthusiasm and to keep yourself informed about changes. Step up this contact in the two weeks before you return and make sure that you widen it to include all your regular working associates.
Be aware that your absence may have caused burdens for some of your associates who assumed extra duties due to your being away. Some may feel threatened by your return; others may be reluctant to give up some of the tasks and responsibilities that they have enjoyed performing while you've been away. Be tactful and do your best to keep open good channels of communication.
Given the number of downsizings, mergers, and layoffs, it would not be unusual to find that your old job evaporated sometime during your career break. Your former employer may (but probably will not) have another opening for you to consider. Even if your employer does have an opportunity, this may be an excellent time to think about your options. First, think about the market you have been working in. Is it expanding or shrinking? Your answer to this will help you to decide whether to return to the same sector or try your luck elsewhere. Think about your strengths and skills and how you could transfer these to other positions. Talk to your former boss and colleagues if you have a good relationship with them and ask if they have any recommendations about whom you should be talking to as part of your job search. This will help to keep your networks growing. Make sure you investigate any resources tied to effective job searches for workers with extensive experience.
Many people who take a career break do so because they needed time away from a job that they no longer found fulfilling. In those cases, it's not unusual for a career break to be the platform for a search, not just for a new job, but for an entirely new career. Why this could happen is not hard to understand.
Taking some time out from your work to do something that you really enjoy can help you obtain a fresh perspective on life. You may have developed new skills, broadened your personal horizons through travel, improved your physical and psychological health by not working so hard, made a rewarding contribution to your community, or explored your creative side. When a career break has been successful, it often provides whole new perspectives that encourage whole new career horizons. As such, you should not feel any regrets about wanting to pursue a new career; it just means you will have to work that much harder to return to the workplace.
If you are starting a new job in a new company, whether in your old career field or not, it's still sensible to think about how you can make a good initial impression. There are some classic tips for starting a new job, no matter what age you are. In the first week, come to grips with exactly what your objectives are. Clarity is the watchword here. In some jobs you'll be expected to make an impact very early, in other roles the honeymoon period is long. You need to know what's expected of you when, and how your objectives fit into those of the team and the organization. Getting to know specifics about people, like a department head's agenda or a key client's pet peeves, will help you to navigate the potential pitfalls and find the quickest routes to achieving your goals. Putting all the information together will allow you to understand how and why the organization functions.
The second week back in the office is best spent finding out more about who's who and creating the communication channels you'll need to get your job done. Meet with as many key people as you can, as this will help you to handle any political aspects of your role well. During the third week you can begin to develop a clear picture of how to best play things on your own terms.
The key thing to keep in mind during your first days and weeks on a new job is that you do have valuable skills and experience from your past job or career. But that's not something to flaunt; it's something to build on. If you present an attitude that you are ready to learn about your new company and associates and eager to help them succeed, you will do fine.
If you used your career break to do something exotic—working in some distant land or exploring some remote part of the world—it would be easy to unconsciously act as if you are coming back to work as, say, an astronaut after a moon walk. This will only create widespread resentment among those you are now working with and for. It's important for you to shift from the wonders of your time away and place yourself (physically and mentally) in the present. For now, forget those magical days in Fiji, or wherever. Throw yourself into your work and have confidence that your performance and your personality will soon bring people around. Be patient and remember that an atmosphere of this sort rarely lasts if you remain positive.
Humans find change stressful, and starting a new job presents a special kind of stress. Accentuate the positive when chatting with people at work, both about your time away and about your return. Your colleagues may feel that you are lucky to have had a break and may resent what they see as "whining" about the difficulties of returning. On the other hand, it's important not to bottle up any negative feelings—not everyone can slip back into their old life right away. Find an appropriate and sympathetic friend, coach, or mentor to share your thoughts with and to support you during this period.
On the other hand, don't toss all that you have done on your career break out the window. Some of your experiences when you were not working could be beneficial to your employer, whether you're back at your old job or working for a new company (or starting a whole new career). Keep in mind that employers are constantly assessing the skills and attitudes of those working for them. If your career break enhanced either your skills or attitude, you have nothing to lose by modestly emphasizing this in your dialogues about how the company can best use "the new you."
Davey, Charles.
The Career Break Site: www.thecareerbreaksite.com
"Managing Your Career Break": www.careerbreaker.com/career-break-management-work.asp