Creating a Plan
You’ve decided it’s time to return to the workforce. You might be looking to go back to the work you did before, or maybe you haven’t decided on the type of job you want to pursue. Perhaps your previous field is no longer in-demand or has changed radically and you see this as a chance to pivot into an entirely different career.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when the path isn’t clear.
Now is the time to make a plan. Getting clarity up front will save you time, energy, and discouragement by helping you to narrow your search, revamp your resume, and decide which skills to refresh.
Follow these steps to organize your thoughts:
Consider your why
The first step in any career restart journey is “finding your why.” For most returners, the motivations for returning to work are a mix of financial considerations and personal fulfillment. Try to identify your primary reason for jumping back into the workforce. What do you hope to accomplish through your career restart?
Consider your skills
Think about your current skills – both technical skills and soft skills – and list them out. Don’t worry about how recent they are or how long it has been since you used them. You can always refresh your skills with practice or online courses. Remember, these skills don’t have to be solely gleaned from your professional experience. Here is some advice for leveraging your unpaid experiences during your job search.
Make a list of your interests
Now that you have a better sense of your current skills, make a second list of what you’d like to focus on in your next career. Think back to your previous career, and what types of professionals you interacted with. Feel free to think as specifically or as broadly as you’d like. You can also make a second list of things you disliked about your previous jobs.
Once you have your list of job interests and dislikes, you might realize they form the core of a job description. Knowledge of this will come in handy when you start browsing job listings. Keep in mind that you might not find a role that fits every single point on your list, but you will have a better idea of which roles to float to the top and which to ignore. Download our worksheet to guide you through the process here.
Take an assessment
If you’re feeling stuck, there are a variety of free skills assessments on the internet that may help you pinpoint your knowledge and interests in ways that match job fields. Careeronestop, a career exploration site sponsored by the US Department of Labor, has a skills assessment and interest assessment to help you identify potential job types. For an even more comprehensive assessment, try the 60-question O*Net Interest Profiler.
Try an online course
Thinking about pivoting into a new field? Sites like Udemy and Coursera offer many free and low-cost online courses and certifications.
By taking an online course, you can test drive a possible job focus without making a major time or financial commitment. Search for “Intro to [career field]” or “[career field] for Beginners” for courses and introductory videos that will help you get your feet wet. YouTube also has tutorial videos of varying quality.
If you’re thinking about a role that will require you to re-skill or up-skill, take a training course preferably with certification attached. You can include this on your resume as a way to showcase your new skillset and signal to employers that you’re serious about building your abilities and contributing to a team.
Flex your skills volunteering
If you have an interest and the skills to contribute, consider offering your abilities to an organization through strategic volunteering. While volunteering is good for your community, it will also help you in your journey back to the workforce. Volunteering will provide you with real-world experience you can include on your resume, give you a chance to practice new skills, help expand your network and more.
Catchafire is one source for finding strategic volunteer opportunities. You can search by skill set and time commitment, and Catchafire will even help you put together a portfolio of your work after you’re done.
Prepare the people around you
Regardless of where you are on your journey, keep in mind that your return to the workforce will impact those around you. To ease the transition, learn how to prepare your family (and yourself!) for your return to work.
Create a routine that works
When you’re looking to restart your career, you definitely need to be prepared to spend time on your job search. The best way to do this is by creating and then sticking to a routine. To help you get started, here are six ways to maintain that consistency and use your time most effectively while job searching.
Job Description Worksheet
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