Looking to Relaunch Your Career After a Break? 9 Tips to Boost Your Success.

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill

There are myriad reasons why people leave the workforce for a time and set sights on goals outside their career; they are all valid and the experience can be leveraged for future career success. You just need some simple, stellar success tips and a cheering section to know you’re not alone and “You’ve got this!”.

How not alone are you? Well, in 2021 LinkedIn created a category in honour of your career hiatus status and it “allows individuals who have taken time away from the traditional workforce not only to call out their career breaks on their LinkedIn profiles, but to describe the highlights of their career break experiences — including travel, family responsibilities, or volunteer work — just as they would a traditional work experience,” according to an article in The Harvard Business Review.

From starting a family, caring for a loved one or recovering from illness, to taking your ideals for entrepreneurship and your own gig out for a spin, you’ve been gleaning from your experiences and boosting your skillset in various areas. Now you just need to know how to leverage and explain that career break and prepare yourself to re-enter the workforce with new verve.

Here’s how.

9 Tips to Boost Your Success as You Re-Enter the Workforce After a Career Break

1. Brace Yourself to Bust Out of Your Comfort Zone

Making change isn’t easy; it’s not supposed to be. Recognize there will be a learning curve and embrace it. There are many who have gone before you, particularly after the shift up COVID caused. So, simply acknowledge the effort you’ll need to put in, view it as a thrilling next step in life and then read for what’s next.

2. Reconnect With Your Inner Dreamer

What is it you want to do, make, create, experience next? Are you entering a field you’re familiar with or looking to launch into a new one? What kind of environment, hours, position do you feel may match your talents and interests at this stage of your life? Get a visual for your future. Ask yourself these questions and see where your answers lead. If you’re looking to upgrade your skills in an area, but you’re not sure which, many Anderson College students start by taking our free “Anderson College Career Training Readiness Quiz”; it only takes a few minutes and offers insight into what training programs will align with your educational goals.

3. Research Your Industry of Interest

Once you have an idea of the what and where, now is the time to dive into the research. What is the job market like for that field; who are the major employers that you would like to work for; do you know anyone in the industry already? Research, explore, connect with those in the places you’ve got on your radar.

4. Take Your Skills Up a Notch

If your plan is to pursue a new career path, one aligned with those industries and positions in demand in the current market, then it may be time to upgrade your abilities. Private colleges in Ontario and many college courses in Toronto and across the province offer incredible educational opportunities that can get you up to speed quickly and are taught by experts in the industry. Anderson College of Health, Business and Technology has over 30+ programs to choose from, most come with a practicum, and many are also accredited by governing bodies to add that extra credibility piece to your diploma.

5. Leverage Those Career Break Experiences

Whether you’re upgrading your education or re-entering a field you’re familiar with, it’s essential that you hone in on the transferable skills that you gleaned while away from the workforce. Review and highlight your break experiences: travel, care giving, family responsibilities, volunteer work, and see the skills within those, such as organization, goal setting, leadership, adaptability, perseverance, positive attitude, etc.

6. Bring Your Resume Up to Speed and Engage in Interview Prep

Once you’ve determined what you want to do, the skillset you have and have boned up on new training, then it’s time to update your resume. If you happen to have set your sights on our college, then know that Anderson graduates have access to our Career Services team for life. Yes, I said for life. That includes helping you with your resume, scouting out the job market with you and getting you ready to ace your interview and land that dream job. Our focus is to ensure our students are confident and in demand. No matter where you decide to do your training, this should be included in your experience (we think – though we might be a bit biased).

7. Polish That Online Presence

As you may well know, this element is essential. Potential employers need to be able to find you and easily access the details of your resume and get a feel for the kind of employee you’ll be. Either connect with a college team or get some assistance from someone who’s in the know, because this will be a biggy for landing that ideal career.

8. Rekindle and Expand Your Network

We live in a world where people help each other. Online connection makes this possible, so use it. If you see someone on LinkedIn that’s in an industry of interest, reach out and see if they’ll allow you to book an informational interview to learn more about their company and the best way to go about launching a career in that field. Tap old networks of people you used to work with or build new ones either by engaging in training programs or join groups and attend business functions geared to your industry of interest.

9. Conceive, Believe and Be Positive That You Will Achieve

As that Napoleon Hill quote above says, this is crucial to success. It will not necessarily be a smooth integration and transition, but all things that are worthy are worthy of the work it takes to get there.

After 139 years of helping students transition into the next version of their careers and supporting them as they take their lives to new levels, we know starting again after a career break is a challenge … but you are not alone. Many have gone before you and are looking back thrilled that they made the leap. Here are a few student stories that certainly tell it best.

• A Mother’s College Success Ignites Her Son’s Career Triumph
• Does Age Matter to Go Back to School?
• From Homemaker to Professional, at 50 Francis-Anne Reignites Her Dreams
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No matter how long the career break you’ve taken is, it is never too late to pursue your future career and dreams. Taking the time to prepare, train and reengage in community will be well worth the effort. Take the leap; your future self will thank you.

Should you want a team of compassionate professionals to help you navigate your way, we’re here. Explore our 30+ program options and then book a virtual appointment with our admissions team today.

Quick Links to Fuel Your Success!

We want to make sure you have what you need to succeed! Check out these reference links:

• 10 Tips to Balance School/Work/Life for Optimal Success! (andersoncollege.com)
• Ten Study Tips to Achieve Academic Success! (andersoncollege.com)