Are you stressed about returning to work? Here’s how to restart your career after a long break and work from home.
After years of struggling to balance kids, work, and other responsibilities, I can’t say enough about the change in my work-life balance that the decision to work remotely has brought. Even when I’m busy with work, I love being with my kids when they come home every day. That’s why when my husband decided to follow the same path in the wake of his COVID-19 leave, I completely understood.
The good news for those looking to transition to remote work after the holidays is that there’s never been a better time to get back on your feet. Whereas in the past, spotty or uneven work history could be a deal breaker, today’s employers tend to look at the big picture in terms of abilities, skills, motivation, and professional performance.
If you’re ready to restart your career with remote work after a career break, here’s everything you need to know to get started.
Reframe how you view your career interruption
As someone who does resume work on the side, I often encounter clients who struggle with confidence issues due to gaps in employment or complicated work histories. For example, some people may have taken time off to work in the service industry, raise young children, improve their health, or take classes toward a new career path while looking for a post-college job.
It wasn’t that long ago that a spotty work history could be a real deal breaker. However, the past few decades have seen a shift in the culture of the workforce. As employers reduce retirement benefits and other rewards for years of experience, workers, in turn, prefer flexibility and opportunities that provide a healthy work-life balance. At the same time, more employers are becoming interested in the bigger picture of what each professional brings to the table.
In the spirit of this great change, I prefer to create a resume that tells a story by focusing on professional skills, knowledge, and talents rather than a chronological work history. Moving away from resumes that highlight gaps in your work history and toward more narrative, skill-centered resumes will help you build confidence in your potential as an asset in a remote work environment. And it starts with a little reflection.
Start here:
1. Prepare a pen and paper
I’m a big fan of brainstorming, both when it comes to resumes and preparing for interviews. Even if you don’t use everything you wrote down at some point during the online job application process, taking the time to create a deep dive into the details of your personal skills, experience, and passions will help you truly focus on what you can offer professionally.
I like the old-fashioned yellow legal pad and scratchy No. 2 pencil, but you might be better off using Apple Notes. In any case, the medium is not as important as simply giving yourself the space and permission to explore broader horizons of your professional talent.
And there’s no need to feel obligated to solve this all at once. It can be easy to get carried away when you start writing, but it can also be helpful to step away from your notepad and come back later with fresh eyes and a rested mind.
2. Evaluate your career goals
Before delving into the many small parts that make up your work history, it’s important to have a clear vision of the job you’re looking to get.
Start by researching remote work opportunities in your field on job sites like LinkedIn. Don’t know where to start? If you take the time to explore Work From Home Woman, you’ll find tons of information about great remote jobs suitable for all experience levels.
Keep a notebook handy so you can jot down any new job postings, such as job titles or remote opportunities, while you research. As you begin the research process, you may come across job roles you hadn’t considered before or job skills you’d like to develop, so keep a pencil handy throughout the process.
As you explore remote opportunities, write down some of the qualifications you come across along the way. This will help you conceptualize what you need to focus on in your resume.
3. Put your past work under the microscope.
Keep a handy notepad nearby and look up past work. Most of us have past roles that we might not include on our formal resumes, but it’s a good idea to write them all down this time.
However, it does not necessarily have to be posted as job information. Instead, look at each of your past roles to see what you learned and developed to include in your skills-focused resume. For example, a past role as a bartender may have honed your creativity and time management skills, which you can apply to your work as a freelance writer or editor.
Write down all the duties you can think of under each job. If you’re having trouble, consider looking at similar roles for reference. However, the goal here is to be as detailed as possible so that you can see in detail the fruits of your past experience. If you include jobs in your resume’s work history, write down detailed numbers and dates (for example, number of employees on teams you’ve managed or length of projects you’ve edited).
And don’t miss out on volunteer opportunities in this process, no matter how small it may seem. Did you participate in any community projects? Please include that. Would you like to volunteer at your church nursery for a special event? Consider your previous experience with applicable skills.
4. Dismantle past professional development opportunities
Just as you detailed your work history, take a look at past career development and learning opportunities. When I worked as an educator, I regularly attended professional development trainings and seminars. I don’t include my time as an educator when writing my resume, but I do include some of the skills I learned during my training, such as curriculum development, neurodiversity, and team building.
But don’t stop there. If you have spent time learning skills online or self-studying with books, include that as well. For example, when I was learning how to write online content, I spent countless hours watching online videos about search engine optimization and business blog writing. I consider that education to be as valuable as what I learned in my alma mater’s English program.
Did you train with a mentor or participate in an internship program? Take the time to write down everything you learned through that process, especially if those items relate to items on your list of skills you picked up while brainstorming your career goals.
5. Consider your talents
Finding a good job that allows you to work from home requires more than just the difficult skills listed in job listings. Every employee has a unique blend of natural talents and gifts, and in some cases, that can be the secret ingredient employers are looking for.
Go back to your handy notepad and write down all the individual gifts you feel you bring to the job market. You can also search for a list of soft skills on Google, print it out, and use the highlights to mark the ones that resonate with your experience. Do you have a natural charisma when it comes to team building or a knack for engaging online presentations? Write them down.
6. Talk to former colleagues
If you still keep in touch with a former co-worker from a past job and it makes you feel safe, send them an email or text message. Better yet, set up a time for a phone call or meeting. Once you’ve heard all the office gossip, ask if you can help fill out a few items on this list. You might be surprised by some of the details you forgot, but they could be helpful in your remote job search.
7. List your software and technical skills
I’m always amazed at how many software platforms I’ve learned between my various jobs and my personal life. I’ve rarely had a job that didn’t add to that list. This is especially valuable as a remote worker where everything is done through an online platform.
Even if you don’t have direct experience using the software platform mentioned in the job posting, demonstrating your proficiency in learning new technology will go a long way in demonstrating that you can quickly adapt to a new online work environment. Consider everything from digital work suites and time clock tools to creative tools that you’ve worked on, even for personal use.
Let’s take my software experience as an example. In various professional roles, I have used platforms such as Trello, Slack, various content management systems (CMS), MailChimp, Toggl, WordPress, and Adobe Suite. However, if you’re applying for a more creative position, include creative apps you use for fun, like Canva or Pixlr.
8. Please include your life experience
Once you’ve examined your work-related experience with a fine-toothed comb, it’s time to examine the life experiences you gained during your career hiatus. Just like we did with job skills, take a deep dive into the actual responsibilities and experience you’ve accumulated during your time away from your traditional job.
As women, we know that the important task of managing household finances is often ignored as invisible labor. But as my husband learned during his short stint as a stay-at-home mom, running a house full of kids requires serious household management tools like scheduling, multitasking, project management, and budgeting.
all together
Once you’ve written down your hard and soft skills and analyzed your past work experience in detail, it’s time to create a resume that shows what you have. Start by revisiting these career goals and work examples to create strong, specific goals that encompass your career focus, desire to work remotely, and key selling points in three to four sentences or less.
next, “Core Competencies” In this section, use the skills you learned from brainstorming and these work examples to paint a strong picture of your unique offering as a remote worker. Include subheadings and detailed explanations of how each competency connects to your experience and learning.
Build now “Work history” section. Rather than simply listing all your past jobs, start with the most relevant history and work your way down. Omit anything that is not appropriate for the job. You’re unlikely to be asked about gaps in your career, but if you are asked in an interview, emphasize that you’ve consistently worked to build your professional skills and include only the work you feel is most relevant to the role.
Consider creating your own job
My family is big fans of DIY side hustles. After living through the recession and pandemic, we felt great comfort knowing we had marketable skills that we could rely on to provide valuable services within our local communities. And thanks to social media sites like Facebook and Nextdoor, you don’t necessarily have to invest in an entire startup to start a business.
In addition to resume writing and freelance work, Earned a decent side income by training languages at scale We provide modeling, editing, tutoring, and university-level academic support services. Similarly, my husband, a freelance writer and warranty evaluator, has a side job repairing small engines and selling resale products. But any of these jobs can be turned into a full-time career if you’re willing and motivated, and there are many other ways to make a living as an independent contractor without taking out a small business loan.
How to restart your career: remember this
Transitioning from a traditional job to a work-from-home opportunity can be scary enough on its own, let alone after taking a vacation. We sincerely hope that by taking a keen look at your professional skills and experience, you will not only refocus your awareness of what you have to offer professionally, but also develop some serious enthusiasm for your job search.
Do you have any advice for women who want to work from home after the holidays? We’d love to hear it. Let us know in the comments section below. I wish you all the best in your new career working from home.
