No matter where you live in the world you have now experienced hardship due to #COVID 19. It is now something we all share in common. Allot of people have recently re- assessed work/life balance in their lives and have made changes or have thought of making changes to address this. Whether you have taken a leave of absence for health reasons or are a parent that has taken time off to raise a family, the transition to get back to work can be difficult, scary, and frustrating.
If you are thinking about taking a leave of absence from work or are about to return to work this article will be a good read for you.
The one mistake that people make is not preparing for their return BEFORE they leave.
Before you leave your place of employment. Ask for reference letters from managers that you have had great experiences with. Print out and save those performance reviews and update your resume.
The most challenging part of returning to work after taking more than 3 years off is remembering the metrics and metrics will be one of the key factors needed to re- qualify you when you pursue employment again. It will also help you combat ATS
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-ats-shay-h-/ .
As an employer the main factor preventing one from pursuit of a candidate who has been out of work is whether or not they can remember skillsets learned. Did you ride a bike once? Or have you ridden a bike hundreds of times? Having this information will tell me if you will be able to pick up the bike and ride it again with ease or not. Making time in-between less relevant.
Although metrics will be a great asset to confirm you as a knowledgeable resource outside of time. It is not the only hurdle. What you have been doing within the time gap will need to be explained. It is best to explain this information within a cover letter, so this will rule out the thought of you being fired from your last employer.
Before coming back to work join as a volunteer within your desired field or join a committee or board that will help to re-establish you as an active subject matter contributor if possible. This can be added to your resume and will help fill some of the gap.
We never know what this world will bring us tomorrow , so always prepare today.
I hope this helps someone.
Sincerely,
Shay H.
