How to get back to work after a break. How to look for a job after a long break from work

Working after a long break: highlights

your good reasons

Working after a long break is not only sometimes emotionally difficult, but also requires certain explanations for a potential employer. In addition, you need to be prepared for the fact that the employment process can be significantly delayed.

One way or another, at the interview, most likely, you will be asked a question about the reason for the pause in labor activity, and here it is important to be able to answer it correctly. We list the main types of reasons that are acceptable to the recruiter and employer:

Circumstances of a personal and family nature. This most often includes pregnancy and childcare. Attributing stagnation to personal circumstances is much easier for women than it is for men.
Moving, staying in another city or country - these processes may require some time to adapt.
A learning process that may involve moving to another country.
The health status of a relative and the availability of a relevant certificate.

Realizing that you have a rationale for a pause in your work activity, you can proceed to, taking into account some rules.

You are not a priority

The employer is much more likely to make a decision in favor of those employees who do not have a break in seniority. If you are interested in a job after long break, for example, at least two years, this greatly reduces your chances. From which various conclusions follow, including the need for more active actions and possible compromises.

Expand your geographic scope

It is possible that luck will smile at you in another region. At the very least, this will significantly increase the likelihood than if you try to find something in your city, and even closer to home.

The interview is your way

If it comes to meeting with the employer, your main task will be to convey to him that you are keeping up with the times and have not fallen behind professionally while you were not working. Indeed, even while at home, it is quite possible to study the news, certain market trends, read relevant literature, and so on. Working after a break is not so difficult, and your task will be to show your reasonable readiness to a potential employer.

Less requests - more chances

Given the above, it would be quite logical to somewhat moderate your ambitions and financial appetites. You must realistically evaluate not only your professional level, but also the viewpoint, as well as the interests of the employer. After all, to some extent, work after long break equates to no work experience. Therefore, you should be prepared to work at first, catching up, getting on track and gaining momentum.

Many employers know that they can hire an employee who has had a long break on mutually beneficial terms. The former are well aware that they can reasonably save on wages without losing much in quality, while the latter may give in at first, and after a few months or a year, apply for a new position or a significant increase in their income.

Working after a long break, as well as finding it, may not be the most pleasant and fast process. However, you need to develop and demonstrate your strengths, sacrificing at some stage their ambitions, so as not to lose even more time, and in the near future to have good chances to new professional achievements.

For almost a year I have been sitting at home, although I am actively looking for a job. In interviews at companies, more and more often they ask why I have such a long break from work. I attribute this to the crisis and the lack of vacancies, but it seems to me that after the interview, the managers think that since I still haven’t got a job, it means that I’m not such a valuable specialist, and they also refuse me.

What to do in such cases, what to say to the HR? What reasons for a long break in work will not scare away a potential employer, but will be perceived as respectful? I also think that for different terms has its own "excuses". Which ones work? For example, you can just relax for a month, but how to explain a year and a half so as not to fall in the eyes of a recruiter?

Olga Besedina, Moscow

Yuri Efrosinin, commercial director of the international recruitment agency Kelly Services:

- By itself, a break in work for six months during a crisis is not perceived by a professional recruiter as a candidate's problem. For a recruiter or HR specialist, it is much more important to understand what the specialist’s previous experience was and what are the reasons for changing jobs. Therefore, when preparing for an interview, it is better to focus on your achievements, successful projects and positive feedback leaders from former places work.

It is not worth thinking up reasons for the forced absence of work. An experienced recruiter will surely understand that your answer is insincere, and may simply not want to get to the bottom of the reasons. Not being confident in the candidate, the recruiter ceases to consider him as a potential applicant.

Yulia Lysenko, head of the personnel provision department of the Moscow branch of the ANCOR leasing company:

- It makes sense to slightly change the focus of the question. Recruiters are well aware of the situation in the labor market and know that a six-month job search is not uncommon these days. They understand just as well that with due perseverance and readiness to be flexible in relation to market conditions, a job can be found faster. The question they ask you first of all makes sense to ask yourself: why?

Once you figure out what exactly is standing in the way of getting an offer, you can give recruiters a more specific answer that will satisfy them. You may not be ready to lower your compensation requirements, or you may be missing a key skill that everyone in your profession needs. Perhaps you are considering offers only from a narrow circle of companies or somehow narrow the range of available options.

Answer questions from HR managers truthfully. Undoubtedly, you can come up with a lot of plausible and witty explanations for what you did for a month, three, six months, a year “out of production”. But, firstly, recruiters hear them every day and have long been successfully distinguishing fantasies from reality, and secondly, even the highest quality, but fictitious reason will not help you figure out what does not work when looking for a job, and also what to do to change it.

Galina Polunova, HR manager:

- A break of less than six months often does not raise questions at all, but I usually ask about the reasons in order to collect Additional information about the candidate. I am always impressed if the applicant simply lists his achievements and the deeds that he accomplished during his forced rest. I care if he filled this time with useful and meaningful activities. For example, quit smoking, passed the next language level completed repairs in new apartment and others. And even though these are quite everyday events, they say a lot about a person.

Any situation can be presented in a favorable light. Finish on the fact that you have already completed everything that your hands did not reach before and now fully devote yourself to work, without being distracted by the same repairs and without running to language courses in the evenings.

I often hear from job seekers that they were freelancing during their break. Unfortunately, when it comes to the details of which company, where you can see the result of the work, it turns out that the candidate essentially has nothing to say. So if you don't have real examples your work, do not mislead HR. This is perceived as a lie and causes a negative reaction.

Much depends on how long a person has not worked: a month, six months or several years. In the latter case, fears that the candidate has lost the necessary skills are not unfounded. This is especially true for IT-specialists, accountants, lawyers - technologies are developing rapidly here, software is being updated, the legislative framework etc.

A long break in work always requires explanation. It's one thing if a person is actively looking for suitable job, negotiated with companies, maybe even agreed, but at the last moment the employer withdrew the vacancy. Other - if the candidate started own business. In this case, I find out why the person left his business, whether he can return from free bread, etc. At the same time, I always try to listen to the candidate and understand his reasons. By itself, a break in seniority cannot serve as an argument for refusing to hire, but it is important to understand what is behind it and how well the candidate meets the requirements of the position for which he is applying.

Pregnancy, illness - own or loved one, studies sometimes force us to leave work for a while. AND we are talking not about months, because here you can always take a vacation without saving wages somehow negotiate with the manager. We are talking about years. Coming back to work after a long break is never easy. At this moment, our professional image in memory has almost been erased, it is very difficult to pick up a career in the place where we left it. Especially if you need to look for a new job, but you don’t want to go for a demotion. How to convince the employer that you have not lost your skills and have not lost your qualifications? Just updating the resume here will not be enough. We will tell you what steps to take if you have to return to work after a long break.

Assess the situation

Before you start preparing to go to work, you need to think about what situation you are in. If you are looking for a new job, then potential employers will ask why you have not worked for so long, what have you been doing all this time, why do you want to return. You must know the answers to all these questions. And in this case, honesty, as they say, is the best policy. These are not trick questions, but better prepare for them in advance, because if you think about them for a long time, you will look suspicious.

The next thing to think about is what kind of work you want to do. Do not panic sending out resumes and responding to every more or less suitable vacancy. Pay attention to the scope, employment and location of potential jobs. Again, if you do not take this issue seriously, you will not write detailed cover letters, then the employer will immediately think that you are preparing to take another break, and refuse you in favor of another candidate.

Prepare carefully

Try to find as much information as possible about the job and the field you plan to return to. The most a big problem that people face in a similar situation is technical progress, new computer programs to master, new market trends. Stay up to date and brush up on your skills if required. Read professional blogs and forums, subscribe to the newsletter, join the relevant groups on social networks. By the way, put your profiles in order. Less cats and stupid jokes, provocative photos and statuses. Sometimes . A good preparatory lesson is volunteering. After working for a couple of months on good principles, it will be easier for you to join the workday.

Work on your resume

If you haven't worked for an impressive amount of time, it will be strange if you do not write about what you have been doing all this time on your resume. Make sure that your profile matches the one required by the potential employer. In the event that you took a part-time job, list the skills that you have mastered. But do not forget about the experience that you got before the break. Focus on your accomplishments, whether they happened yesterday or a year ago. The result is important here - you have achieved something, coped with some difficulties.

Write a cover letter

You need to start with the fact that for some time you did not work. Explain why it happened, why you decided to return to work. If you plan to continue the career you once started building, write that you want to start doing what you love again. If you want to try something new, notice how this challenge inspires you. It is very important that your arguments are solid, that you sound confident, that there is not even a shadow of doubt in your words. You can start working now - note this in your letter.

A good thing is vacation. You can lie in bed for half a day, and then lazily drink coffee to the news and think about going out today, or you can live without bread for a day. Or take a ticket and go somewhere to distant lands, where the boss will not call demanding to immediately solve some paramount problem right now, and where you don’t need to worry about “daily bread” in the form of preparing breakfast-lunch-dinner, their and so we will be served. That's just the vacation is so fleeting that it's just in front of us whole month rest and doing nothing, and now everything is abruptly like this: life is over and tomorrow you have to go to work. How to force yourself to work after a long break?

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And it seems that they had a good rest during the vacation, and saved up some strength, and it would be possible with such forces to turn mountains, turn back rivers ... But when you come to your home office and see your desk with a bunch of papers and a dusty monitor, you start abruptly I don't want to understand, and I can't. You put in a lot mental strength, in order to set yourself up for a working mood, you start to do something diligently for 5 minutes, 10 and 15. And then you realize that your neck and back are numb, your pen has disappeared somewhere (and you just were there, well, here was), colleagues nearby on the phone speak as if they are trying to shout to Mars, the whole office looks disgusting and gloomy and you want to immediately run away from here, although before going on vacation everything was just fine.

Do we recognize ourselves? Congratulations, you are a victim of post-vacation syndrome. And this phenomenon is by no means so rare: it affects about half of all workers. This manifests itself in the form of stress, irritation, incomprehensible feelings of anxiety and nervousness. This syndrome causes frequent headaches, chest pains, causes insomnia, and if it is present, most importantly, you absolutely do not want to work! And I don’t feel like it to such an extent that American researchers even calculated that approximately 80% of all resignation letters are written after a vacation, when a person returns to work and understands that something urgently needs to be changed right now.

Although not everyone suffering from this syndrome does this. Some try to extend the vacation time, and go on sick leave, or on additional leave at their own expense.

Well, the most conscious ex-vacationers are trying to fix this situation, and help yourself overcome both a decrease in performance and a deterioration in health and mood.

According to psychologists, this syndrome appears in people due to the following reasons:

During a vacation, a person absolutely ceases to adhere to any particular rhythm, goes to bed deep after midnight and gets up when the workers have even managed to take a lunch break.

Fans of extreme types of recreation have time to get tired during the holidays so that their body simply requires a period of rest and sleep.

During the vacation, a habit appeared to do everything slowly, “with laziness”, and the body lost the habit of “rushing” around the apartment at half past seven in the morning in search of clothes.

Also, a person manages to get used to choosing independently - what to do first and what can be safely postponed until later. With going to work, this freedom of choice is lost for him - there is something that needs to be done, and done right now.

Well, after a vacation, a person begins to clearly understand that he does not like his work, he does not receive any satisfaction from it, which means that “they don’t carry him there”.

So, in order to protect yourself from getting a post-holiday syndrome, you should spend your vacation in such a way as to disrupt your usual rhythm to a minimum (do not go to bed very late, and get up an hour or two later than usual, and not at sunset). In case you are leaving somewhere, do not go to work immediately upon return, calculate the date of your return so that you still have a day or two to rest and recover. Well, the day before going to work, try to “go down to earth” and read corporate news, brush up on some of the data that you worked with before going on vacation, contact colleagues and ask what happened in your absence.

On the day you go to work on the road, try to remember what good this job gives you, try to plan your day so that every hour you have 10 minutes to rest. During the break, do not stay at your workplace - it is better to go outside and get some air. And do not take your vacation photos with you - only disturb your soul with them, and you will not be able to tune in to the working mood. And, of course, praise yourself for every success, for every task completed (even if it was very small) - after all, you may not wait for such recognition from your boss.

How to force yourself to work after a long break? If all these tips did not help, and there is still no desire to work ... Then it might be worth considering - what if you are among those same 80% of vacationers, and it's time for you to think about changing your activities?

How to get a job if there was a big break in the experience? We answer the most popular questions.

1. I want to return to work after my parental leave. How to convince the employer of my professional suitability?

First of all, the employer will doubt not your professional suitability, but that you will regularly go to work. “You can say that in the event of a child's illness, the grandmother is ready to take care of him,” advises Alexander Tyulin, managing partner of Avtoritet LLC. “You can admit that there is no one to sit with the child, but you are already enrolled in kindergarten and that now you need a reliable and stable job for many years.”

Tell at the interview what during maternity leave you tracked everything related to your industry. “I personally encountered this issue 2 years ago, when I decided to return from parental leave to work,” Ekaterina Khachatryan, doctor at the Allergomed clinic, shares her experience. - In my specialty, as in almost all areas, constant self-education is necessary, so the first thing I told my future employer was that for almost the entire year I studied numerous literature in my specialty, went through training and know all modern trends. During this year, a lot of strength has accumulated to achieve new goals, so I am ready to actively take up work and support the initiatives of the future boss.”

2. I was sick for a long time. I'm afraid that the employer will not want to accept the applicant who spent so much time on sick leave. What to do?

Convince the employer that you are now healthy. You may need to show certificates and conclusions of doctors. However, if you have any health restrictions, it is better to warn about it right away.

It will be useful to tell the employer that during the illness you were interested in what is happening in your industry, and your competencies are enough for the position you are applying for. Appeal to your experience, be sure to say that you are ready to develop further.

3. Why do employers dislike job seekers with a long gap in seniority?

“The employer does not react to a break in work as such, but to the fact that this is a possible signal that the candidate has problems ( prolonged illness), insufficient level of adaptation to stressful situations(long-term exit from a difficult life situation), - comments the head of the career development center Career-way.center Anna Belokhonova. - The reason for the break can also be a higher priority in the direction personal life, families, the desire to travel rather than devote oneself to a career, the lack of the need to earn money, which can affect the level of motivation, performance and, finally, simply the involvement of a future employee. In all listed cases the basis for making a positive decision will be the availability of relevant professional experience, the level of development professional competencies, confirmed performance and lack of stagnation in professional development. In addition, it must be taken into account that the employer asks big amount questions before offering a job to such a candidate, so he will play it safe, carefully checking the recommendations from former colleagues and employers."

4. I have a diploma, I want to work in my specialty. But the break in the experience is more than five years. Do I need to study something extra or is a diploma enough?

Yes, you need to study more. Changes are taking place very quickly in almost all areas of activity. Therefore, it is important to convince the employer that you are aware of all the innovations in your industry and own latest knowledge and tools.

5. And if I have a long break according to my documents, but in fact I worked unofficially. How will this affect the results of the interview?

Your employer may ask you why you chose informal employment. But if the level of your competencies is suitable for the proposed vacancy, there will most likely be no problems.

6. What are the most suspicious reasons for a long break in work experience among employers?

The greatest concern for HR is interruptions associated with the search for oneself - there are fears that the candidate is not sure what he wants to do, and at the first difficulty he will leave to look for a new vocation.

A break in work due to illness, of course, the employer understands as a human being. But such a break raises concerns: what if health problems will be repeated?

The most acceptable reasons for taking a break from work are parental leave and training. If your break is related to receiving additional education or internships (especially in large foreign companies), this characterizes you as a career-oriented and passionate employee. And such a break in the experience is already considered a plus.

7. What should I say to the employer to convince him that I am ready to work well after such a long break?

The most compelling is your motivation. Tell the employer why you are interested in this job. What can you offer the company, what competencies will allow you to cope with the tasks. Young mothers are usually well aware of what multitasking is. Long term treatment gives the skill of patience, consistency and attention to detail.

But most importantly, you need to convey to the employer the idea that you are a professional in your field and are ready to develop further.