7-Steps to Making a Confident Career Comeback
Many career women seeking to re-enter the workforce, after a multi-year career break, wonder if they can make a strong comeback. Many rely on experience and beefy resumes to make superior second impressions. Many are qualified, tested candidates, with proven track records to hit the ground running on day one and are less of a risk to employers than new recruits.
However true, these women are often not the recruiter's choice. In the final battle, they find themselves explaining time gaps on their resumes and struggling to beat out lesser qualified candidates in interviews because they fail to stay visible, credible, confident, and connected 'during the hiatus.'
For many women, re-entering the workforce after a long absence can be daunting. But, the good news is that the process of maintaining a credible presence in the marketplace "during your hiatus" is not nearly as intimidating as the 'infamous' uphill reentry battle many face when they fail to do so.
The idea of staying visible is simple: maintain your market-presence when you step-out to increase your marketability when you're ready to step-back-in. But even that can seem overwhelming with the myriad of competing priorities you have to juggle while you're out.
So... if you have been out of the workforce for more than a year and you plan to return at some point, use these 7 steps to help you make a confident career comeback.
1. Remember Your Value.
Prior to leaving the workforce you were valuable to your employer and made significant contributions to the organizations you worked for. Remembering your value is an important first step. So start by making a list of your top 10 most precious accomplishments, contributions and achievements. This could be something as small as an idea that you once shared at a meeting which lead to some major happening in your department. List those small ideas that contributed to the bottom line or generated a return on investment on your watch. Give yourself credit now, even if you did not receive credit then.
2. Expect Success.
Many women on hiatus do not expect to reenter the workforce successfully. They loose their career confidence and discount their market-value. They are told by some re-entry experts to lower their expectations and be willing to accept less and eventually they get what they're told to settle for. Remember, if you expect defeat you are likely to be defeated. I recommend that you think BIG and Expect Success!
3. Pursue Your Passion.
Of all the things you have done in your career thus far, what captured your interest and heart the most? What is most precious to you? Your greatest impact can be made when you are truely passionate about what you do. Your genuine authenticity will take you to the next level in your career journey and there you will find the work-life balance, freedom and flexibility you are looking for. This is the point in your career where you abandon the status quo, forget about what's socially acceptable and embrace your unique passions, strengths and affinities.
4. Stay Visible & Connected.
Take a proactive role to stay on the radar screens of recruiters and employers and keep your professional network active. One way you can accomplish both is by joining the Women On Career Break Network the NEW social networking forum created to help you stay visible to recruiters and employers and connected to professional women from 47 different fields and industries: from women in accounting and broadcast to women in venture capital and Web consulting.
5. Capitalize on Your Intellectual Capital.
Transform the knowledge that you have acquired over X number of years into a variety of high-profit formats that can increase the value of what you know and add upfront value to who you want to know.
6. Position Yourself as the Expert.
Whether you decide to return to the workforce, pursue a new career path or become your own boss, positioning yourself as the expert in your field can help you attract more recruiters and employers or customers and clients into your sphere of influence with ease. As you may know "the expert" is always in demand.
7. Add Upfront Value to Who You Want to Know.
When you provide upfront value to the people you want to know in the marketplace, they will come to you sure that you have what it is they're looking for when they are ready to buy.
So...if someone's going to maintain their value in the marketplace 'during their career break' why not let it be YOU! Get started by remembering it.
Barbara Bamba is the Founder and CEO of the Women On Career Break Network, producer of the Practice Makes Perfect: Mock Skills Training Clinics and creator of the Career Break-Through Tele-Series. She's a Career Break Strategy Speaker who shares her story of comeback from "The 7-Year Hiatus from HE*L" and the mindset and strategies she used to eliminate self-doubt and resurrect her career to a highly profitable, passionate & prestigious level when her confidence and self-esteem was at an all time low. Visit Barbara's Website @
However true, these women are often not the recruiter's choice. In the final battle, they find themselves explaining time gaps on their resumes and struggling to beat out lesser qualified candidates in interviews because they fail to stay visible, credible, confident, and connected 'during the hiatus.'
For many women, re-entering the workforce after a long absence can be daunting. But, the good news is that the process of maintaining a credible presence in the marketplace "during your hiatus" is not nearly as intimidating as the 'infamous' uphill reentry battle many face when they fail to do so.
The idea of staying visible is simple: maintain your market-presence when you step-out to increase your marketability when you're ready to step-back-in. But even that can seem overwhelming with the myriad of competing priorities you have to juggle while you're out.
So... if you have been out of the workforce for more than a year and you plan to return at some point, use these 7 steps to help you make a confident career comeback.
1. Remember Your Value.
Prior to leaving the workforce you were valuable to your employer and made significant contributions to the organizations you worked for. Remembering your value is an important first step. So start by making a list of your top 10 most precious accomplishments, contributions and achievements. This could be something as small as an idea that you once shared at a meeting which lead to some major happening in your department. List those small ideas that contributed to the bottom line or generated a return on investment on your watch. Give yourself credit now, even if you did not receive credit then.
2. Expect Success.
Many women on hiatus do not expect to reenter the workforce successfully. They loose their career confidence and discount their market-value. They are told by some re-entry experts to lower their expectations and be willing to accept less and eventually they get what they're told to settle for. Remember, if you expect defeat you are likely to be defeated. I recommend that you think BIG and Expect Success!
3. Pursue Your Passion.
Of all the things you have done in your career thus far, what captured your interest and heart the most? What is most precious to you? Your greatest impact can be made when you are truely passionate about what you do. Your genuine authenticity will take you to the next level in your career journey and there you will find the work-life balance, freedom and flexibility you are looking for. This is the point in your career where you abandon the status quo, forget about what's socially acceptable and embrace your unique passions, strengths and affinities.
4. Stay Visible & Connected.
Take a proactive role to stay on the radar screens of recruiters and employers and keep your professional network active. One way you can accomplish both is by joining the Women On Career Break Network the NEW social networking forum created to help you stay visible to recruiters and employers and connected to professional women from 47 different fields and industries: from women in accounting and broadcast to women in venture capital and Web consulting.
5. Capitalize on Your Intellectual Capital.
Transform the knowledge that you have acquired over X number of years into a variety of high-profit formats that can increase the value of what you know and add upfront value to who you want to know.
6. Position Yourself as the Expert.
Whether you decide to return to the workforce, pursue a new career path or become your own boss, positioning yourself as the expert in your field can help you attract more recruiters and employers or customers and clients into your sphere of influence with ease. As you may know "the expert" is always in demand.
7. Add Upfront Value to Who You Want to Know.
When you provide upfront value to the people you want to know in the marketplace, they will come to you sure that you have what it is they're looking for when they are ready to buy.
So...if someone's going to maintain their value in the marketplace 'during their career break' why not let it be YOU! Get started by remembering it.
Barbara Bamba is the Founder and CEO of the Women On Career Break Network, producer of the Practice Makes Perfect: Mock Skills Training Clinics and creator of the Career Break-Through Tele-Series. She's a Career Break Strategy Speaker who shares her story of comeback from "The 7-Year Hiatus from HE*L" and the mindset and strategies she used to eliminate self-doubt and resurrect her career to a highly profitable, passionate & prestigious level when her confidence and self-esteem was at an all time low. Visit Barbara's Website @
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