How to return to the labor market after a break?

Arcelia Fuentes is a graphic designer and her last job was in the event organization industry in January 2019, a month later she left her job search to take care of her mom for a broken arm for about six months. After that, nothing was the same. At the end of that year she went back to look for a job opportunity, since then she hasn’t even had any interviews.

Arcelia considers that age is a factor that has played against her, but she does not rule out that the work break she took to support her mother is also another factor that has prevented her return to the labor market. “I think that has also made it strange for them, that I have been without work for so long. It had taken me five months at most to get a job, but I always found work quickly.”

Like her, there are many people who put a stop to your career for reasons such as caring for minors and sick people, studies, health problems, among other causes. Labor inactivity is one of the crises that has worsened the most as a result of the pandemic; in Mexico for each additional person who returned to an occupation, two more joined the inactivity at the most critical moment.

According to talent management specialists, returning to the world of work after a break from work It is usually more complicated than doing it when you remain active in it. These difficulties are associated with multiple factors ranging from the loss of experience during the period of inactivity to the stigmas surrounding these breaks.

Rosario Gaxiola stigmas have charged a high bill, she is a psychologist and was 10 years outside the labor market to take care of her mom. In that time, she has taken various workshops and courses to keep up to date, but after the job interviews, the process does not prosper. “I feel like it’s been something against it because it’s been so many years,” she says. Several months ago she resumed her job search process, so far she has not been successful.

Gabriela Pérez, general director of Livec, considers that part of the challenges to rejoin the labor market is the opening recruiters. “You have to be open to listening to the candidates and knowing the reasons why there were work breaks, because there are many people who want an opportunity and many times because of these stigmas, the recruiter discards them.”

For people who have decided to resume their job search process after a break from work, the specialist proposes the following tips:

1. Be transparent in the process and explain the reasons for the pause.
2. Develop new skills and learn about the new professional profile of the career.
3. Update the CV in a shorter format, highlighting competencies and achievements.
4. Use employment platforms and focus the search on the desired areas and positions.
5. Take care of body language and project an image according to the position applied for.

However, Gabriela Pérez believes that one of the most important aspects when seeking to return to the labor market after a period of inactivity is not to get discouraged, since the job search is likely to take longer than normal.

What did you do during that time?

“There are many stigmas after returning from a work break, but I consider myself equally effective, even more so because now I am able to manipulate a thousand more things in my mind than before having a child,” says Sofía Hernández, who requested anonymity. She has more than 10 years in the medical device industry and her last position was as manager of regulatory affairs, but she left her job six years ago due to complications in her pregnancy and to attend to the care of her son. her.

From the point of view of Ángel Macías Dircio, CEO of Cahum, the question: what did you do during the break? It has taken more weight in the recruitment processes in the wake of the pandemic and is usually a normal concern among recruiters themselves.

“Although they may be questions that make the candidate uncomfortable,” acknowledges the specialist, it is also an element that can help remove the stigma around work breaks because they allow to focus on “knowledge, skills and abilities”.

To answer this question, Ángel Macías recommends that job seekers keep in mind all the abilities that could have been developed during the work break, either through courses or with daily activities such as caring for other people or undertakings such as selling items online.

“The important thing is to mention that at that stage we had learning that complements the vacancy. But it should not be said that we did nothing. If we had a business, if you worked informally or as freelancewe must mention it because that tells us about a self-taught person who is constantly learning”, exposes the specialist.

Common Job Search Mistakes

Alejandra Pérez’s pause has been short, but it was motivated by depression. She ended her contract as a public servant in December 2021 in a town hall and then the crisis came. She reactivated the search for her three months ago, but she doesn’t know if it would be a good idea to discuss her mental health problem in a job interview. “I thought that I will not mention it, but say that I took a break to move to the city and to discover once again what I want to do”.

Although sincerity is one of the pieces of advice, Gabriela Pérez also considers that one of the most frequent mistakes when return to the job market it is to raise only the negative during the pause.

“You have to sell the good things. yes we have to share the reasons, because you will see the pause in the CV, but you have to try to sell the good stuff. For example, the training, updates and studies in this process”, emphasizes the specialist.

Among other frequent mistakes, adds Ángel Macías, is “shoot all the vacancies that move”, this can be a mistake because it ends sharing a resume more generic with recruiters and not one that highlights the experience and skills you have for certain positions and areas.

Before resuming the job searchadds the specialist, it is important to define the positions to which one aspires to apply, and for this it is necessary to analyze the skills, achievements and experience that one has in some industry.

The stories of Arcelia, Rosario, Alejandra and Sofía are just some of the dozens of testimonies we received through social networks and by email, which show that work breaks They tend to be more normal than it seems, they are mostly motivated by issues such as caring for minors or relatives, continuity in studies, mental health effects, among others.