Writing a resume after a career break can be challenging. Lots of people take career breaks during their working life. Perhaps you spent your career break looking after young children or an elderly relative. Maybe you were ill, volunteered or even travelled the world!
But despite all the rich experiences you’ll have gained, people can lose confidence if out of the workplace for an extended period. Whatever reasons, career breaks are increasingly common.
In this article, I’ll give you some practical tips on writing a great resume after a career break, helping you land interviews for your dream job.
- What do YOU Want?
Before putting pen to paper, think about what you want from a job and what success means to you. You may have changed during your career break. What hours do you need, what salary, and what do enjoy doing? Career breaks also provide a perfect opportunity to change careers and try something new.
Spend time reflecting on your career break. Did you learn new skills in caring for others? Gained a new perspective when travelling? Took courses or start a side hustle? Whatever you did, you’ll have gained new skills and experiences that will be transferable back to work.
- Update Your CV
Once you’ve identified the jobs you want to apply for, it’s time to write your CV.
Make sure your CV is easy to read by following a simple structure. Include personal details at the top, so Recruiters know how to contact you, followed by a short personal profile or biography telling the Hiring Manager who you are, what you do and the impact you can make.
Next, add your previous jobs. Start with your most recent job, then include previous jobs in reverse chronological order. Use job title first as a header in bold type, followed by employer name. Include dates employed ‘from – until’.
Now list your responsibilities under each job header using bullet points, making them easy to skim-read. Be specific about your role and duties, and avoid generalisations.
Don’t try to hide your career break. Lying about dates could come back to haunt you. And remember – you are more than your career break. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
Writing the following (or similar, depending on your circumstances) will suffice:
May 2018 – September 2021
Career break raising my young family
However, if you have a career gap that you’d rather not highlight, then put the dates employed to the right of the page. They are naturally less visible here (remember, we read left to right). This keeps the reader focused on your job title, skills and experience.
5) Education. Start with your most recent education first and work backwards. Include dates attended, which institution, what you studied and grades (if you did well). You don’t need to go as far back as GCSEs (unless applying for your first job). You should include A-Levels (or equivalent) and above. Add additional relevant training and professional qualifications to this section.
5) IT Skills. Are you a whizz at Excel, have an excellent working knowledge of some fancy software package, or are brilliant at designing PowerPoint presentations? Let us know here! Specific systems skills are essential for certain roles, so don’t forget to include all the bespoke (and more vanilla) systems you can use.
6) Languages. If you speak any languages, put them here, along with your fluency level. Being multi-lingual could give you an edge over other candidates.
- How to give your CV the WOW Factor
Refer to the job adverts you want to apply for and include any relevant skills and experience you have on your CV. Next, sprinkle your CV with the exact words and phrases (if relevant) the job advert has used throughout your career history – all this will show that you have read the job advert and that you are the exact candidate they are looking for. It will also make your CV more likely to pass any Application Tracking Software (ATS) the company might use to assist with CV screening.
- What impact have you made?
This is so important. What positive difference will you make to the organisation? Depending on the job vacancy, the Hiring Manager is fundamentally interested in one of three things:
- Can you save them time?
- Can you save them money?
- Will you make them money?
Maybe you worked as an Accountant who previously automated a set of reports, saving hours at month-end? Perhaps you have a background in Procurement and negotiated a new contract with a cleaning supplier, saving thousands of pounds? You could be in sales and previously won a large contract bringing in significant revenue.
This brilliant stuff makes you stand out as a great employee! Therefore include some key achievements for each job under its own sub-heading so they stand out.
When writing about your achievements, follow the STAR technique (you can also use this when answering competency-based interview questions):
Situation – share some context around the challenge faced.
Task – what was your responsibility in overcoming the challenge?
Action – what step-by-step action did you take to solve the problem?
Result – how did this benefit your employer? Did it save x amount of time, x amount of money etc.?
- Look professional
Your CV is a professional document that your next boss will see. You want to make the right first impression. Therefore if you have a silly email address, change it now! Use your first name dot surname at yahoo.com or hotmail.com (or similar). Something simple won’t give any negative preconceptions about you.
- Keep it short and snappy
Your CV should mirror the job advert. It gives the Hiring Managers a flavour of who you are, what you’ve done and your relevance to the position. Its main aim is to hook them in, so they want to learn more and invite you to interview. Therefore you don’t need to include the daily ins and outs of a role you did ten years ago. You also don’t need to include a complete list of every hobby you do.
If you are concerned about going over two pages, narrow the margins to fit more words onto the page rather than reduce the font size, making your CV harder to read.
- Check and double-check
Once you’ve finished your CV, send it to someone else to check. A simple spelling mistake can cost you the interview. Poor spelling looks sloppy. It creates an impression that you will overlook things and make mistakes.
One final thought – it can be hard not to compare yourself to others, but we are all on our own path – one that we walk at our own pace. And that speed depends on who we are, what we want, and what else is happening in our lives.
Please know your worth! You’re a skilled, conscientious, hardworking individual who will be a real asset to your next employer.
And, remember, if a potential employer can’t appreciate you have a life outside of work, is that where you’d like to work anyway?
So there you have – 7 simple tips on how to make your CV stand out after a career break. We also have a FREE CV template making writing a great CV even easier.
Elizabeth Willetts is the Founder of Investing in Women – a female-empowering job board and community helping family-friendly AND forward-thinking employers hire professionals looking for fulfilling flexible and part-time work. She is an experienced Recruiter with over 15 years of experience – both in-house at one of the Big 4 and from one of the UK’s largest recruitment agencies.
Elizabeth is also a mum to two daughters – Emily and Annabelle (and a Labradoodle called Dougal). She is a passionate believer in the power of part-time and flexible work to retain women in the workplace and close the gender pay gap.
If you hope to return to work after a career break, we have a great selection of flexible, part-time and work-from-home jobs on the Investing in Women jobs board. To see the latest flexible and part-time jobs click here.
