Being away from a working environment can create nervousness when it comes to the job hunting and application process. However, if you analyse what you achieved in your time off, you may well have developed and demonstrated skills employers seek.

Have in mind three key points before writing your CV:

1. Start by thinking about the skills you have been using whilst away from the office environment, considering any areas you have been involved with such as fund raising, voluntary work, toddler group set ups, parent associations, organising an event etc.

   Examples of the kind of transferable skills you may have used could be: Communication, Negotiation, Presentation, Planning & Organisation, Compassion

2. What motivates you to return to work – what would you like to do and why? Once you have thought about this, try to identify the skills needed and relate to your time in employment and your time off. Ensure your personal profile clearly defines what you want to bring to an employer and the theme stays consistent throughout your CV.
3. Be positive, proactive and confident – even job seekers in employment struggle to do all 3 well. If you can get in the right frame of mind (try treating job hunting as a game) you’ll be streets ahead of the competition.

NAME AND ADDRESS

Common mistakes include taking too much space to write your address and not including a mobile number or email address – you must be easily contactable. You don’t want to waste space at the top of your CV as this is the area that recruiters or HR managers will first see, so keep it clean and snappy.

PERSONAL PROFILE / STATEMENT

This is a short paragraph that shows you in your best light. Don’t ‘pretend’ that you haven’t had a break, but don’t write too much either. Try a sentence like ‘keen to return to work after a fulfilling sabbatical’ or ‘looking to re-enter the workplace and put experience gained in the voluntary sector into practice’. If you have taken time out for family reasons, you could try ‘an experienced sales person (tailor to suit) with valuable life experience looking to return to work’.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Most people find this challenging. Don’t think you have to ‘stretch out’ past jobs to make it look like you haven’t had a break. Employers are appreciative of career breaks and, as long as you present yourself well and sound motivated and committed, they can see the value of people returning to work whose experience may otherwise have been lost.

Ensure dates are accurate, include, where appropriate, voluntary work, projects and relevant tasks such as organising community activity where your skills will appeal to the potential employer.

REFERENCES

Try and include references where possible. If you have been away from the workplace for some time, consider asking someone that you have worked with on an informal or voluntary basis, such as the head teacher of your children’s school if you have been involved in the PTA or perhaps someone connected to a charity for which you volunteer.