The summer break presents a unique opportunity to refresh, recharge, and ready yourself for exciting career opportunities ahead.
September is often the time for new beginnings. Once the summer holidays are behind us, we know that many returners’ attention shifts to their return to work plan. Getting focussed however can be the hardest, and most valuable, first step. Without focus, you can sometimes get a little stuck or start to head down the wrong path, adopting one of the following strategies:
- Treating your job search like a research project with lots of thinking but little action
- Taking a scattergun approach – randomly applying for a range of jobs online
- Waiting to ‘find your passion’ or for the ‘perfect job’ to come along.
With all of these approaches, you’re left no further forward. To make progress, it’s so important to have greater clarity and focus. So, there are three key questions you need to ask yourself:
- Why do I want to go back to work?
- What do I want to do?
- How am I going to get there?
Why do I want to go back to work?
Start by working out exactly why you want to return to work. Your motivation is often a mix of different things. It could be a need for intellectual stimulation, to use your qualifications, or to be a role model for your children. It could be a desire for a more tangible sense of achievement or to get your professional identity back. It could be financial motivation; either financial necessity, wanting to contribute your fair share or wanting the value you feel from earning your own money. As you consider your job options, check that you’ll be fulfilling your key motivations in the roles you’re considering.
What do I want to do?
This is often where people stray off track as they look for options that would tick all their criteria of being fulfilling work, at the right level and with the flex they need. However, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to optimise all 3 from the start. Instead, consider your life as a whole and reflect on what compromises/trade-offs you might need to make now, to ensure it works across all fronts – work, home and life more generally. Where possible, start with job fulfilment – work that uses your strengths, is in line with your values and linked with your interests, and then think about how you can do that flexibly and at the level you want.
There’s a lot of evidence that if you orientate your career around knowing and using your strengths, you are likely to be better at what you do and also to be happier. Strengths are what you’re good at and what energises you. You’ll know when you’re using your strengths as you often get a buzz out of using them.
You can build your understanding of your strengths by reflecting on past appraisals and achievements and what strengths you used then. You can also ask others for feedback – they may well point out strengths that you take for granted because they come naturally to you. You can also use an online strengths tool such as Gallup’s Strengthsfinder which will help you identify your top 5 natural strengths.
When reflecting on your work values, consider what’s most important to you in your working life? Is it about making a difference, ensuring you’re continually developing or being challenged? Consider which aspects you’re prepared to compromise on and which are make-or-break.
Likewise, it’s really valuable to spend time reflecting on your interests – what do you enjoy doing? How have your interests changed over the years? What new emerging areas capture your imagination that perhaps weren’t around earlier in your career?
Use all of these factors to help you develop your decision criteria and think creatively about how they could translate into different job options.
How am I going to get there?
The next step is to actively explore your options. Pick two or three options that you have the most energy to investigate. Don’t underestimate the intangible aspect of which jobs excite you –this is equally valuable information! Look to your networks to find people who are doing similar roles and chat to them about what they do, a typical day, what they enjoy & don’t. Test out whether it’s possible to achieve those things that are important to you in that particular role.
If you’re thinking about doing something totally different, see if you can volunteer in this area to build your experience, test if it feels like a good fit, and make new contacts. A volunteering opportunity can sometimes lead to a paid one – you’re in the right place to hear about any paid opportunities that come up, plus you’ve had a chance to demonstrate what you can bring.
And if you want to go back to your old field, make sure you get up to date – do your research, read industry journals, attend webinars and conferences – and get back in touch with old colleagues and friends now working in the area to understand the changes.
The important piece is to get started – don’t wait for everything to be perfect! Just start taking small steps forward every day towards your exciting new career chapter.
