Getting Re-employed After Years of Not Working

For anyone who has ever had a long length of time between jobs, it can be a very hard and difficult road to get back into the swing of things. The very first part is actually getting the job you want. For me, after being a stay at home mom for eight years, the hardest part was building my very first resume, and then learning how to search and hunt jobs. The following are tips and advice from either my experiences, or others before me.

RESEARCH

The first thing to do is look around your area and find out what types of jobs are available. I looked in not only my local newspapers, but also online. I signed up for Career builder.com, which in turn sent me emails on jobs that might fit me. Although, I still think it was a typo when they sent that pilot application! I also went driving around the busiest shopping areas, to see who may have a help wanted sign out. Many smaller companies will put out a sign, but not advertise anywhere else, so it pays to look. Don't forget to talk to friends and relatives also, maybe not to work for them, but they might have heard of a place hiring.

RESUME BUILDING

Now came the hardest part for me. After looking online exstensively, I found that none of the resume templates fit me. I had eight years of no employment, and as cute as it may seem to tell a prospective employer that you know the art of diaper changing, it is not very good marketing. I finally signed up for Yahoo Hot Jobs and there I found the perfect template for me. I was able to pick a simple theme, and give the information I wanted, focusing little on my past employers, and mainly on my experiences. I may not have been able to supply work references, since many of the places I had worked were now gone, but I was able to list the month, year, and basic information.

SELLING YOURSELF

The next thing on my list was to sit down at my computer, and jot down every little job I ever did. Too many people make one of two mistakes when listing their skills. They either underestimate themselves, saying they answered phones, instead of operating a multi-line phone system. Or they go to the extreme and list every detail, all the way down to knowing how to operate a water system, aka sink. I chose three of my past jobs where I not only had the most experience, but where I knew more than one operation. My list looked a little like this:

Assist customers

Multiple phone lines

Receiving orders

stocking and restocking merchandise

training employees

opening store

window displays

store displays

computerized cash register

handling of money, credit cards, checks

inventory

special orders

customer complaints

merchandise problems

returns and exchanges

cleaning

multiple phone lines

train other servers

stock and restock

orientation presentations

fry cook

shake maker

prep work

opening and closing duties

customer service

complaints

large orders-over $10,000

multiple phone lines

handling of cash, credit cards, checks

train other cashiers

stock and restock

displays

customer service

complaints

computer orders

As you can see, some skills were the same, but they showed prospective employers that I had experience in that particular skill. After I finished building my resume, I posted it on a few other sites, like Monster.com as well as Yahoo Hot jobs. I received, and still do, a ton of prospective employers to keep in mind for future needs.

JOB HUNT

As I now had my very first resume, I filled out the applications I had been gathering and went back to each job site, turning in not only my application, but a copy of my resume also, along with the request to speak with a manager if possible. It was a little different for me, as most places hiring at that time were retail, and most of my experiences were with restaurants. But withtoday's economy the way it is, and good jobs scarce, I had to look elsewhere for work, and it was a challenge for me. One thing to remember is, after dropping off your paperwork, and or your first interview, always follow back a few days later with a phone call, I chose to call three days later, but it is up to you. Just don't make the mistake of calling everyday and making a nuisance of yourself.

I was lucky, I found a job finally a few months into my search. It was with a local uniform retail store, and it was perfect for me. Unfortunately, the owners were found out to have a few shady business dealings six months after I started. It all worked out though, I started looking in the ads again, right after I gave my notice. Two days later, resume in hand, I had an interview with the competition, and the job was mine. It's been a few weeks here at my new employers, and I couldn't enjoy it more.