Common Obstacles Faced By Restarters

My goal with this newsletter series is to change the narrative around career breaks- on the candidate front and on recruitment front. Over the last 2 weeks I met up with 15 people over zoom and chatted with a lot more via LinkedIn messages. Thanks to these series, I am able to meet and help so many in a very small way. All of them were at different places in their journey of finding a job after a career break. I offered to help with a couple immediate problems that they are facing and share things that could help them. While talking to them I started gathering data by asking a script of questions. As someone in product management, I want to look at it as a problem and right now I am trying to find as much information and data as I can. I will need to talk to a few (hundred?!) more people to really derive any insights. However, here are some common themes I found during these 1-1 calls. They all have the below attributes-?

They are insecure:?

Although every person I met was at a different point in that journey, the mindset, the problems and the inner self talk was the same. They were insecure about their past experience and the break had added to their insecurity. They let the break take over their career and drive the narrative. It was almost like each of them felt handicapped due to the break. In retrospect I was the same as well. I want to tell each and everyone of you to look at the break in a new light and the things it has taught you. This exercise will give you the much needed security and confidence.

They are trying to do this alone:?

They all are doing this on their own and have no community or support. It is hard to ask for help when you think you don't have anything to offer. But it is ok to ask for help. No one needs to do this alone. Not only will this help you move forward, but also broaden your horizons to things you never knew existed. So this is the biggest disservice you can do for yourself, is to try and tackle this by yourself, alone, in vacuum. Ask for help for mock interviews, resume reviews, a problem you are trying to solve when upskilling by yourselves. We got our first job after several decades in school and college combined. That was a community we had when we got that first job. It is now up to us to build that community in absence of a school/institution.

They are disconnected:?

Not only do they not want to ask for help, but they don't want to reach out and build connections. One person literally used the word “begging” when trying to ask for a connection, or request an informational interview. Networking is a crucial aspect of finding a job and should not be considered begging. By no means I am suggesting, randomly start adding people in bulk on LinkedIn. Start out with an intention, know why you are reaching out to someone, be genuine in your questions and what you want out of the connection you are making.

They are disjointed:?

Almost all of them showed up without having thought about why they were looking for a job, what they wanted out of their career. This shows lack of ownership of your own career and comes across as confused and ill-informed. When asked why this role - not one single person had a concrete answer of why they were attracted to a certain role. The lack of clarity on your own career is reflected on your resume, in your LinkedIn messages, and in your responses to the recruiter or hiring manager. This makes your candidacy doubtful for the job position. Before jumping into applying for jobs, ensure you know what you are doing and why. Ask yourself “How am I a good fit for this role”. Also, “what do I bring to the table for a job position” Identify companies that you would like to work at based on the culture, products, and teams.?

I have been on both sides of the fence- a candidate looking for a job after a break and an experienced professional who has interviewed dozens of candidates. By being confident about what you bring to the table, being sorted in your priorities and skillset and being well researched about the job and the industry is the minimum you can do as you present yourselves as a potential candidate. It makes decision making in a rather long, arduous, rigorous and a very dull process so much easier and pleasant for everyone.