Career Break Interview Questions & Answers

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Here are a few tips for re-entering the workforce:
★Prepare before you leave
★Stay connected while you are away
★Volunteer or be part of a trade organization
★Learn new skills
★Stay relevant
★Sharing your story when you return
★Explaining your career break

Make sure you inform your network (trusted colleagues, former supervisors/clients, friends, family) about your career break and keep them updated during your journey. This will keep you top of mind when you return from your break. Even if you do not plan to return to the same industry, your network is invaluable. The contacts you have made are the shortest distance between you and your next job, they are your connections to multiple industries and companies. Statistically, you are 70%-80% more likely to receive a job offer through your network than through job boards and direct applications.

Remember your career break is also a chance to add new skills, particularly ones you want to learn. Perhaps you want to become a better writer. Use blogging to practice and share your skills. Maybe you always wanted to learn html or build a website? Use this chance to build a travel website. These are all useful skills to learn while away and are very relevant to the work place. The tools you use to stay in touch (video conferencing, blogging) also make you a stronger communicator and emphasize your ability to connect with people remotely. These are important skills as the workforce becomes more global and remote workers become more prevalent.

It is important to say from the get go that you had a career break. Explain why you took it and why you want to come back.
If you are returning to the same career, say you can not wait to return to what you love doing. If you are embarking on a new career, emphasis how you are excited about the new challenge. Be clear that you know this is what you want to do and that you have fully considered it.
If you can start immediately, make sure you include that in your cover letter too.

The biggest hurdle you have is convincing the interviewers that you are not going to pack up and leave. You need to show lasting commitment.
If it was not your choice to have the break, maybe you had to look after a relative or suffered illness, always be positive. Did you overcome something personal? Maybe learnt a new skill while on the break? These are all positive endings to what can be sad beginnings.
Be succinct when talking about the reason for the break and always divert attention to your previous work experience. However, one common pitfall made when returning to work is talking about your life before the break as if it was centuries ago. Obviously it is in the past but do not labor the point. Rather than referring to years, just refer to the task. You do not want to highlight how long you have been away from the workforce.
It is important for anyone to research the company they are interviewing for but this is especially important when it comes to career breaks. You need to prove that you are as sharp as someone who has been doing the job continuously and that you know all there is to know about the company and the sector they are in.

Research as much as you can about the career and sector you want to return to. The biggest obstacle people face after having a career break is being left behind as technology or processes move on, so ensure you know about all the market trends.
A simple way to get this information is to sign up for industry newsletters or follow blogs. This way you can have a small daily dose of news, which quickly adds up to a lot of knowledge.
Before you start down the social networking route, check that you would be happy for potential employers to see your online profiles. If not, clean up or delete.
Volunteering is also a good way to ease yourself back into the work environment and when you get a job it won't be such a culture shock. But if you are claiming benefits, make sure you check to see if there are any limitations on what you can do.

If your career break was a significant amount of time, it will look odd if you do not include some information about what you got up to on your resume. If you did not have any employment, include a 'relevant experience' section. Ensure that anything listed is tied in with a desirable characteristic for an employee. Alternatively, if you were incredibly busy, list events as if they were a job, summarizing what skills you learnt along the way.
The experience and skills you gained before the break are important too, so ensure you highlight them. Make sure you really emphasis your achievements, it does not matter if they took place a year ago, you still achieved it.
If the gaps in your resume make you uncomfortable, try using a functional resume format instead. This focuses on skills and experience rather than dates of job titles. This is not for everyone, so do some research first.

Follow these simple tips and make the move back into work a whole lot easier:
★ Assess your situation
★ Get ready to return
★ Work your CV
★ Nail the cover letter
★ The interview

Before you start getting ready to return to work, it is worth having a think about your situation. Potential employers will ask why you took the break, what you did and also why you want to come back. Consider your answers to these questions. They are not trick questions but if you do not think about how you would answer them, you can quickly look suspect.
Another thing to consider is what type of work you want to do. Do not just start applying in a panic, think about the hours, location and sector of your next employment. Again, if an employer does not think you are serious about the application, they will assume you are preparing to take another break and so will focus on another candidate.

One of the most important things to possess as you are working your way back into the workforce again is to have confidence in your ability to do so. If you do not believe that your career break was beneficial and you are simply trying to create a sales pitch, then it will not be as successful. As you converse with future employers and network with colleagues, you must ooze confidence about your career break.

Most people have a gap or two in their career history. It is very common and not normally anything to worry about. There is, however, only one explanation that an employer is really going to view favourably:
★ Further training/education
Other common - and conceivably constructive - reasons include:
★ Raising a child
★ Caring for another dependent
★ Travel
But there are also reasons which will definitely be viewed negatively:
★ Inability to find a suitable position
★ Ill health

Things to do after returning from a career break:
★ Consider what your goal is
★ Update Your Resume
★ Prepare for Interviews
★ Have a Positive and Confident Attitude about your Career Break Experience

Understand how your travels contribute to who you are. This may take some careful retrospection, however if you kept a blog or journal while traveling it may become a bit easier. Consider what you learned in the various countries and cultures you experienced and how would that apply to doing business internationally.
Examine your experiences and then try to the following questions:
★ How have my life-goals changed?
★ How have my career goals changed?
★ What qualities have I strengthened to make me a better team player?
★ What qualities have I strengthened to make me a better leader?
Next consider what questions you will be asked in a typical interview and have answers prepared and practiced for these types of questions:
★ Why did you decide to take a career break and travel?
★ What was the most memorable experience and why?
★ Did you have any important revelations?
★ Why are you back?
Keep in mind the company may think that taking a career break is irresponsible and means you could leave them at a moments notice too, therefore, be prepared to explain how loyal and committed you are.

You do not have to hide your career break, you should address it. You may want a number of versions of how you address it depending on the jobs you are applying for.
★ Include a short section about your career break and if you did any work related activities during that time (volunteering, teaching, freelancing, ran a blog).
★ Include an area/continent that you focused on especially if it has ties to your work in some way. I was in IT and often worked with outsourcing firms in India so highlighting my world experience was key.
★ Soft skills are most every career breaker will return with better soft skills acquired from their time on the road. Key areas involve - Risk taker, negotiation skills, flexibility, patience, adapt quickly to changing environments, and enhanced decisions making. In my opinion, much of these skills fall into one important area in business - leadership.
★ List your travel website if you feel it is professional enough to mention.
★ Look over it with a critical business eye before touting it on your resume.

This is not a quick, or easy decision to make. It often takes a lot of soul searching and potentially negotiating with a significant other. The main thing is to not force a decision if you do not have an answer. If the answer is not coming to you, then simply dip your toe into all of the options, send out resumes and see where it lands you.
★ Do you want to return to the same career on the same career track?
★ Do you want to return to the same career but on a different career track?
★ Do you want to utilize your skills and talents to pursue freelance work?
★ Do you want to make a big change and never return to corporate?

Here are a few things you should do while on the road:
★Periodically stay in contact with colleagues and provide them updates of your travels and experiences.
★Create personal name cards.
★As you meet people while traveling be sure to ask them what they do.
★Have your story ready.
★Try to meet some of the expat community.

A few months before returning from career break:
★Take stock of what you have learned and how you have changed. What soft skills have you gained.
★Updating your resume with some of your travel experiences.
★Reach out to your networks and let them know that you'll be returning shortly and looking for employment.
★Start communicating with recruiters.

We joined the travel tribes group which is full of travellers who understand us. It always feels comfortable and easy to be with them. I still enjoy hanging out with my closest friends but it is nice to be a different me with others as well. So keep in mind that adjusting to life back home will take some time. As long as you are aware of the signs of reverse culture shock, the better prepared you will be to deal with it.

Here are a few things you should do before leaving for a career break:
★Choose your itinerary with some thought about coming back to the workforce.
★Update your resume.
★Contact your business contacts and let them know that you are leaving to travel and why you have chosen to do so.

Your career break experience has changed you and while you may return home hoping to reconnect with your old friends, you may find it easier to seek out new friends, fellow travelers who understand who you are now.
★Accept that you are not the same.
★Spend time with those who accept the new you and start making new friends.
So keep in mind that adjusting to life back home will take some time. As long as you are aware of the signs of reverse culture shock, the better prepared you will be to deal with it.

You see things with different eyes and people may not recognize this anymore. Understand that is okay. Remain true to who you are. And if it means that some friendships change as a result then so be it. Things change, it is the nature of life.

When someone asks you the general question "how was your trip?," you may be tempted to go into every detail from the tree-climbing goats you searched out in Morocco to the baby goats you fed by bottle staying in a village in Thailand. But for the most part, you will find that most people ask the same few questions.

Many travelers can get depressed after returning home from around the world travels, finding life at home less than stimulating.
Back home, boredom can happen pretty fast if you do not keep yourself busy. On the road you move around everyday but there is a certain staticness that comes with being back home. Even if you keep yourself busy, returning home can be a little underwhelming sometimes.
It is easy to start complaining to friends and family about how boring home is but they may feel as if you are calling them boring as well. And your cultural adventures do not have to end as soon as the plane touches down on the tarmac. Seek out restaurants, events, museums and other activities in your area that can make you feel as if you are still abroad. And better yet, invite some of your friends or family along so they can get a taste of what you experienced.

Explaining your career break:
How you tell your story can make the difference between whether you get the job or not. Many people are intrigued to hear about a sabbatical or career break but if you do not share the story in a way that is relevant, it can impact your job search.
Think about this from the employer's point of view. They want to know your career path and how this career break fits into that. Include your sabbatical/career break on your resume. Share the relevant experience you gained as discussed above. Succinctly share the details of when and why you took the sabbatical as well as the outcome. If you are enthusiastic and upbeat about this time away, your passion will shine through and will excite your potential employers as well. Perhaps it will also trigger a related experience for them.

Coming home can be a selfish act. It can be easy to assume that everyone wants to hear about your trip and all the exciting things you encountered. But don't forget that they were living a life as well make it a two-way conversation. Do not make your friends or family members feel as if their lives are any less relevant because they did not travel even if they insist that their lives have been "boring" compared to yours.
One way to make this transition easier is to stay up on what they were doing while traveling. You may have started a blog to allow family and friends to follow along with your journey but make sure the communication is a two-way street.