Whatever your reasons for taking a career break, there is no reason why you can't jump straight back into the job market when you are ready to.
Want to know how to do it? Follow these simple tips and make the move back to work a whole lot easier.

Get ready to return
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 continues to evolve.

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 keeps you up to date
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.

Work your CV
If your career break was a significant amount of time, it will look odd if you don't include some information about what you have been doing during your time off. If you didn't 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, summarising 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 emphasise your achievements, it doesn't matter if they took place a year ago, you still achieved it.

Nail the cover letter

It's 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't wait to return to what you love doing. If you are embarking on a new career, emphasise 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 interview

The biggest hurdle you have is convincing the interviewers that you aren't going to pack up and leave. You need to show lasting commitment.

If it wasn't 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 don't labour the point. Rather than referring to years, just refer to the task. You don't want to highlight how long you have been away from the workforce.

It's 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.

Employees just want you to demonstrate that you are ready, willing and able to do the job. Gaps only become a problem if they aren't explained. Don't apologise for it – confidence is key.
 
Tap your networks

Including friends, family and former employers/colleagues. Exploit social networks such as Twitter and LinkedIn. Many jobs are advertised this way nowadays. If you are contacting an employer who doesn’t know you, you could ask to do a few days’ trial or a short-term project so that they can see what you’re capable of.

Asking for flexible working

One important issue you need to consider before applying for positions is flexible working. Exactly what do you want or need in terms of working hours of arrangements? You may have very fixed ideas about the type of work pattern you want, but you may need to be open to being flexible over flexible working.

The great news is that flexible working can come in many guises, and while you may initially think you can only do a few hours a day, with Flexi hours and home working you may actually be able to take on more (you can read how to apply for flexible working here).

The key to flexible working is negotiating an arrangement that is right both for you and the organisation you work, or wants to work for part time, but she had to be realistic about the kind of role she wanted.

Article by Alec Laurie