What to know for those returning to the labour market after a break?
Labour market dynamics
The dynamics of progress vary from one area to another. The selection of post-career workers is special in that they compete with and often lose out to incumbents. Whereas in IT things change a lot in a few years, in manufacturing technology does not advance so fast. At the same time, an IT professional who has taken a break from IT will find it slightly more difficult to re-enter the labour market under the same conditions as before than a manufacturing professional.
Of course, it must also be taken into account that the demand for IT professionals is much higher than for manufacturing, which means that there is a greater demand for candidates who are not even familiar with the latest technologies. In short, before taking a career break, it is important to assess the field you are working in and the market demand for professionals in that field. If it is not high even when you are currently working, then it is necessary to maintain and expand your knowledge at least to some extent during the break in order to maintain competitiveness in the labour market
Challenges that await employees who have taken a career break
The biggest challenge is competition with current employees. If an employer has a choice between a current purchasing manager and a candidate with the same level of experience who has only taken a few years off, then it becomes difficult for the latter to be competitive.
A rational strategy is needed here, with a reordering of priorities. The candidate who has taken a break needs to realise that it may take several months for him or her to get fully up to speed. In this case, he/she can offer the employer the alternative of a lower salary during the probationary period, etc. This may align the employer’s motivation and make the employer more serious about the candidate who has taken a career break. Recruitment as a process is the same for all candidates, so it is important to make up for lost ground in the labour market as much as possible and to offer the employer a compromise option.
Specific features of the selection of post-career employees
The selection of post-career workers must have certain safeguards. First of all, it is important to find out what the reasons for the career break were. If the employee is unable to assess them, this may include involuntary career leave, where the employee simply has not found a suitable job for a long time. This, of course, is already a really bad sign.
If the break was due to a desire to travel and rest, that’s better. However, after a long break it is sometimes difficult to find the motivation to get back to work. Some candidates just miss the work and become more motivated, while another group finds it difficult to settle into the monotonous rhythm of work. It is therefore important to assess what the transition period might be like and what to expect during it.
It is also important to be critical about the length of the break when selecting career breakers. A period of up to 3 months may still be equivalent to a long leave of absence. During a 3-12 month period, the employee has not yet lost his/her professional skills, but is already out of the rhythm of work. If the break is between 12 months and two years, it must already be well analysed in a critical assessment of the candidate’s readiness to work again. A break of more than 2 years may also indicate a high degree of financial independence, which may also have an impact on the candidate’s motivation.
