Full-Time Strategies

How you approach your return to the workforce depends on a few things: how long you’ve been out of the office, what type of job you’re looking for, and your skills. If you’ve been “retired” a relatively short time–say, less than a year–you should have little problem returning to your previous position, with the same company or with another within the same industry. Your strategy will match that of any other worker looking for that right job. Check out MsMoney.com’s job search strategies for a step-by-step guide.

If you’ve been out of work longer than a year, or if you’d like to explore different career options, your approach will be similar to someone looking for his or her first job. You’ll need to spend some time figuring out your goals, determining what kind of position you want, developing or reconnecting with your network, and performing informational interviews to confirm–or correct–your perceptions of the careers you’ve targeted.

Whichever path you take, make sure to follow these steps for a successful search:

The return-to-work checklist
A list of tips to get your job hunt off to a quick start.