Tips for Executives Re-entering the Job Market

Been away from the workforce either by choice or chance? Looking to re-enter the job market, in the same field and function, or in a new industry and different discipline? Returning candidates have some unique challenges , not the least of which is the gap in their employment history.

Automated screening

The first step in today’s competitive environment is often getting past automated or human gatekeepers. Many modern companies and search firms use automated processes to screen resume submissions. These computerized systems (called applicant tracking systems, or ATSes) don’t accommodate for (and can’t appreciate ) exceptions to standardized selection criteria so that re-entry prospects may be eliminated before any human actually evaluates their application. With many well-qualified job seekers available who are closer matches to the ideal set of requirements, re-entry candidates will rarely be short-listed.

Ideal resumes

Even if they make it past the software, many re-entry candidates don’t fit the perfect candidate descriptions requested by employers. Rarely are re-entry candidates noticed by search consultants or tapped by recruiters to fill openings for exacting corporate clients. This means that re-entry candidates have to be proactive and aggressively go after a new challenge; they can’t wait to be recruited.

Gaps in employment history

Nothing beats networking on a job search, since an endorsement from the right connections is most likely to facilitate a swift, successful landing. To complicate the situation further for job seekers re-entering the workforce after a break, historically reliable contacts who could be counted on for tempting job leads no longer produce referrals. Existing contacts may have also been downsized or chosen to exit the job market, leaving their networks up the creek without a paddle.

In the face of these obstacles, h ow can re-entry candidates jump-start a productive campaign? By designing a new network comprising meaningful relationships created to produce leads to a new job matched to their career goals. In a risk-adverse job market, candidates need to:

• seek out decision makers at target companies
• determine how to eliminate the employers’ concerns about hire-ability
• communicate their message effectively

Success, measured as getting a desirable offer, is fostered by getting a decision maker’s attention and maintaining sufficient interest to position the candidate as the employer’s first choice solution.

1. Here’s a summary of quick tips for re-entry candidates to overcome obstacles to employment and accelerate job search es.
2. Connect with “insiders” affiliated with target employers -- such as current or former employees, consultants, suppliers and advisors -- who are among the first to learn about unadvertised positions.
3. Put skin in the game. Show confidence in your anticipated ability to produce results by suggesting rewards based on performance.
4. Relate. Don’t just transact with contacts. Network Purposefully. Keep in touch. Find ways to give not just take information.
5. Avoid corporate gatekeepers. Communicate directly with hiring decision- makers. Call outside typical business hours. Use snail mail creatively to attract attention. Send e-mails periodically. Confirm receipt. Messages should be courteous, enticing and repeated periodically.
6. Follow up. Out of touch equals off the decision maker’s crowded radar screen. Be polite and respectful, but perservere. The best candidate may be overlooked or forgotten if they are not persistent.