Recently, LinkedIn introduced а new feature – Career Breaks – an option that can be added to a profile stating whether the career gap was taken for full-time parenting, bereavement, caregiving, a gap year, layoff, or other life needs or experiences. These highlighted pauses will soon show up in Recruiter when they search for candidates. People will be able to see how the life experiences and skills others have built while they are away.
Professionals Who Take a Career Break Are Often Improving Their Skills or Mastering New Ones
One year ago, the professional network introduced new job titles – Mom, Dad, Stay-at-Home Mom, Stay-at-Home Dad, Stay-at-Home Parent – again recognizing the great importance of the parenthood period in which we usually stop doing our traditional jobs. However, we still continue evolving and developing certain skills. The need for this change became even stronger with the beginning of the global pandemic where many professionals, especially parents, were forced to have a pause of their career paths.
This new feature is quite important for two reasons. First, it helps the stigmatisation of such periods to be eradicated. So far they have been seen by many employers as a limitation for our career path. However, giving details about our activities during the time when we didn’t have a working placement can emphasize that even during this period we have gathered valuable skills and knowledge. What some employers may not realize are the varied benefits that a career break can bring, such as fresh perspectives, new skills, and a renewed sense of energy.
Second, the Career break feature might be really useful for employers who launched career reentry programs. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, such programs are now extremely popular. Recruiters who search for talents for such programs recognize people who have temporarily left the workforce as a “hidden” talent pool. They are now immensely eased as they can search for the appropriate talents with the keywords “career break”.
What Should Be Included In It?
You can find the Career Break option in your Experience section on your profile, where the rest of your work experience is placed. It is important to note that you should pay the greatest attention to the description of the activity. Write a narrative of the relevant period, and volunteer experience, and add an organization. Try to give the most useful, clearly structured information that will be read by potential recruiters. Remember that the text should be divided into paragraphs, you can even use emoticons to shape it visually. Keep an eye on the keywords you’re using, they should be related to your skills and experience. They will help you get noticed by the right employer.
Everything Is In Your Hands!
You now have the opportunity to refute the belief that traditional employment is not the only way to get better at what you do or find the best work placement. Be brave and do not be afraid of experimenting – you can rather impress your future employer than put him/her off. Everything is in your hands!
We hope that you are now more convinced than ever to take full advantage of the Career Break option! Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions – we are here to answer.
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