After taking an extended break – what next?

In this post, I write about some of the practical activities you can do while on or after taking a period of extended leave. It is in response to recent messages from librarians who have either qualified but have not acquired much library experience before taking leave or were practiced professionals but are now considering whether librarianship is the right route for them following their time away.

As this can be such a challenging area to navigate, further suggestions from readers are gratefully received. 

 

1. Assess your job needs and work out what you would like to do

Rather than filling out an application form for the first library job you see advertised, consider why you want to return to work and what you would like to do.  Are you clear about why you want to go back? Take some time to think about this. What would you say is motivating you to start working again? For example, are financial reasons the key galvanising factor or are there other grounds? (Perhaps you want to be a family role model, or work for your own mental stimulation, or to build up your social circle – what are your personal reasons for returning to work?) Reflecting on your job needs will help you think about what kind of job you want to do, help you decide whether you want to work full or part-time, how many overall hours you are happy to take on, and so on.

Take into account where you are going to work. Will remote working be a possibility?

Reflect on the type of work. Are you looking to do the same or a broadly similar role to the one you did before?  Are you looking to approach your former employer? Perhaps you’ve relocated and you are unable to return to your previous role. Will you need to look again about what direction your career will take? Do you want to return to librarianship and if so what sectors? What type of role and responsibilities do you think you can take on at the moment? Do you have particular organisations in mind?

Now, what changes are you ready or required to make.

ACTION: Make of list of your ‘non-negotiables’ – the key job priorities that must be present in your next job. (For example, of this in practice, please read the guest post by Jessie)

This CILIP resource might be useful if you are thinking of changing career.

 

2. Get some new experience

Anyone who has had a break for an extended period of time is encouraged to gain some fresh experience. It is simple to explore job shadowing and volunteering opportunities online. If you are new to the idea of job shadowing, please read this post.

There can be less time and investment required in job shadowing than other forms of training. Most shadowing takes place during the course of just one working day. Yet it is surprising how much you can learn about a role, sector and workplace in such a short space of time. Since 2020, some librarians have amended their listing to show that they are happy to meet online and NLPN have featured one such example on their blog.

You might be able to volunteer at an organisation for a few hours a week depending on where you live and local circumstances.

From my experience, (if libraries take adult volunteers) you apply via an application and the volunteering is continuous until the library or adult decides to cease the arrangement.

Some libraries offer volunteering opportunities in the form of set placements. These are usually advertised directly on the organisation’s blog or website. When they advertise, they ask any interested applicants to send a CV and covering letter.

ACTION: NLPN manage the list for Job Shadowing opportunities in the UK

Make a list of organisations that you would approach for volunteering opportunities. Look up the organisation’s website – do they provide information about how you can volunteer?

Perhaps the following links may be of use if you haven’t found them already:

CILIPS Useful Resources and CILIP Returning From a Career Break 

 

3. Start optimising your network

Networking to obtain experience is common. This is also a good skill to develop for seeking out employment opportunities in the longer term. What about your former networks? Would you be comfortable approaching your previous contacts, for example, to let them know that you are available for work? Would you ask them directly for support? Or if they would be happy to supply you with up-to-date references and recommendations or endorse your skills on LinkedIn? Read this post if you need a refresher updating your LinkedIn profile or this one by Ellen Mehling for advice about networking following Covid-19.

ACTION: Seek out networking opportunities while you are still on your career break if you can. Think about how you can connect, attend a conference, a virtual webinar. In-person conferences can be expensive to both returners and library staff: even free events mean spending money on travel and hotels. There are travel grants and bursaries available – in the UK from CILIP and other professional groups, visit Bursaries and Grants. How about maintaining your LinkedIn profile? It is tempting to close it down when you leave employment, but I’d suggest that it’s better to hold it open and say instead why you are not available. Don’t forget to use the LinkedIn feature that enables you to list your career break #calloutyourbreak

Remember to make use of both the library and returner communities for networking and support.

 

4. Develop your transferrable skills

It’s time to learn some new skills and gain a little knowledge. Have you found a job description for a role you’d really like to perform? What skills were they looking for? Perhaps some things will be too specialist at this stage and may only be acquired on the job. But skills in fundraising, marketing, outreach, or event management, for example, can be gained through extra-curricular activities such as being part of your professional association or undertaking outreach work. This may require a lot of investment – something that you might not be ready to put in at this stage. What other ways could you develop these skills?

The learning of new skills is very personal. If you are looking to enter public libraries you might be thinking about developing your customer service skills, your digital skills, abilities organising events and activities and so on. If it feels overwhelming at this stage you could start with one, for example, digital, and start to build up evidence of your skillset through online courses (you could use locally available, or online, for example. LinkedIn Learning, Digital Skills Wales and Coursera), as well as through any extra-curricular activities.

ACTION: Put a plan together to work out the areas where you need to gain more experience, retrain, or upskill.

Read the blog post by Rhodah for an insight into the courses she used to help her upskill.

 

5. Keep a record of all that you do

It’s good to get into the habit of documenting your job search effort. For the rough days when you hit a brick wall. To be ready when you need to fill out an application form. To enable you to become a reflective practitioner. Think about how you would keep track of the job shadowing day you spent. Will you write it up as soon as it is done? Or will you promise to do something but then forget? What about the hour you spend volunteering each week? Is that recorded in a diary or passed over for something more pressing? How will you record your attendance at monthly courses so it’s ready to produce for evidence? You think you will remember all this activity at the time but six months later it’s all forgotten.

My advice, try to keep a diary, store in a box file, use a spreadsheet or table. Use a system that will work for you. (If you are a member of CILIP and interested in professional registration / revalidation – some of your recording effort may also be combined to this end.) When job hunting, you could take this with you to your interviews or show your training virtually!

ACTION: Devise a system that records what you are doing while job searching. Work out a system that succeeds for you.

 

These are some of the key actions that you can consider if you are looking to return to the library workforce after an extended break. Please let me know of any suggestions you have to get #libraryreturners back to work after a career break.