Back in the game: Sharpen your skills before re-entering the workforce

Numerous employees are edging back to the workforce. Whether their time off from working was the result of the pandemic or a self-imposed break, numerous employees are going to find that their skills have dulled a bit since they last earned a paycheck.

Rebecca “Kiki” Weingarten, executive coach, advises anyone re-entering the workforce after a hiatus: Don’t fight it.

“Things are different, you’re different,” Weingarten says. “Find out what you need to update, learn, add and how to do it — and then do it.”

Coming back to the workplace — whether at home or in an office — might result in some culture shock for those who haven’t worked in a while. Basically, you’ll be expected to use technology to do your job much more than you may have in the past. And it’s important to embrace — or at least accept — the new approach to work. If not, don’t expect to be working for long.

“The days of one-on-one handshake deals, working in a vacuum and keeping track of your projects on a legal pad are long, long gone — we all know that — but there’s been a blizzard of change in the past year or two — it’s moving at breakneck speed,” says Aaron Rise, a Bostonbased career consultant. “COVID has forced a lot of companies to connect with their employees and use those programs and apps that they may have purchased years ago that were more boutique items than anything. Now, programs like Wrike and Zoom are front and center.”

Weingarten suggests learning as many new tech skills as possible before you decide to re-enter the workforce — and to continue learning once you land a position. “If your job has become obsolete, learn new skills that make them more marketable in your industry,” she says.

For example, if your previous job focused on Internet applications, update your skills so you can work in the mobile arena as well.

Rise agrees, adding that workers look for related skills they can put into play in new industries. “If you start from scratch, you’re going to have to do more than take a few online classes, but if you take what you know, whether that’s related to processes or people, and learn new skills that have similar outcomes, you’ll do fine,” Rise says. “But you have to go all in. You can’t dip a toe in the shallow end and pretend that it’s going to get you up to speed right away.”