10 Strategies for Reentering the Workforce

10 Strategies for Reentering the Workforce: Career Advice for Anyone Who Needs a Good (or Better) Job Now is an easy-to-read guide for anyone who needs to reenter the workforce because of economic necessity, a plant closing, corporate downsizing, divorce, injury, or other life-changing circumstance—including the simple desire for a new challenge. Expert career counselor Mary E. Ghilani identifies each type of career changer and discusses the unique challenges each group faces, the options available to them, and strategies for finding a new job or successfully returning to school to upgrade skills. The book also offers numerous ways to overcome obstacles and defeat the common yes, buts that prevent people from achieving a satisfactory work life.

This book will directly help unemployed and mid-career workers who need to find a better job quickly to keep their heads above water. But it will also be of great service to those who can take some time to completely reassess where they are and where they are going. In her practice as director of a career center, Ghilani often hears common laments like, I wish I had a job that… or I always wanted to be a… These statements are usually followed up with, But now it's too late, or, I don't have the skills, or, It will take too long or cost too much. Her response: Do work that you enjoy for the remaining working years of your life, even if it means going back to school or starting at the bottom of the ladder. That, she explains, is a much better alternative to toiling unhappily while awaiting retirement. Besides great advice, the book also contains hands-on tools for figuring out what constitutes a great job, sample resumes and cover letters, and a list of Web sites catering to those eager to reenter the workforce or find a better job.