Stop Waiting to Feel Ready to Enter the Job Market, Chances Are You’re Already There

Maybe you’ve been home with kids for a decade. Maybe you just graduated and have no idea what you’re doing. Maybe you just hit 30 and your career isn’t where you thought it would be and are craving change. Either way, you have more to offer than you think; you just need to get out of your own head. 

Rachel Zaslansky and Lori Zuker Briller have run The Grapevine Agency for over 20 years and they’re sharing all their tips on Coming in Hot. They’ve seen every version of the job search—the good, the cringe-worthy, and the heartwarming. Here’s what they want you to know if you’re trying to land a new gig.

Reentering the Workforce After a Career Break

Know what you bring to the table

1. Your “non-work” experience counts. Running a school fundraiser, managing a household budget, wrangling 25 bosses at the PTA—those are real skills. Fundraising is marketing, coordinating volunteers is management. Reframe what you’ve been doing and own it on paper.
   
2. Stop underselling yourself on your resume. Women tend to write “assisted with a budget.” Men write something more along the lines of “managed a $2M budget.” If you did it, say you did it. Your resume is your highlight reel and this is not the moment to be modest.
   
3. Use AI as a thought partner. Plug your experience, strengths, and interests into ChatGPT or Claude and then ask what directions make sense. It can also help you tailor your resume to a specific job description…just maybe don’t make it so obvious that it reads like a copy-paste.

Get your resume right

4. Add a summary at the top. Nothing crazy, just a short 2–3 sentence summary connects the dots for whoever’s reading it. Especially if you’re pivoting or returning to work, help them understand why you’re applying before they scroll down.
   
5. Your most recent job goes first, college goes last. Reverse chronological order. If you graduated 25 years ago, your degree belongs at the bottom. Make sure to triple check for spelling errors, mismatched fonts, and repetitive verbs (“managed, managed, managed”).
   
6. Make your LinkedIn match. If your resume says one thing and your LinkedIn says another, it creates confusion, and you’ve got about seven seconds before a hiring manager moves on. Your social media, your resume, and your LinkedIn should all tell the same story.

Put yourself out there

7. Relationships beat resumes. 80 percent of people get jobs through their network, so be sure to tell people what you’re looking for. Don’t wait. Your knight in shining armor isn’t coming—you have to say something out loud first.
   
8. The cold call (or DM) still works. One of Zaslansky and Zuker Briller’s former interns DM’d a company she wanted to work at. They responded within days—they hadn’t even posted the job yet. If the worst case is silence, that’s worth the two minutes it takes to reach out.
   
9. Can’t get in the front door? Find a window. Make a list of 25 companies you’d love to work at, then figure out 25 more like them. Research who works there, show up, even drop off a resume if you have to. People who have that level of enthusiasm are the ones who get hired.

Show up for what you want

10. Dress for the job you want. It doesn’t have to be expensive. A clean blazer, good jeans, and a little jewelry go a long way. When you look put together, you carry yourself differently. That comes through in every interaction—Zoom included.
    
11. Do your homework before the interview. Look at the company’s Instagram, their website, the LinkedIn of the person you’re meeting with. Come in with a couple of genuine questions…preferably ones they haven’t already answered. Curiosity is memorable.
    
12. Send a thank you note. It’s rare enough that it actually stands out. Keep it short and specific—something you talked about in the interview. It signals that you paid attention and that you actually want to be there.

For all of Zaslansky and Zuker Briller’s insights, listen to Coming in Hot wherever you get your podcasts.

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