I recently received a question via Facebook from Mike H.  His wife, having stayed home to raise their children, is now seeking employment and facing challenges in this difficult economy.

It’s hard enough these days to land a job even if you’re current with training and education.  But what if you’ve spent ten years or more away from the job market?

Short of going to work for a relative, there’s no magic pill to make you instantly hireable.  So let’s look at some things you can do to help your chances.

Even though you didn’t collect a paycheck, you still performed work.  So look to your volunteer work or your work as a homemaker as your past ‘employment.’  Did you serve on committees?  Did you help raise funds?  Were you involved in church or other organizations?

If your desired job requires becoming current with technology, enroll in classes to at least be able to show on a resume you’re catching up.

When building your resume, consider more of a skills-based version instead of the more standard chronological version.  As an employer I want to know what you can do for me.  I want to see key words that match my job description.  I want to see achievements on your resume.  Quantify those achievements wherever possible by mentioning numbers: the size of a project or budget, the percentage increased or saved over past years, etc.

Include on your resume a list of transferable skills and experiences.  Think key words such as project management, budgeting, scheduling, sales, leadership.  Ideally you’d like to cite an example of each of those.  If you can’t come up with a specific example of, say, budgeting, that’s okay.  Just find three or four other skills or experiences you can write about.

Networking is a critical part of everyone’s job search, but even more so when you’ve been out of the work place for years.  Sure, you may not have co-workers to network with, but consider other people from different parts of your life. What about those we work with your spouse?  How about other parents of kids at the school?  What about your friends in general or those in the same civic or religious organization?  Create a LinkedIn profile and stay active with it.  We all know people.

So let’s say you’ve networked effectively and your resume hasn’t gotten you screened out.  They call you for an interview, but you haven’t interviewed in years.  Has much changed over time?  Well, yes.

While you may still get the more traditional questions about strengths, weaknesses, why you want this job, why you left a past job, etc., many employers ask situational questions.  “Tell me about a time when you…” solved a problem, exceeded expectations, etc.

Employers often check out your online presence.  That’s another reason to be on LinkedIn and to make sure your Facebook page doesn’t embarrass you.

There are too many interview scenarios to cover in this limited space.  Contact me directly for more personal assistance and good luck!