More than 2.3 million women have left the workforce since the start of the pandemic, according to a recent report from the National Women’s Law Center.

Nearly 90% of career re-entry candidates are female, says Carol Fishman Cohen, the CEO and co-founder of iRelaunch, a company that creates corporate career re-entry programs for people who have taken a career break.

For many women, it’s become clear the pandemic has factored into the decision to step back. 

Whatever the reasoning, experts say there are things you can do before leaving a career to make a future return to the workforce easier:

Before You Leave Your Job

Many people don’t have the opportunity to fully prepare for exiting the workforce, but if you can, try to tick these boxes. 

1. Be Certain This Is the Right Move

“Have a really hardcore conversation to be sure that not only short-term, but long-term, this is the right move for the family,” says Carrie Rattle.  

It’s crucial to think long-term when considering a career break, even if you’re only planning a shorter-term absence. 

Once you’ve definitely decided that a career break is in your future, start documenting and keeping track of what your current role entails.  

“You should document everything that you remember is significant from your current role, and narrow it down to milestone moments,” says Cohen. 

These don’t all have to be positive milestones either, but it’s important to document times when you learned something. Having these things documented will be helpful when you’re searching for a job in the future. 

“You’re going to need a set of anecdotes reflecting your prior work experience to talk about in interviews,” says Cohen. “It’s harder to recreate that when you’re looking backwards instead of in the moment.”

2. Take Stock of Your Network

Write down everyone you have a relationship with — and think big. 

Don’t narrow your focus to those on your immediate team. Are there advisors, lawyers, accountants, clients, suppliers, or other people you know? They might be your ticket into a new role someday. 

Don’t forget people lower than you, also. 

During Your Career Break 

It’s called a break for a reason. Take one. You’re not doing anyone any favors if you spend your career break worrying about getting right back into the workforce, says Cohen. 

“Women who are taking a career break right now because of the pandemic need to be gentle with themselves, and they need to think about their return to work prospects in steps,” says Cohen. “They might think that they can’t do anything right now, except to focus on why they took the career break in the first place, and that is perfectly fine and that’s what they should do.”

Once you’re ready to start thinking about returning to work, there are things you can do to start easing back in:

When You’re Thinking About Returning to Work

1. Start From Scratch

“It’s often the first time people allow themselves to step back and reflect on whether they were on the right career path to begin with,” says Cohen. 

Maybe you’re in a different life stage than when you started your career break, and your job needs have changed. Maybe your job before COVID involved a lot of travel and you don’t want to do that anymore, or you landed in a job right after school that wasn’t quite the right fit. 

Thinking along these lines can help prepare you for positioning your circumstances in job interviews. A career relaunch can give you a chance to reassess where your skills and interests align to produce the most value, Cohen says.

2. Do You Need to Upskill?

Whether you want to go back to exactly what you were doing before your career break, or want to start something entirely new, determine what your skill gap is. If you took a break from your field for a few years, what information do you need to know to be up to speed? If you’re starting something new, what education or training do you need to be successful?

“You’re ideally identifying a skills gap early on as part of pinpointing exactly what you want to do,” says Cohen. “But I wouldn’t discourage anyone from upskilling at any point in the process.”

Upskilling could mean something as involved as going back to school, or as simple as signing up for a free refresher course online. Upskilling can also signal to employers how serious you are about returning to work, says Cohen. 

3. Become a Subject Matter Expert

Whatever field you’re looking to return to or break into for the first time, become a subject matter expert on the most up-to-date information available. 

“It’ll make you feel more confident, the more up to date in your field you are. Learn all of the acronyms, products, controversies, experts, and topics. You’ll feel more in touch going into your job search,” says Cohen.  

Becoming a subject matter expert is also the perfect opportunity to take a new look at your network.

4. Reconnect With Your Network

If there’s a natural, easy way to stay connected with certain members of your network during your career break, then do it. But don’t feel pressured to keep up with everyone consistently, says Cohen.

A great way to reconnect with someone you haven’t spoken to in a while is to ask them to hop on a quick call to get their opinion on who the best experts are, or which blogs, podcasts, and books you should be reading and listening to. 

“Say, ‘I’m in information-gathering mode, I want to become a subject matter expert all over again before I start my search to return to work in earnest. I’d be really interested in hearing your opinion on who the experts are and what I should be studying right now,’” says Cohen.

It’s an easy way to rekindle relationships that have been dormant for awhile. 

5. Identify Opportunities and Update Your Resume

When you’re ready to start applying for new roles, find ways to bolster your resume in addition to education or upskilling. Maybe that involves identifying volunteer opportunities to give you relevant experience and a chance to practice your skills. 

If you’ve done things to enhance your skills, make sure you highlight them in the right way on your resume — Cohen recommends right at the top of your resume, with the most recent information — and also learn how to present your career break to employers. 

6. Look Into Career Reentry Programs

Sometimes referred to as “returnships,” offer an internship-like experience for people returning from a career break. Often, these programs incorporate coaching and development for professionals returning to the workforce after some time away, and can be found in many different industries and fields. 

These programs are geared specifically to people who’ve had a career break (generally you have to have a break in your resume to qualify), and are operating even during COVID in remote environments.