Tips for Starting Your Career After a NY Divorce

One of the most nerve-wracking things about getting a divorce is the “after.” Divorcees often wonder what life will look life after their marriage has been dissolved and they are living on their own. Every person is different, with different emotions, emotional support, and objectives, so it’s impossible to say what your life will look like, but one of the main issues for people who left the workforce to care for a family is the uncertainty of how to get by independently, or even if it’s possible.

Restarting your career after a divorce – or starting a new career for the first time – can be harrowing, exciting, and enlightening. Here are some tips that can help.

Start Self-Care

The term “self-care” likely conjures images of hot baths and pedicures, which may seem to have little to do with getting a job after divorce. But surprisingly, these two things are actually rather intimately connected.

Divorce has a significant impact on your self-esteem, often leaving you feeling down or depressed about who you are and what you have to offer the world, both in terms of skill and appearance. This lowers your confidence, which shows during job interviews despite your best efforts to mask it. After your divorce, spend a little time and money on bringing yourself back to a state of self-assurance.

Decide If You’ll Be Changing Careers

Before you dive head-first into the job market after your divorce, you should make a decision about whether or not you want to continue working in the same career field or if you would like to change careers. If you want to try something new, it’s important to plan ahead for any skills or certifications you might need to obtain.

What you’ll want to avoid is investing time and money into restarting your career only to find that you no longer enjoy the work or that you really have a passion for something else. If possible, try out a few new things after your divorce before making a final decision. That way, you’ll know whatever you start putting effort into is what will pay off (and not just financially) for you in the end.

Create a Financial Strategy

Your resources will likely be limited to alimony or spousal support and your own income for a time post-divorce, so it’s important to create a plan for how that money will best be utilized. You may have expenses that you didn’t have before, like paying for rent, electricity, and food on your own. You may be unsure of how far your money will go or even if all of your needs will be met.

Create a budget and stick to it. Know how much your fixed costs like housing and student loan payments are, and try to calculate an average amount for variable costs like food and transportation. If possible, plan to have a savings account that you can fall back on in the event of an emergency.

Refresh Your Resume

Of course, you’ll need to update your resume at some point before starting your job search. You should have a resume with a modern layout and easy-to-read bullet points along with a compelling cover letter that explains why you want the job and are a great candidate for it. You should also include keywords relevant to your niche that can be picked up by resume scanning devices and software that employers are now using to weed through thousands of applications.

You might even want to consider hiring a pro resume writer to help you. A professional knows how to create resumes that are optimized for today’s automated scanning systems and for what businesses in your vertical are looking for. Your chances of getting hired with a professionally written resume are much higher than if you create it yourself.

Contact a Long Island Divorce Attorney Today

If you’re thinking about dissolving your marriage, it’s in your best interests to consult with an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer as soon as possible. Planning your next career move and creating a financial strategy for living independently post-divorce can even be done discretely while still married. This can give you more time and space to get everything in order before announcing to your spouse that you want to end the relationship.

Attorneys Hornberger Verbitsky, P.C. have the experience and skills needed to help you plan ahead for financial independence in the event of a divorce. We can provide you with comprehensive, zealous legal advocacy no matter what stage of the divorce process you’re in. Call today to book a consultation for more information by dialing 631-923-1910 or fill out the short form on this page.