If you have been unemployed for a lengthy period of time and are now ready to return to the work force you will need to do a self-evaluation based on the time period that you were unemployed. The tools that you will need for this are very simple. A copy of your most recent resume, paper and pen and some time.

Take the time to sit down privately so that you can conduct a self-evaluation of the time period that you were not working. Answer the following questions honestly on the paper and keep your previous resume set aside for later use. Your new resume will highlight your skills instead of your previous employment.

1. What do you really like to do?
2. What is important to you?
3. What skills do you have that you are good at?
4. Do you need more training to update your skills, if yes what kind of training?
5. What skills have you learned during the time you have been unemployed?
6. What life experiences do you have that have taught you new skills?
7. What interests did you have during the time you were unemployed?
8. Were you socially active in any organizations while unemployed?
9. Did you research any particular areas during your unemployment, and what were they?
10. Are you knowledgeable and efficient in a certain area now that you were not before?

After you have answered the questions, read over your answers and focus on what your goals are now for your future of employment. They may be the same as before or they may take on a new direction. List your goals for your employment and then list what you will need to learn to achieve these goals if anything.

Now begin to create how your new resume will look. You will begin your new resume with a Qualifications Profile on the first page. Under this topic you will list all of your previous skills attained either through employment or training. Also list any skills that you have listed under the above questions.

The purpose of this is to bring to attention the skills that you have or possess for a particular job. For example, you may not have used certain computer skills in your previous employment but you have the knowledge to use these skills. If you know how to do it fairly well then it is a skill.

When you list your previous employments, list your job title first and not the time frame. You want the focus to be on what you have achieved not how long ago you achieved it. List your responsibilities or duties not your skills. Your skills are listed on the first page under your qualifications profile.

Make an entry for the time frame when you were unemployed. Anything that you did during this time such as volunteering, helping with the family business, researching on the computer, babysitting, caretaking for a family member, Illness or treatment. You probably learned some skill during this time.

Turn the time that you were unemployed into a useable tool for your resume by listing skills that you may have learned during the time that you were unemployed. If it was illness related you may have learned new computer skills doing research, if it was caretaking you probably learned skills in organization.

You can show this by listing this time period under a form of experience or volunteering instead of a job title. If you did not get paid for it then you were volunteering and using your skills and knowledge. It also gives a brief explanation for what you were doing during the time that you were unemployed.