The unemployed are not a protected class. Regardless of the reason for leaving the workforce, a long period of unemployment or underemployment is a serious strike against most jobseekers. A growing number of hiring managers are only hiring people who already have jobs.

Are you trying to re-enter the workforce after an extended period of unemployment? Here are three tips and accompanying success stories:

1. Start Small: A lawyer with a successful law practice left her job to raise a family. After a twenty-year hiatus, she recently re-entered the work force as a paralegal.

2. Be flexible: An out-of-work telephone fundraiser decided to explore new positions and industries. He landed a job as the Director of Development at a non-profit.

 3. Be clear and take action: After being laid off from her marketing job, one woman decided to become an executive assistant. She took computer classes, learned a new set of skills and told potential employers about her plans for a career change.

Trying to re-enter the workforce? Career Moves @ JVS offers competitively priced one-on-one career counseling and job search services. For more information contact Judy Bottkol at jbottkol@jvs-boston.org or 617-399-3162.