Whether it’s taking a year off to backpack through Europe, or just giving yourself time to decide where your life is going — a gap-year is a healthy career move. But coming back to the job search after an extended break is undeniably intimidating.

Many family members and friends may not understand your choice for taking a gap-year, but you’re not alone. In fact, a November survey of 1,000 U.S. citizens by HostelWorld, A gap year, found a quarter of adults surveyed have taken a year off from work or school. Even though this year is used to take a break from both work and school, there are ways to come back into the workforce even better equipped than before.

Now that you’re refreshed and ready, here’s how to come back strong in 2017:

Let’s face it — job search stress isn’t fun. A 2017 candidate experience study conducted by CareerBuilder found that 73% of job seekers say the job search is one of the most stressful things in life. And respondents to a 2016 Hired survey add that the process is more stressful than a root canal and only slightly less stressful than going through a breakup or divorce.

Those facts make the job search process sound pretty bleak, but it doesn’t have to be. You can take certain steps to reduce job search stress and make the process easier. Here’s how:

With the outlandish publicity surrounding this most recent election, it’s hard to forget the amazing strides women have made throughout history. Women at work are no different — generations have been struggling to prove they deserve the same opportunities, pay, treatment, and respect as men.

There’s no doubt women have made huge movements toward equality. Unfortunately, they still have a long way to go to reach the same benefits men have at work. Here’s a look into the impressive ways women have pushed through barriers in the past, and what they need to do in order to push through current career walls:

Soft skills are becoming increasingly important for job seekers. And according to a recent TalentLMS survey, communication and collaboration are the most important soft skills that many employees currently lack. 

Employers want to hire people who can write memos, talk with clients, create effective presentations, and clearly articulate what they want or how they feel to all levels of the organization. 

The takeaway? Job seekers need to focus on proving their strong communication skills to potential employers. 

Let’s look at how you can grab their attention:

Desperate times call for desperate measures — and some job seekers get very desperate. An August 2016 survey from CareerBuilder found some of the most unconventional ways job seekers tried to get attention from hiring managers, like wearing a tie with the company name on it or sending homemade soap bars as a way to say thank you.

Good news! You don’t have to kiss a hiring manager or mail in an envelope with cash to get noticed. And you definitely don’t have to lie during your next job interview.

As America continues to adjust to the impact of the pandemic, more and more employees are searching for jobs that will best fit their work culture needs. 

Thankfully, more and more employers understand the need to offer a flexible workplace culture considerate of today’s work-life balance. Deloitte surveyed nearly 9,000 professionals and found that building an organizational culture that celebrates growth, adaptability, and resilience ranks as the top priority for today’s workplace culture.  

With so many companies reexamining their culture, it’s hard to filter out which is the best option for you. Here’s why workplace culture is so important and where you should start looking when determining the best fit:

Even for those who have natural confidence skills, job interviews are stressful. 

Having the ability to walk into an interviewer’s office feeling confident about who you are and why you’re right for this position is hard enough. But what happens when those unexpected confidence blows happen during the meeting? 

Here are a few ways to boost your confidence skills and help brush off those interview jitters:

There are a lot of factors you must consider when looking for a new job. The salary, location, opportunities for the future, and more play into whether a position and company are right for you. But what about your health?

The truth of the matter is that even jobs we don’t consider to be dangerous can have a negative impact on employee health. Business Insider looked at data from the Occupational Information Network and compiled a list of the professions that were the most damaging to employee health based off factors like time spent sitting and possible exposure to hazardous materials. Surprisingly, jobs like dentist, flight attendant, and podiatrist topped the list of most unhealthy jobs.

Every job has the possibility of negatively impacting your health. Especially if you aren’t aware of what causes those health issues. Here are three common health problems that could stem from a job and how you can keep them from affecting your wellness: