Returning to work – part one

If you’ve had a career break that’s longer than the standard maternity period, you’re officially a returner. We explore the barriers facing returners in part one of a series of blogs centring around these motivated and hardworking job seekers. 

Is it really worth going back to my career role?

What’s stopping you returning to work? If you’ve taken extended time off following starting a family, you might be wondering if anyone would employ you again. And whether you should try to get back into the field you started out in.

We hear so much about women starting businesses and entering second careers post babies, but not so much about returners. All that’s about to change, but the question is, have you overcome the hurdles in your head to be a part of it?

The first major barrier? – summer holidays

Firstly and perhaps most obviously, childcare is a major hurdle. So is it enough for employers to offer free crèches in their offices? Not everyone earns the kind of salary that can pay for a nanny. And what do you do about the long summer holidays for example? Summer camps aren’t cheap but you’d have to spend money even if you weren’t at work. Plus once they’re there, they might just enjoy it and learn something new in the process.

The long holidays are one of the major reasons why many women leave their careers and go for something that works around the endless summer, like a job in a local school. But what about all the hard work you put in to get where you were before? You won’t earn as much by doing that and the chances are, you’ll always hanker after the buzz of your career. Will you feel like you’re selling out? Do you have unfinished business?

Will they remember who I am?!

Another barrier to returning to work is that parents want to spend more time with their children, enabling them to have a balance between work and home – but not enough employers allow for this flexibility. Wrong – flexibility is on the rise and is viewed as a crucial factor for returners. Even millennials are getting in on the act, citing it as the number one employee benefit.

If you choose a part-time role, for example, you can still have the best of both worlds, getting to spend days with your children and days apart – and absences as they say, makes the heart grow fonder, right?! There are lots of ways you can work flexibly too, and you might not have considered these. And just because an employer isn’t offering it in their job advert, that doesn’t always mean that they wouldn’t consider it if you asked them.

Will I remember what to do?

It’s easy to feel you won’t know what to do and that business has moved on without you. But trust us – knowledge you thought you had buried will soon come flooding back. And anything you need to brush up on can easily be taken care of through extra training or asking for help when you need it. We offer free confidence boosting workshops from time to time to help returners overcome this. It’s usually a question of mind over matter!

So once you’ve got your head around getting back into work mode, it’s time to think about the positive steps you can take to get back out there – find out more here.

But needless to say, reconnecting with old colleagues, brushing up CVs and thinking about training and courses is a good way to go – and talking to us here at Ten2Two!

Remember the adrenaline buzz of a big achievement you had at work? It’s all still out there, waiting for you, and you can do it. Returners often say it’s like riding a bike. You just have to give it a go. If you’re excited about getting back to work, why not contact us today. We’d love to hear from you. Find out more here.