Career Returners

This episode, we’re delighted to bring you our first conversation with a male returner. Derek White enjoyed a fascinating and varied career which equipped him with a broad mix of people, business, technical, marketing, procurement, and project management skills.

After making the decision to follow his wife’s diplomatic career, Derek took a career break of 7 years to care for their young family when they relocated to Canada. He describes this period as a precious time in his life and talks about the valuable transferable skills he gained through various entrepreneurial projects, despite the career sacrifices he made due to the interruption in his career trajectory. 

As the children grew older and the family relocated to London, Derek decided the time was right to return to work. The route back to work was not easy though, with ‘confidence destroying’ rejections before finding success.

Hear how Derek secured a 3-month returnship which gave him valuable experience and networks in a new country, and then went on to find a fulfilling role at the Department for International Trade. In our conversation, Derek talks of the value you build through all the activities you do throughout your career and career break; “I have definitely found that being a bit older and having a broad background, I can add in many different ways”. 

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For advice, support, opportunities, and connection, see our Women Returners website: https://bit.ly/3eAhKQH

Helen Tunstall enjoyed a very successful career in banking, firstly in Australia and then in the UK. In 2015 she took the leap to leave her corporate life and pursue her passion for the creative industries.

She took a career break to set up a successful photography business which she loved. However, after 5 years, she began to miss the intellectual challenge of corporate work. “I really miss talking about finance and economics…..I realised I missed that part of me, which was 20 years of my life”.

In our conversation, Helen talks of her pride in taking a career break to pursue her creative ambition and build a successful business. Hear how she found her route back to corporate life through Moody’s Re-Ignite returner programme and how she was able to bring a whole host of new skills developed during her break to her new role as Associate Director within the Customer Services Management team.

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For advice, support, opportunities, and connection, see our Women Returners website: https://bit.ly/3eAhKQH

This episode is dedicated to our much-missed colleague Liz Mason, Women Returners Client Director from 2018, who died suddenly in February 2022.

Juhi is an experienced Technology Consultant. Having spent her early career working in technology roles in India, she relocated to the UK in 2010, continuing her career at the same international company. Juhi decided to seek out more flexibility, and after a period of consulting, she took a three-year career break to spend more time with her young son. 

She credits this time with equipping her with many transferable skills including boosting her communication skills and problem-solving ability, key areas which have been immensely valuable on her return to work. 

In our conversation, Juhi talks about the importance of self-belief as you return to work, something which was boosted after attending London Business School’s Returner Event (organised by Liz Mason in a previous role). Here, Juhi heard different women discussing the ‘game changing’ emotional and other benefits of returning to work. 

“If you don’t believe in yourself, then no one will. You’ve got to feel from within that you can do it … otherwise it’s not going to work.” 

Hear how Juhi navigated her own return to work as an analyst through Fidelity’s New Horizons Returner Programme in 2019, how her professional confidence has soared over the last few years and how she has continued to protect precious family time.  

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For advice, support, opportunities, and connection, see our Women Returners website: https://bit.ly/3eAhKQH 

Aliaa Hajjeah is a qualified Civil Engineer who built a successful career in construction before her career break. Originally from Iraq, Aliaa lived and worked in Iraq under the backdrop of war, an experience she speaks of movingly and one which helped build her resilience and ultimately her positive outlook on life.

After the war, she moved to London for work, and met her husband. Together they moved to Dubai with his work, and Aliaa then took a 10 year career break to raise their 3 girls.

On moving back to the UK, Aliaa looked to return to her professional career but encountered many obstacles and rejections along the way.

In our conversation, Aliaa talks about how in the midst of all the rejections she considered settling for lower skilled roles, but found the inner strength to keep driving forward for the right role, “Surround yourself with the right people…who really care for you, they will remind you you’ve done this before, you lived in a war …all of these things …were like a wakeup…I shouldn’t give up…it’s not so hard”.

Hear how Aliaa rebuilt her confidence and found the strength to stay focussed on finding her perfect role as Senior Project Controls Engineer with Skanska Costain STRABAG Joint Venture working on behalf of HS2.

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Follow for free on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/30rZZL6

For advice, support, opportunities, and connection, see our Women Returners website: https://bit.ly/3eAhKQH

Tamara Patera is an experienced Equity Market professional. Italian-born and raised in Zurich, Tamara spent her career travelling extensively across Europe, enjoying using her language skills and working across different cultures.

Based in Paris since 2007, Tamara continued to work in London and Paris for a number of years before taking a 7 year career break to raise her 2 children. She credits that time as one that she cherishes, as well as being one where she developed many transferable skills.  

In our conversation, Tamara talks about the power of networks and their contribution to her professional success throughout her career, and particularly their pivotal role in her successful return to work in 2020.  “Make yourself visible if you know you want to go back to work…I think it’s important to be quite strategic about it and tell people otherwise they wont be thinking of you…for opportunities”

Hear how Tamara approached her return, developed a proactive and positive mindset, and set herself regular goals to keep moving forward in her search. 

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Follow for free on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/30rZZL6

For advice, support, opportunities, and connection, see our Women Returners website: https://bit.ly/3eAhKQH 

Welcome back to series 2 of the Career Returners Podcast!

In this series, Karen and Liz from Women Returners chat to a wide range of returners, who are now happily back at work both in the UK and abroad, after taking long career breaks.

From a banker to an engineer to a doctor, these fantastic returners share the ups and downs of their return to work stories and give practical advice to inspire other career returners.

“Have faith in yourself – remember your professional skills and strengths are still there, and your time on your career break will have added a wide range of transferable skills that will be enormously valued when you return to work.”

In this final episode of the series, Anna & Karen reflect on the inspirational stories they’ve heard over the series and weave together the main themes of the Return to Work journey, from when you first start thinking about returning to work, to how you might map your path back, the areas to consider whilst actively looking for work and how to navigate the early days once you’re back. An episode packed full of advice, tips and reflections to help you on your return-to-work journey.

“Be proactive and positive …take action and create your own networks, conversations and opportunities and try to stay optimistic that things will work out ok in the end.”

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For advice, support, opportunities, and connection, see our Women Returners website: https://bit.ly/3eAhKQH 

Adriana Ennab enjoyed a varied and successful career in investment banking, working in New York, London and Tokyo in her early career. She took a 16 year career break from banking during which time she not only brought up her 3 children but also seized the opportunity to set up her own businesses, enjoy higher education again as well as explore other interests such as the arts, yoga and drumming!

But after 16 years away from investment banking, Adriana began to miss her old professional career and looked for ways to return. She found her route back in via Credit Suisse’s Returner programme ‘Real Returns’, and encouraged to explore different opportunities during the programme, she moved into a new area in public policy. Six years later, Adriana’s career has continued to flourish and she is now Director of Public Policy with a strong advocacy focus on Digital and Innovation areas.  “Understand it is never a straight path. And the best outcomes that I've had is because I did not say this is how I wanted to be”.

Hear Adriana’s inspiring story and how as a strong believer in championing other women, she also mentors other women returners joining Credit Suisse, and helps them to navigate their own return to work.

Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3v9INYz

Follow for free on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/30rZZL6

For advice, support, opportunities, and connection, see our Women Returners website: https://bit.ly/3eAhKQH 

Chief Inspector Georgia Williams joined the Met Police in 1997, and enjoyed a hugely fulfilling career, where she felt like she was really making a difference. She was promoted twice, to Sergeant and then Inspector, before she took a career break in 2011 after the birth of her first child.

During a 5-year career break, Georgia had a second child and also took on a local job as a School Chaplain, a flexible role she really enjoyed where she could use her transferable skills from policing. Thinking this would be her new path going forwards, she was surprised to receive a call from the Superintendent, inviting her to come to an open day to hear about a Met Police ‘Return to Policing’ programme which ran in 2020. She went along out of interest, and as she stepped into Scotland Yard, describes feeling as if she had ‘come home’.

“I feel really fulfilled in the role that I'm doing …. I'm proud of my job. I'm proud to put that uniform on ... the first time I put it back on after I came back, I bristled with pride.”

Hear how Georgia found her way back to her career and, just 15 months later, was delighted to be promoted to Chief Inspector.

Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3v9INYz

Follow for free on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/30rZZL6

For advice, support, opportunities, and connection, see our Women Returners website: https://bit.ly/3eAhKQH 

Trained as a civil engineer, Bhavna started her career in India as an IT developer and network engineer. She came to the UK in 2003 with her husband and after the birth of her daughter, took a career break to spend more time with her. But as time passed, Bhavna needed to get back to work for financial reasons, and so, whilst her daughter was young, she looked for a different type of role that would give her more flexibility and retrained as a teacher.

However, as the years passed, Bhavna missed her career in IT and spurred on by her daughter to look for the work that she loved, she searched for opportunities to return. Racked with doubt as to whether she would be able to catch up with all the developments in the sector during her time out, Bhavna enrolled on some free online courses and read widely to try and boost her confidence and update herself.

After 9 years out of IT, the opportunity came in the form of Next’s Back to IT programme, and 15 months later, Bhavna’s been promoted to a QA Analyst and is flourishing in her role.

“The core skills will never go away from you. So keep on, be positive. Don't wait for the perfect job ….get your foot into the door and then you can look around once you’re inside”

Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3v9INYz

Follow for free on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/30rZZL6

For advice, support, opportunities, and connection, see our Women Returners website: https://bit.ly/3eAhKQH