How do I explain the gap on my CV after a career break?

‘How do I explain the gap on my CV?’ is one of the most frequent questions we get asked. It’s a good question and one that causes many of our returners considerable angst. But, not anymore... 

Victoria McLean, CEO of City CV, ran a fantastic session on this topic at our Women Returners conference last year. And, we’re delighted she’s agreed to come back this year. The session is really interactive and packed with expert tips and insider knowledge of the recruitment market – it’s definitely not to be missed.

As a taste of what’s to come, we asked Victoria to give us her top tips for writing your return to work CV and making the most of LinkedIn. Here’s what she had to say:

Top Tip #1: Never undersell yourself on your CV 

I feel a lot of people, women returners in particular, undersell themselves on their CV. It’s not about bragging, but a stand-out CV really needs to demonstrate the benefits you’ll bring to an employer. Your added-value needs to sing out from every line. Most people find that a bit daunting at first, especially after a career break when so many women forget just how great they are. My advice is – don’t panic, we’ll cover loads of ideas in the conference session.

There are several ways to turn a gap on your CV into a positive selling point - make sure to include all the relevant skills and experience you've acquired. I'll talk about this in more depth at the conference. We’ll also be looking at how to hone in on those key strengths and skills. And, how to optimise your CV with key words to get past the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). 

Top Tip #2: LinkedIn is a valuable tool

When it comes to LinkedIn, I feel very few people are really making the most of it. That’s a shame because it’s a valuable tool. Around 99% of recruiters use it to search for suitable candidates and to check you out before inviting you to interview.

It’s really worth investing in your LinkedIn profile because it’s not enough to just copy and paste your CV. LinkedIn requires a different approach; it’s less formal and more dynamic than a CV. And, as you’d expect from a search engine run by algorithms, key words play a massive role. Your LinkedIn summary is the most important part of your profile and it should set out your business case with keywords and using all of the 2,000 characters available. It's really important to get the first two or three lines just right so recruiters are motivated to click 'see more'. 

Even if you’re completely new to LinkedIn, don’t worry. The conference session will boost your confidence and get you going in the right direction. If you’ve already got a LinkedIn profile but feel you could be doing more with it, we’ve got some ideas for that too.

Thank you, Victoria. We’re looking forward to learning more at your session. 

Victoria McLean, CEO of City CV, will be running a conference session on how to write a compelling, impressive CV and Linkedin profile, including how to position your career break. She will also be running a breakout session on Interview Skills.

Where & When? 

The 2020 Women Returners London Conference is on:

Monday 12 October 2020: 9.00am to 5.30pm (rescheduled)

Venue: 10 Union Street, London Bridge, London, SE1 1SZ – just a few minutes walk from London Bridge station.

This is our fourth annual London Conference especially for professional woman interested in returning to work after a career break. It’s a highly motivational and inspiring day packed with expert speakers, panels and workshops. 

This conference is for everyone looking to return to work after a break. It doesn’t matter what your professional background is or whether your career break has been 18 months or 18 years. Join us for the opportunity to meet informally with other like-minded women and our returner employer sponsors, including Amazon Web Services, Bloomberg, Credit Suisse, FDM Group, J.P. Morgan, O2 and St. James’s Place Academy.

Early Bird offer

Our Early Bird ticket offer is available. Book your ticket now to secure your place.

Changing the landscape for returners in the UK

At our Women Returners 'Back to Your Future' Conference, co-founder and CEO Julianne Miles MBE spoke about what led her to set up Women Returners and how the UK landscape for returners has changed over the last five years.

After her own 4-year career break to care for her young family, Julianne decided that she didn't want to return to her former career in corporate strategy and marketing. She found it difficult to decide what to do next and was disappointed to find that there was no support available to help her. In the end, she found her own way back by retraining as a Chartered Psychologist and setting up an occupational psychology practice.

As a sideline, Julianne began to help more and more friends and acquaintances who had taken career breaks and were unsure of what to do or how to get back to work. In 2012, together with Women Returners co-founder Katarina Gould (who stepped back to pursue other interests in 2016), she started this blog to support returners. The initial aim was to provide free online return to work advice and to spread positive success stories about returning to work. 

Julianne and Katerina became increasingly frustrated by the structural difficulties that talented and experienced returners faced when trying to get back to work. The story was always the same - they were ignored or rejected out of hand when they applied for jobs through traditional recruitment processes, and had to find roles through their networks, to retrain or to take much lower-level positions. 

In 2014, they had the ambitious goal of putting returners on the map for UK business. The idea was to introduce returner programmes to create bridges between employers who wanted to recruit talented and diverse professionals and returners looking to find satisfying work using their skills and experience. They also wanted to act as a voice and advocate for career returners within the Government and professional bodies.

"Our mission has always been to make career breaks a normal part of a 40 to 50 year career, and to remove the 'career break penalty'" Julianne told the Conference audience. "To do this we work with three different groups - individuals, organisations and the Government."

Julianne explained that, alongside their free Returner Network for individuals, Women Returners partners with employers to develop and support three main types of returner programme:

• Returnships - high level, paid 'professional internships', where returners do a job for three to six months with transition support provided by the organisation. At the end of the period, there is a very strong likelihood of a permanent role if it works for both sides. These have really taken off in the UK and now in Ireland, and are at the pioneer stage in mainland Europe,
• Supported hire programmes - bringing returners into a permanent role with transition support, and an understanding that there may be a short ramp-up period as a returner gets up to speed. The term 'supported hire' was coined by Women Returners in 2015.
• Returner training programme - a form of returner programme where people who have taken an extended break are retrained into a different field, such as tech or wealth management.

"Five years ago, we introduced the concept of the returnship into the UK and have broadened our offering from there," said Julianne. "I did think that employers might not be that interested. However, this has definitely not been the case! In 2014 there were 3 UK returner programmes, by 2018 over 70 employers ran them."

"Almost every day I get contacted by a new employer asking about returner programmes. The interest is growing and growing, and we're seeing a real change in attitudes generally. Employers are realising that this is a really strong pool of candidates and they are looking beyond the gap to the skills returners bring."

Julianne described how Women Returners has partnered with employers to develop programmes around England, Scotland and Ireland. Although the concentration remains in the South, activity in the Midlands and the North of England is building. There is still little happening in Mainland Europe but she hopes this will change over the next 5 years.

"I'm proud to say that returners are now firmly on the Government' agenda," said Julianne. "There's a returners unit within the Equalities Office, and last year we co-wrote best practice guidance for employers on returner programmes which is on GOV.UK."

"We're doing what we can to change the context," said Julianne, "but I want to ask you as returners to do your bit as well. Be positive, proactive and don't write yourself off! If you find yourself thinking 'I'm too old', 'It's too late', 'Nobody's going to want me' - push all those thoughts away. Listen to and gain support from the positive people in your life who can help you think about what you CAN bring. Remember - you are the same, competent professional that you were before you took your career break. You might be a bit out of practice, but it won't take long to get up to speed and to be firing on all cylinders!"

Sign up to our free network for more advice, support and job opportunities. You’ll find much more help and advice on our website.

Advice from Employers to Returners - How to Make Yourself Stand Out in CVs and Interviews

At our 2019 Women Returners 'Back to Your Future' Conference, Claire Cohen, Women's Editor of The Telegraph, interviewed five of our employer sponsors who have experience of running successful returner programmes: Bloomberg, Credit Suisse, FDM Group, Fidelity International and O2.

Read some of the highlights on CV and interview advice from the panel's responses below (and see our previous post on recognising your value too).

How can you write a great CV for a returner programme? “Make sure you bring out your career break on your CV - the experience that you’ve had and what you've done, the skills that you've learned. Some people leave this out and just put the dates in instead of explaining what they've done during that period."

“Most people have amazing backgrounds. Demonstrate the skills you want the employer to see, bring those out with some real-life examples on your CV."

“What I really look for is experience - make sure this is fully explained on your CV and at the interview as well, because the experience you bring is so different from other candidates and that’s what really sets you apart."

“Put your career break front and centre of your CV. There’s no point in trying to hide it - why should you? It’s absolutely part of who you are and the experience you're bringing to the role so draw that out at the beginning."

“If you want an employer to give your CV time, to give you time, you need to put the time in yourself. Before you press the send button read it a second, third time and just make sure that it makes sense."

How can you present yourself well during an interview?

“It’s very important to come to the table with what you are bringing to the organisation and not to focus on what you may not have, such as technical/digital skills.”

“Be prepared. When you go to that interview know your CV, know your skills and don’t dismiss the soft skills."

“Articulate what your top strengths are - this can be powerful in an interview.” (see What's your Unique Strengths Combination)

“Don’t define yourself by what you’ve done before. Think about transferable skills. Break down what you’ve done into elements that will help an employer understand what you bring to the table."

“Try to be succinct. Articulate exactly what skills you bring."
 
"Don’t undersell what you’ve been doing - a lot of people undersell what they’ve done during their supposed 'time out'."

Sign up to our free network for more advice, support and job opportunities. You’ll find much more help and advice on our website.

Advice from Employers for Returners - Recognising your Value

At our 2019 Women Returners 'Back to Your Future' Conference, Claire Cohen, Women's Editor of The Telegraph, interviewed five of our employer sponsors who have experience of running successful returner programmes: Bloomberg, Credit Suisse, FDM Group, Fidelity International and O2. 

Read some of the highlights from the panel's responses below (more to come in our next blog).

Why do employers run returner programmes?

"We were thinking about this talent pool that’s incredibly talented and has amazing skills and we thought we’re going to tap into this to help us solve one of our business problems. So we launched in 2014 and it’s been brilliant for us. We’re now in our sixth cohort and we have a fantastic group of alumni who’ve been through the programme and are active participants in our day to day work."

"The proof is in the pudding. The more returnships we run and the more the hiring managers see the quality of the candidates coming into those programmes and what they can bring over and above another hire from another bank, or similar institution, is really valuable and I can only see that growing."

What benefits do returners bring to the workplace?

"[Returners] come in with a really fresh pair of eyes. They can look at our processes and our systems and the way that we work quite differently and it’s a real breath of fresh air - that’s what we hear from our managers."

"Another thing that I’ve seen is the enthusiasm when they come back and the fact that they bring so much - they want to give back to the organisation. I can cite several examples of our returners acting as mentors to some of the more junior women. They are active participants in key elements of our organisation."

What are employers looking for in a returner candidate? 

“I want flexibility of mind. You’re not the same person as before your career break. You want us to see this a positive so you’ve got to see that as a positive as well. Be flexible, be open! Your time out has taught you a lot."

“We’re constantly looking at ways to improve things so any type of improvement or process improvement [including during your career break] that you’ve done will be really valuable to organisations."

“Flexibility - we want to move people around the organisation so I'd really encourage people to be really open-minded about what they initially start to do because it could lead on to so many other things once you’re there."

What have they have been surprised by when running returner programmes?

“I knew the talent was going to be good but it's far surpassed what I thought. For me its been really eye-opening. We get to see these amazing resumes coming in all the time. The talent pool is truly outstanding and it's very much untapped."

“I never expected how much of an integral part of the community [returners] would be in terms of giving back to the organisation several years in. They’re really involved and engaged and willing to support those coming after them."

Sign up to our free network for more advice, support and job opportunities. You’ll find much more help and advice on our website.

Advice from Successful Returners to Work

Did you miss our Women Returners 'Back to Your Future' Conference this week in London? For those of you who couldn't join us, our next few blogs will talk about the takeouts from this sellout event.

Our Returner Panel session was chaired by the wonderful Jane Garvey from BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour. Five women who have successfully returned to work after a multi-year career break spoke about their experiences. Two had taken a break to care for small children, one for fostering and setting up a business, one to focus on family time with older children and one to take time out from a long career in a high-pressure role. Three had returned to work via a returnship, the other two via networks or stepping-stone roles.

Here are some of the highlights from their comments, including the panel's advice for other women wanting to get back to work:

On where they are now:

“It’s been a revelation to me - the whole returnship process, the support the firm has provided me, the support from Women Returners and the whole promotion of the idea of being able to return to work... I managed not only to return to work but to start a whole new career in the finance industry." 

"I didn't know that returnships existed. I had set my standard of returning to work as 'perhaps I could take a few steps back if someone would have me' - I really had no expectations and not a lot of confidence that I'd be able to step back into a senior role...honestly, the programme has been transformative for me and my career."

“It’s amazing - I didn’t think that from where I was two and a half years ago to where I am now was going to be possible."


On how they first felt being back at work:
 
"It was a bit of a shock, I wanted it but it was quite challenging. The most interesting thing for me was the progression over a number of weeks. And what I learned from day one was not to crucify myself by setting totally unrealistic standards about what I wanted to achieve.”

"I think we all have that slight reservation that we’re not quite up to it or that we won’t know what to do when we (arrive) and sit down or go to a meeting. But I was amazed at how quickly it all came back. After about three weeks the senior management team were saying 'we feel like you’ve been in the organisation for years - you’ve just fitted back in'."

"My first day was a mixture of terror and excitement.”

“My employers were really welcoming...I was nervous about photocopiers and phone systems."

"Don't worry - within a week you'll be back in the swing of it."

"I was made to feel incredibly welcome from day one. I was given a senior woman as a mentor and meetings were set up for me to meet other people in the department."

On setting boundaries/managing work-life balance:

"You have to decide what you’re going to do in a week, what you’re going to deliver and make sure you communicate that to people around you."

"It's really important for you to take responsibility (for managing boundaries). No-one is going to do that for you."

"Don't set unrealistic standards about what you can achieve when you first get back to work."

On what to wear for interviews:

"A friend gave me some brilliant career advice once. He said - when you’re going for an interview don’t do things that will enable people to write you off from the beginning. If you’re going for an interview where - like it or not - they wear suits then wear a suit. Do your research."

"For me, it’s about feeling confident. - if you feel confident in what you’re wearing that’s what’s important - and the fact that you project that confidence."

“It's very dependent on the workplace. I don’t think it’s to do with wearing a suit - it’s about getting the dress code right.”

"I went to the hairdresser for the first time in two years - I wanted to feel 'put together' and confident."

General comments/advice:

"What I would recommend is lots of positive talk to yourself in front of the mirror before you go into the interview."

"We have to understand that we have skills - they don’t go away - they might be slightly rusty but I can reassure you that within a week you’ll be back in the swing of things and within three months you’ll feel you’ve never been away."

“You’ve had a break, you’ve developed lots of positive behaviours and that’s what you’ve got to offer a new employer."

“One of the women on my returner programme had been out of the workplace for 20 years and came back in and did the programme and got herself a job that she was absolutely thrilled to get and loves and is forging another career."

Sign up to our free network for more advice, support and job opportunities. You’ll find much more help and advice on our website.

How to prepare for networking at a conference

The Women Returners team are looking forward to meeting many of you at our Women Returners Conference in London next month. The day will be packed with return-to-work advice, support and inspiration, with plenty of opportunity to network with like-minded women and meet our 10 Employer Sponsors.

We know many returners find the idea of networking quite daunting, so here are some tips to help you make the most of our Conference or other similar events.

 

Set yourself a goal: This may be to speak to three people you haven't met during the breaks between sessions, or there may be a particular employer sponsor you'd like to speak to. Achieving your goal will be a boost to your confidence. Just make sure your goal is achievable so that you don't feel too much pressure. And don't forget to pat yourself on the back when you've achieved it!

Plan your introduction: Although one of the workshops will cover in detail how to craft your personal story, it's a good idea to have a brief introduction prepared. This needs three elements: your name, a brief description of your background, and your reason for being at the conference. You don’t need to talk about the reason for your break, or its length at this stage. If you are new to networking, it might help you to practise saying your introduction out loud or with a friend, to get used to talking about yourself in this way.

Prepare topics: Whether you're focused on meeting an employer, or still working out your future direction, it's a really good idea to do some advance preparation. This includes researching individual speakers and employers online and through your existing networks, and developing questions you can ask to specific individuals and generally to other conference attendees. If you find it uncomfortable to talk about yourself, ask questions when you meet someone initially - it's an easier way to start a conversation. Advance preparation means you can arrive at the conference confident that you’ll have something to say to the new people you meet. 

Use LinkedIn to connect with other people: LinkedIn is a great way to find and connect with other attendees at a conference. You can do this manually, simply by looking up the people you meet. Or you can use a tech way if you have a smartphone: 

1. Enable Bluetooth on your phone. 
2. Click on the two people icon at the bottom of the screen in the LinkedIn app and then 'find nearby' in the middle at the top of the screen
3. You will then be able to invite anyone at the event who also has this screen open to connect. 

If you're coming along to our Conference in London on 13 May, and are on Twitter, do use the hashtag #WRConf and tag @womenreturners to join in the conversation on the day. We hope to see you there and know you'll have a great time - remember everyone at the Conference is a returner so you can relax - you've found your tribe!

If you don't have your ticket for the Women Returners 'Back to Your Future' Conference yet find out more and book here. And you can find information on our Conference's Employer Sponsors here.

For more tips on how to network successfully, see these blogs in our Advice Hub:

Top tips for enjoyable networking

Are you missing the point of networking at an event?

Do I really have to network?

Kick-start your return to work at our Women Returners Conference 2019

“The energy, inspiration and practical tips that I received from both speakers and peers at the conference has given me confidence, direction and a kick-start to get back to work!” Previous Conference Attendee

If you'd like to accelerate your return to work after an extended break from a professional career, and you're within travelling distance of London, we have an event tailored for you!

Our 2019 Women Returners 'Back to your Future' Conference (London, 13 May) is fast approaching and the programme is packed with return-to-work advice, support and inspiration. 

You can look forward to a highly motivational day:

• Get practical help with focusing your next step career choices and a road map to clarify your aims, develop decision criteria and move to action
• Find out how to boost your professional self confidence
• Improve your self marketing by crafting your career story and sharpening up your CV
• Be inspired by our panel of women who've successfully returned to work through a variety of routes
• Meet and chat to our Returner Employer Sponsors, including Bloomberg, Credit Suisse, FDM Group, Fidelity International, J.P. Morgan and O2
• Hear from our Keynote Speaker, Jane Garvey from BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour
• Learn from our employer panel about why they run returner programmes and what you can do as a candidate to stand out.

You'll also have the opportunity to take part in personalised or small group support including a laser coaching session with one of our coaching team and a LinkedIn workshop. These are offered on a first come basis - so take advantage of our Early Bird ticket price of £90 and book now. 

It's going to be a fantastic day - to get a clearer idea of what to expect, see the highlights from our last sell-out conference in the video below:

Find out more about the Conference including how to book tickets here.

We look forward to seeing you there! 

How to write your New Year return-to-work action plan

Is Returning to Work one of your New Year Resolutions? 

How do you make sure you don't let this fall by the wayside like New Year resolutions tend to do? Shift your thinking to make Returning to Work a goal, with a clear, specific and motivating personal action plan. Here are some of our suggestions on actions to include.  

Action Steps to Get Back to Work

1. Clarify what you want from work 

Start by considering what your motivations are for returning to work. Do you need, or want, to earn your own money? Are you looking for the status a professional job brings? Do you want to be a role model for your children? Returning to work after a career break is a great opportunity to think about what you really want to do, so consider what kind of working life and job you would find most fulfilling and enjoyable. Think about what you most enjoyed about past roles and whether or not you need flexibility. You may prefer a corporate employed role, to work as a freelancer or to set up your own business. 

Identifying your strengths can help you decide which career direction to take. And read our tips if you feel you have too many return-to-work options or too few. Don't over-analyse at this stage - the 'what shall I do with my life?' career questions can rarely be solved just by brain-power. Move to action using a Test and Learn approach.

2. Fill the gaps in your work experience/skillset
Once you're clearer on the broad direction you want to take, it’s time to identify any gaps in your experience and any new skills you will need. Get up to date with your old industry, or learn about a new one, by taking professional courses through industry associations, attending conferences, seminars or webinars, signing up to relevant newsletters and meeting up with ex-colleagues. Find courses locally through Floodlight and look at the free online MOOCs (Massive Online Courses). If you're worried about your IT skills being out of date, take a course before you get back to work. Strategic volunteering can build your skills and experience and may even provide a route back to work.

3. Craft your return-to-work story
Talking about your career break and how it fits into your professional story can be tricky. Use our ‘Career Break Sandwich’ method so that you don't fall into the trap of focusing solely on your career break (and neglecting your professional background) in response to the classic questions "what do you do?" or "tell me about your background?".

4. Rebuild your work confidence
A loss of professional confidence can be a key factor in preventing you from making a successful return to work. Don't let this hamper you - read our blogs on Re-establishing Your Confidence and addressing the Confidence Gap.

5. Re-write your CV and develop your LinkedIn profile

If you’ve been out of the workplace for any length of time it’s likely to be many years since you last wrote your CV. We have lots of CV information in the Advice Hub section of our website including How to Write Your Post-Break CV and the use of Action Words. A strong LinkedIn profile is also important - read our blog on how to make the most of your profile.

6. Select potential routes back to work 

There are many routes back to work such as returnships, networking and creative crafting of a role. Consider which ones would work best for you.

7. Prepare for interviews 

Facing your first interview for many years can be daunting, and we have lots of advice on our website to help you prepare. Six Essential Steps for Successful Interviewing is a good place to start. We have advice on how to prepare for competency-based interviews, informational interviews and telephone interviews. You can also read how to respond if an interviewer tells you you're overqualified for the role and what to wear to interviews.

8. Maintain your motivation

Our motivation to achieve our goals inevitably fades after a while. Learn from psychology research about how to stay motivated longer-term. 

You’ll find much more help and advice on our website.