Whether your career break was to care for family, recover from illness, relocate or for a whole mix of reasons, returning to work after a long pause can feel daunting and intimidating. You may be wondering what to do next, how to get back and even if you’re employable anymore. The good news is that – while it’s not easy – it is possible, and this could well be the start of your most fulfilling chapter yet.

Here are five insights to help you to navigate your way back to work with confidence and clarity, drawn from my new book Return Journey: How to get back to work and thrive after a career break.

1

A career break is a rare opportunity

This is likely to be the first time for a very long time that you’ve had the chance to consider what you really want to do with your working life. Take time to reflect on what matters most to you now. Don’t just aim to find any job, think about what will make a role fulfilling for you. What kind of work energises you? What environment helps you flourish? How can you use your strengths? Have your values changed during your break? This is your opportunity to step back, take stock and be more targeted in your job search so you can return stronger and with renewed purpose.

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2

 It’s never too late to get back to work

Within the Career Returners online library of return-to-work success stories, career breaks of over ten years are completely normal, and many of our returner role models have had breaks of fifteen or more years. One woman is thriving back in a corporate role after thirty years out. The key to a successful return is a proactive and creative return-to-work plan – combined with a high degree of persistence and positivity. This matters much more than whether you’ve been away from the workplace for five or fifteen years.

3

Your confidence quickly rebuilds with action

In our latest Career Returners Indicator, 90% of returners said their confidence had taken a hit. The self-doubt that kicks in after a break relates to your ‘professional’ – not overall -confidence. Start to rebuild your professional identity by reminding yourself of the achievements of the working person you were before your break and seek out reinforcing feedback from others. But don’t wait to feel completely ready, or you may stay stuck. Reframe confidence as courage and bravely start with a few small steps: reconnect with a friendly former colleague, update your LinkedIn profile, or attend a work-related webinar. Confidence builds through action.

4

Your skills are still relevant and you have built new ones

Don’t undervalue yourself – you have so much to offer an employer. Even if your industry has evolved, your experience and your core professional skills remain valuable. With the rapid pace of change, you don’t need to fill in all the knowledge you missed, you just need upskill on what’s relevant now. And you’ll have built many transferable skills during your break, such as adaptability, problem-solving, influencing, time-management, empathy and resilience. What’s more, you’re coming back with renewed energy, maturity and a fresh perspective – this is what positively differentiates you.

5

The right employer is out there

Although there is still far too much recruitment bias against candidates without recent experience (we’re working on this!), the landscape has improved significantly since 2014 when I set up Career Returners. Many leading employers now recognise the value of returners and offer supportive routes back to work, including structured returnships. There’s also much more flexibility post-pandemic with the rise of hybrid working. Look for organisations that actively support career returners or inclusive hiring. The right employer won’t see your career break as a gap – they’ll see it as a valuable time of personal growth.

Julianne Miles MBE is a SW London-based Chartered Psychologist, Co-Founder of Career Returners (careerreturners.com) – a social impact organisation which works with returners and employers to enable professionals to return to work after a career break – and author of ‘Return Journey: How to get back to work and thrive after a career break’, a psychology-based, practical guide for professionals returning to work after a career break and those supporting them. Julianne is speaking at Wimbledon Bookfest on 25 October, in conversation with Jane Garvey.