Seven years ago, in 2017, I made a choice: after twelve years spent raising my family, I decided it was time to return to work.  With my eldest child starting secondary school, I saw an opportunity to return to ignite my legal career.  

It was with a mixture of excitement and nerves that I took this step forward, knowing that the time to act was now or never.

I noticed a new trend emerging with 'Returnship' programmes, which were becoming more common, especially in the banking industry.  It seemed like a great initiative!  I figured if banks were supporting returners, especially women, then the legal sector might be doing something similar.

You'd hope so, right? But as I started looking into it, I found that such programmes were few and far in between, which left me feeling disappointed. 

It was back to square one. 

While some organisations offered helpful services for returners such as CV assistance, LinkedIn profile help and optimisation, confidence building coaching, CPD, and webinar updates on changes in the law, they usually came with a price tag.  

Not great if you don't have an income in the first place!  

However, when it came to returnship opportunities in the legal field, they were discouragingly scarce.  And when they did surface, the competition was stiff.

Left with no alternative, I resorted to the traditional route of reaching out to recruitment agencies and directly applying to companies' HR departments with my CV. Unfortunately, both avenues proved disheartening.

Responses from companies were scarce, usually limited to generic rejections. Meanwhile, recruiters offered a discouraging mix of feedback, suggesting I had waited too long to seek opportunities, advising me that I should have maintained some form of employment even if it was part-time, and conveying the bleak reality of my prospects compared to those currently employed and actively seeking new roles.

My excitement of returning to my career, that I had trained and worked so hard for, was now turning to frustration which only fuelled my anxiety and disappointment.

I even found myself telling one recruiter that it was not a crime to have a family and taking a career break didn't mean that my brain was dead! I was however, beginning to think whether I had committed career suicide!

As time passed and my attempts proved fruitless, frustration began to mount.  I couldn't help but wonder why the supportive, confidence-boosting six month return to work contracts offered in the banking and other sectors of industry weren't also available in the legal field.  

Surely the legal sector, of all places would want to champion such initiatives, right?  Despite feeling discouraged, I refused to accept defeat.  Instead, I became even more determined to find my way back into the profession.

I did eventually succeed and secured an initial six month contract which became permanent. This was thanks to a sympathetic recruiter who believed in me and told me that I had not gone pass my sell by date, and a company that was both flexible in its approach and were willing to look beyond my career break.

I know this is not just my story alone and even today there are many, many men and women who have taken a career break for a number of reasons, whether this is to raise a family, to care for a relative, to deal with health issues or simply due to stress and burnout or mental health issues, that are trying to return to their legal careers. So, are firms doing enough to attract these returners and can firms find it difficult to see past a career break?

Whilst things may have got better over the last few years in terms of more opportunities becoming available for legal returners, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Just prior to Covid-19, I had started to explore new opportunities; however, with the job market being turbulent and four years on, I now found myself in my second career break. 

Have things changed much since my first career break?  I'm afraid to say, no, not much.

Thanks to Covid, we are now accepting of more flexible approaches to work, but the legal industry is at risk of losing its talent because of an inability or refusal to adapt and embrace different ways of working and a growing need for work life balance.

After securing a permanent position and settling into my role as a first-time returner, I realised the need for flexibility around school pick-ups and the dreaded lengthy school holidays all parents face.  Despite no significant pay increase, I negotiated a flexible arrangement that was highly praised by friends and colleagues and deemed the best flexible package for a working mother they'd heard of.  

For me this was more valuable than any salary increase at the time. I managed to arrange an early start and finish to accommodate school schedules, along with the perk of working from home full-time during school holidays.  It was a win-win situation for everyone.

My employers got their work done and were satisfied with the completed work. I could manage family commitments and pick-ups without the extra stress of childcare cost, which kept the kids happy, and most importantly, I ended up saving money - a delightful bonus!  Worth mentioning, all of this occurred before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

None of the above would have been possible if it wasn't for a conversation between an employee and her boss who listened, talked, adapted and made it work.  Credit is also due to a company that embraced creativity and took a calculated risk to support its employees' needs.

Indeed, it may seem like a gamble for any firm or company to reintegrate returning workers into their workforce.  However, those willing to look beyond the traditional approaches and take calculated risks will discover that they are not merely taking a chance but investing in their talent pool.

There is a huge pool of talent of highly experienced lawyers out there that want to return to work and a vast amount of talent that is being turned away at the school gates, so why are we not engaging in conversation and talking about how we can find a solution to the problem whereby a return to worker wants to return and an employer needs additional resources?  Why is it that we don't see many job posts for returners?

I am a firm believer that every problem has a solution and where there is a will, there is a way. 

So, what are the downsides of recruiting someone who is on a career break and now wants to return to work?  

It is true, returning workers may have been out of the professional game for some time, potentially resulting in a gap in their knowledge of legal updates and technological advancements. They might also struggle with confidence and be perceived as older.  However, it's essential to recognise that they are still professionally qualified lawyers with invaluable skill sets. 

Returners often demonstrate more resilience, determination and a strong desire to prove themselves.  Having taken a career break, they're not afraid to put in the hard work upon their return.  Much like children returning to school after a long holiday, they come back more mature, refreshed, and eager to dive back into their careers.

They're willing to make trade-offs between their returning salaries and their career breaks just to regain a foothold in the industry. Additionally, they're often available to start work immediately, with no notice periods, presenting employers with a potential bargain.  So, what's the catch?

Could it be that employers fear the investment of time and resources required to train returners in new technologies, worrying that they might initially struggle to keep pace? 

Perhaps there's concern that they've fallen out of touch with certain areas of the law and will need to refresh their legal training.  Or is it simply the apprehension that they'll demand too much effort and strain resources? 

I would love to know your thoughts on the matter.

I can tell you that after a twelve-year career break, yes, I was nervous and a little anxious on my first day, much like turning up to school on your first day as "billy no mates," but by the end of my first week I was beginning to feel like I had been there for months.

It was like riding an old bicycle and slowly, but I picked up my pace and within a few weeks my career break was beginning to feel like a distance memory. With a blend of training, mentorship, coaching, and everyday work tasks, any returner can get back up to speed.  It's just a matter of time, patience, and belief in their abilities.

Thankfully, its widely acknowledged that working from home is now a viable option, allowing us to meet deadlines whilst also striving for a better work-life balance through hybrid working.  By welcoming back returners, firms and companies can expand their talent pool, offering both part-time and full-time roles.

This not only eases the burden on existing staff but could also help prevent burnout.  Plus, it ensures a reliable resource pool for times when other team members may need to take career breaks, providing peace of mind knowing there's immediate support available.

Sadly, I am still hearing daily about the struggle's returners are having getting back to their legal careers.  In the spirit of getting people back to work and investing in our economy, we need to do more for returners.

We are all human. We have multifaceted responsibilities - to ourselves, our families, and our careers. It is important that taking a career break, for whatever reason, isn't met with the threat of career derailment and that 'if you leave, your career is over'.

Planning ahead for career breaks and facilitating smooth returns can be beneficial to everyone. Perhaps more firms could allocate budgets for retraining returners through fixed-term contracts, mirroring practices seen in the banking and other sectors of industry.

Alternatively, exploring flexible work arrangements could deter employees from feeling compelled to leave in the first place. We urgently need more dialogue involving returners, recruiters, and employers to explore how firms can better support career breaks.

It's time to shift the narrative, eliminating the notion that taking a break equates to career suicide, and instead, affirming that it's perfectly acceptable for individuals to step away when necessary.

If you have successfully returned to work, please share your journey. If you are still struggling, please share your thoughts and what you would like to see change. If you are a firm or a company looking to explore how you could expand your talent pool by bringing in more returners or how to develop a returnship programme or that you are a returner who has had a career break and still has lots to offer, then do get in touch with me to chat on how I can help you. 

A career break should not be the end of your career.