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Alice Paun has left her job in IT operations in 200 to be a mother at home.
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Her career vacation lasted 17 years. A specialized return program helped to join the workforce.
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Peacock was aware of the abyss in her summary, but she says the vacation made her a better employee.
This essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 55-year-old Alice Paun from Reading, England. The following is edited for length and clarity.
I was completely intended to go back to work after I had my first child.
I looked at the nurseries near my workplace and tried to achieve increased flexibility to reduce my hours in my company, but it seems that nothing works.
My first child Michael was born in 2001 and I fell in love. When my maternity leave was over, I wondered if I wanted someone else to take care of him.
I decided to inform my one -month notice and rest. My motherhood was engaged in me and in 2005 I had my second child, Melissa. I did not go back to full -time work until 2018
My 17th anniversary of the corporation made me a softer and better person. When I started looking for a full -time job again, a career return program helped me get back to the corporate world. Now I work at the same level as when I left it.
Leaving my job to take care of the kids was like a constant vacation
I really liked to be part of the corporate world. I have been working in operations for IT services since 1998. I understood my work and felt good about it.
It was difficult to leave my job in 2001. I set up a reputation and felt connected to my colleagues. I invited the whole global team to my wedding.
But caring for the children was like a constant vacation. When you have time to spend with your children, you can plant lessons in them so that they can be independent. My kids can cook and they know the value of money. I have always made sure that they have graduated from food when we went out to eat, not to be wasteful.
At the back of my mind, I wanted to go back to work, but I didn’t think I could handle the work of corporate operations with the kids.
Until I worked, we relying on my partner’s income
We had to reduce the costs by having a short holidays and we did not send our children to a private school, but we were ready to make these victims so that I could stay home and take care of them.
As my children grew up, I took some part -time work and voluntary opportunities. My money was not needed to contribute to household resources, but I missed an adult conversation.
I was considering going back to full -time work because of the comment my son made sometime in 2017.
When my 16-year-old son received a job at a grocery store in 2017, he made an insolent joke that he was making more money from me.
My biggest was a teenager and my daughter was adult enough to go to school alone, so I started looking for operating jobs again.
I knew my summary gap would be a barrier, so I was open to lower level roles than I had when I left it.
I visited employment seminars at a local community center, where we learned about resume, LinkedIn and interview techniques. Active work preparation made me feel confident of working for a job.
A rental manager I talked to told me that they were looking for someone with recent experience. Not long after, I was accepted into a quarterly employment program that I heard and applied for.
Entering the Career Return Program has helped me go back to full -time work
The program was with O2, a British telecommunications company, now known as Virgin Media O2. The program is specifically designed for people who return from careers, like me.
It was by chance that the program accepted candidates at the same time when I started looking for a job. Without this type of specialized scheme, it would be a bigger challenge to go back to work because I lacked recent experience.
The program interviewers looked at my portable skills and asked me how the things I did during my career vacation could apply for the role.
I started the program in October 2018 and settled easily. I felt I had never left the labor force. I received support from my linear manager, mentor and my peers in the program.
At the end of the three months, I was offered a full -time position as a problem manager. The role overlaps with my previous experience and I found the operating processes similar to when I was the last time in the workforce. However, the technology has changed because now we have things like video call teams and there is more virtual cooperation.
My career vacation made me softer and better
I received an elevated problem in 2022. I’m probably at the same level now as before I have children. However, if I had not stopped working in 2001, I think I would have participated in the “leader” or the role of the director so far because I was very ambitious.
My career vacation made me a better employee. I had children who pulled out my nourishing side and made me a softer person. I listen to more, more personalized and better.
I am grateful for the opportunity to go back to work. Without a career return program, I think I should reduce my expectations and either make a way from an administrative role or apply for apprenticeship.
The traditional process of hiring an unfair penalizes return careers due to gaps in their summary. Returns have been worn years of professional experience and knowledge in the industry, along with additional skills acquired during their careers vacations.
Do you have a story to share about having a career? Contact this reporter to ccheong@businessinsider.comS
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