Women in Financial Services
Career Break – Back to Work in the Financial Industry
Tina.Freed / 20 Aug 2015
Recent statistics from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) show that there are lots of women who would like to go back to work after a career break, however, are finding it difficult to get back into the swing of things. TUC’s analysis also shows that, although unemployment has fallen in the last three years, the number of women who have had a career break and want to go back to work but can’t due to family commitments has gone up.
Summer holidays are in full swing and for many women going back to work is high on their agenda. When their children go back to school in September, many Mothers who have taken a career break whilst looking after their children are now intending to return to the workplace and pick up where they left off.
However, it’s not an easy task and the difficulty level depends on a lot of different factors, including what sector their previous experience has been in? How long they have been out of the workplace? Where they live? What they have been doing in the meantime? Have they kept in touch with their old employment network?
E2W was set up in 2000, specifically for people who found themselves in this career gap predicament and receive many enquiries from women finding they are having difficulty in getting their foot back in the door again.
One women enquired: “Where am I going wrong? I’ve applied for loads of financial roles linked to my previous experience, however, seem to be excluded from interviews. I am beginning to lose my confidence as I think it’s due to me being out of work for the last 3 years because I have been raising my children. My substantial previous work experience seems to be completely dismissed. What should I do?”
Another enquiry: “How do I get back on the ladder? Surely I’m not for the redundant pile already? 20 years’ of working tirelessly before starting a family appears to now be irrelevant!
One of the biggest obstacles to return to work is confidence. After years out of the workforce, confidence can subside. However, a lot a women returners say that once they got back in the driving seat at work they realised their skills and abilities to do the job came flooding back. The only thing that had really changed significantly was the technology, and a few training courses can quickly rectify that to help get the qualifications updated with new processes learned.
However, their basic ability to do the job was still intact. Not only were they able to utilise the years of experience they had before they took their career break, they could also use their additional skills learnt whilst bringing up the family. Important skills linked to being a parent are fundamental in today’s workplace, such as time management, communications skills and patience.
How do you rebuild confidence?
Writing a list of your skills and experience can help, as well as talking to former colleagues and friends if you have stayed in touch. Doing mock interviews is a good way of getting feedback on presentation delivery and confidence.
Many women who return to work still have caring responsibilities and are looking for jobs with reduced or flexible hours. This can make it more difficult to find a job because some employers are still reluctant to advertise new flexible professional roles.
So what can they do to get back into work?
One way would be to start looking at retraining options to help get your skills back up to speed and build confidence.
A recent annual survey showed 64% would be interested in retraining and 70% said they would be more likely to retrain if the courses were flexible. Over half – 53% – have retrained within the last three years.
An increasing number of returner programmes have been launched in the last few months which aim to help those who have taken a career break back to work. Mostly in the financial services sector, however, there are a growing number in other sectors. They are gathering momentum and is conclusive evidence that employers are starting to look more keenly at women who have not had a linear progression in their career and are starting to realise that they are a valuable talent pool for them.
E2W specialise in flexible jobs within the finance industry which enable Mum’s & Dads to return to the city after time out raising a family, as well as for people who have other commitments outside of work and require a more balanced lifestyle.
If you are looking for choice and would like to embrace the next steps back into the workplace in a positive manner CLICK HERE Or call: 01732 897728
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