Starting Again
The most useful advice comes from people who have done it
This is the session the rest of Starting Again is built around. Two or three people who returned to work after a gap describe how they did it, plainly, including what went wrong, and then answer questions from people trying to do the same now.
Explore this page6 sections
Advice about returning is mostly written by people who never had to.
Much of the advice about career gaps is general, cheerful and written from a distance. People in the middle of a return need something different: the specifics of how somebody else did it, including the months that went nowhere.
The speakers are people who have come back to work after a layoff, a caregiving break, illness, a business that did not work or a long search. They are asked to be candid rather than inspiring, and to say what they would do differently.
Nobody on the panel is selling a course, a coaching service or a placement.
What speakers are asked to cover
23 topics across 6 areas. The same questions for each speaker, so the stories can be compared.
Where They StartedThe situation at the beginning.4
- Why they left, or were let go
- How long they were away
- What they did in that time
- How they felt about returning
The First MovesWhat they did first, and in what order.4
- What they refreshed
- Who they talked to
- How they explained the gap
- What they applied for first
What Did Not WorkThe part most success stories leave out.4
- Applications that went nowhere
- Interviews that went badly
- Routes they would not try again
- Mistakes with money or timing
What DidThe route that got them in.4
- Where the role came from
- Who helped
- What made the difference in the interview
- What they compromised on, if anything
The First Months BackGetting the job is not the end of it.4
- What was harder than expected
- What was easier
- Catching up on the job
- Managing home and work together
What They Would Tell YouIn their own words, in the room.3
- The one thing they would do sooner
- The one thing they would skip
- What they wish somebody had told them
Who speaks
- People who returned after a layoff
- People who returned after a caregiving break
- People who returned after illness or a health break
- People who returned after a business or a career change that did not work
- People who returned after a long or difficult search
What participants leave with
- Several routes back to compare with their own
- Answers to their own questions
- A realistic sense of how long a return can take
- A follow-up contact, where a speaker offers one
How the session runs
Two or three speakers each describe their return for about fifteen minutes, followed by questions. Speakers are chosen so that their situations differ. The group is kept small so participants can describe their own situation and ask about it. Speakers talk about their own experience, and nothing they say is presented as a general rule.
What your students leave with
- Several real routes back, described by the people who took them
- An honest picture of how long it took, and what it cost
- Answers to your own questions from people who have been there
- A sense of what is ordinary in a return, and what is not
- A contact or two to follow up with, where speakers offer
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Hear it from people who came back.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.