Returning to work at different ages

Returning to work can be a daunting process after a career break. You may be questioning ‘who am I’ professionally after several years out, and this may feel even more profound when returning to work after a very lengthy break.

Different life factors at play can also bring additional challenges – how does returning to work differ in your 30s, 40s and 50s – and what can you do practically to help yourself?

Your 30s

Careers often accelerate during your 30s, and it can feel hard to return when you’ve stepped out of your career while your peers have continued to progress. You may feel frustrated and that you have to play catch up with others in your age group to get your career back on track. Remember, as working lives grow longer with many of us working into our 60s and beyond, this is just a small pause in your career, and you will be back up to speed and smashing it before long!

The first step is to avoid the trap of comparison and focus instead on the value you bring. Reconnect with your professional brand – what you have to offer in terms of your strengths, skills and experience, and what you stand for – your values and your purpose. Read our blog here on personal brand and focus on raising your visibility in line with this.

This is a prime time to grow in your career and it can be really valuable to seek a mentor to help you think about your career progression, and spot opportunities for development as your resume your career. Explore organisations’ mentoring programmes, or be brave and approach people you think could be a great mentor to set up an informal mentoring relationship.

If you have young children to care for, this can be challenging both practically and emotionally.  Explore child care options early so that you’re well prepared on this front. The good news is that post pandemic, flexible working is here to stay and in many cases has made it easier for professionals to return to work. In addition new laws that come into effect in 2024 also mean that you will soon have the right to request flexibility from day one. Read our flexible working blog post for further tips and advice.

Your 40s

“The advantage to being older is that you know who you are and what you want” a returner in her 40s told us recently. Your 40s is a good time to review what you want from the next 20-30 years of your career. Reflect on your strengths, values and interests and whether these have changed since you last made career decisions. If you have children they may well be at school now, freeing up some time and space for you again and it’s a great time to reignite your career fire!

At this life stage, ageing parents may also start to pose new responsibilities and challenges.  Consider who else can help out to support loved ones when you’re back at work – other family members, friendly neighbours, community support? Explore these now whilst you have the time to set up and trial new arrangements.

Perimenopause can also bring its own challenges in your mid to late 40s. See our blog here on asking for the (peri)menopause support you need as you return to work.

Balancing all of these elements can be stressful so it’s important to practice the basics of looking after yourself well and reaching out for help. Join supportive groups for tips and advice, build your network and challenge yourself to be more visible. Listen to Tamara’s inspiring story on our Career Returners podcast about the value of networks and creating opportunities to reconnect.

Your 50s

At this age you will have achieved many brilliant things throughout your career and life. You will have years of valuable work experience, you may have lived or worked in different countries, developed your own business, volunteered your time, maybe created or designed something. You may have raised your children, cared for your parents, supported a partner, and witnessed life changing events. Value what you have to offer an employer.

Workplace ageism can be a challenge returning to work in your 50s and while it might be true that some organisations fail to recognise the great value and benefit of hiring older workers, the landscape is changing as more and more organisations embrace returner programmes and the government commits to new initiatives to help over 50s back to work.

Returners too often create self-imposed barriers that need not exist. There are lots of free online upskilling courses to help you get up to speed with new technologies, to pivot your career or to retrain into a new area. Explore our resource signposts here to get upskilled and grow your confidence.

Reframing and developing the right mindset where your age is an advantage is essential. There are lots of resources out there to help you realise your potential – check out Restless, a fast growing digital community for the over 50s and 55 Redefined, ‘champions of the over 50s’ with an over 50s jobs board and membership platform.

Whatever age and stage you’re at, remember that you bring many years of skills, experience and wisdom that employers hugely value.  For inspiration, delve into our Library of Success Stories to help you get started on this next career chapter.

Summer return to work action plan – updated blog

With the summer holidays just around the corner, it may be tempting to push thoughts about returning to work to the back of your mind. However organisations tend to start hiring again and launching new returner programmes in early September, so taking some time over the break to focus on you and your job search could pay dividends.

Here are a variety of simple ways in which you can lay strong foundations now – while taking a much-needed break – so you’ll be in a good position for an autumn return to work.

Build your return-to-work criteria

If you’re considering what to do next, think back on previous work roles, or activities that you’ve done during your career break, that you found fulfilling and reflect on what made them so.

Factors that you find fulfilling are related to your strengths and values and understanding these will give you vital clues as to what you could do next. You may want to return to your old field of work; you may decide to take elements from your past roles and identify a new one or you may find you have an idea for a new business or a desire to retrain in a new area.

If you’re able to identify new skills you’d like to acquire or skills you want to refresh, summer is a good time to research any online/in-person courses which often start in September.  See our resources signposts here for lots of helpful links.  You could also look into volunteering opportunities for September which could help upskill you in a new area.

Create your network map

It doesn’t matter if you’re not yet ready to start networking, creating your network map takes time and the sooner you can start the better. This is an ideal task to tackle during the holidays as it can be done in small chunks whenever you have some spare time.

Begin by creating three lists. In the first, put everyone you can think of from your past: people you knew at school and university, friends you may not have seen for a long time, and former colleagues from previous roles. In the second, list everyone you know now: neighbours, friends, parents from your children’s school, local community acquaintances, people you’ve met through your hobbies or volunteering. In the third, try to think of future networks and groups it would be useful to join: professional associations, local women’s networks, LinkedIn groups etc.

Even if you start by thinking that you don’t have a network, you’ll be surprised how quickly your map grows and how many people you can potentially connect with when the time comes.

Practise your introduction

Having a clear and confident intro that captures your breadth of experience and current interests often takes  time  to finesse! Take advantage of the opportunities over the summer when you might be meeting new people on holiday to practice telling your career story. You can test out and refine your answer to the often-dreaded question – ‘What do you do?’ Try using our Career Break Sandwich model, starting with your past work experience, then talking about your career break and finishing with what you want to do in the future. Hopefully by the end of the summer you will feel much more confident about talking about your skills, experience and aims for the future.

Get your family on board!

If you’re a parent, your return to work will be a lot smoother if you have the support and co-operation of your partner and children. The long summer holiday will give you plenty of time to consider what changes will need to be made and how best to prepare your family. For younger children, think about a new school drop-off/pickup routine or new after school clubs. Older children may need to be encouraged to take on more responsibility such as preparing their own packed lunches. The holidays are a great time to teach your children new skills that will help them adjust to and share your excitement about your return to work.

Taking some well-deserved space and time over the summer to continue moving forwards in your return to work action plan will help set you up for success in the autumn! Have a great summer!

Top ten tips for making the most of our Back to Your Future Conference 2023

With our Back to your Future Conference just around the corner, here’s our top tips for making the most of the opportunity!

1. Set yourself a goal
What’s your main reason for attending? What do you want to get out of the Conference? Set yourselves some objectives to achieve over the two days e.g. registering your details with some key returner employers, connecting with other returners or making notes to improve your CV and LinkedIn profile.

2. Become familiar with the software in advance
We will send out details of Hopin – the fantastic online conference platform that we use – in advance so you have a chance to download it and set up your profile on it. You can also explore how you can use the different areas so you’re ready to go on the day.

3. Have a back-up plan for tech issues
Ideally you want to follow the conference on a desktop or laptop. But if yours sometimes has issues, have another computer, a tablet or a smart phone at the ready so you don’t miss out.

4. Make a plan
Become familiar with the agenda and identify which sessions you really want to attend. Where you have a choice of sessions, consider which one is going to be most relevant for your goals. Create your plan for attending and block out the time in your diary.

5. Prioritise
Conference days are not the days to multi-task. Make this your priority so you don’t get distracted and can maximise the opportunities offered.

6. Be prepared – do your research
Research employers so that you can prioritise which employers you’ll visit in their booths and chat to in session rooms. Prepare your list of meaningful questions that demonstrates your research – don’t ask questions that you can easily find the answers to on their website.

7. Get your friends to attend too
People often invite a friend for in-person events, but don’t think about it for virtual events. You can even get together on the day so you can sit in different sessions and swap feedback and ideas after.

8. Connect
Make the most of the opportunity to connect with other returners to build your peer support group. Spend time connecting 1-1 with others as well as meeting returners in the session rooms. Connect with people you meet over the two days on LinkedIn so you can continue to support each other.

9. Note taking
Have a pen and notepad ready to reflect on workshop exercises and panels and jot down notes. Set up one page for points that really resonate that you can reflect on later. One way to do this is to think ‘what is my key takeaway’, ‘what does this mean for me’, and ‘what am I going to do with this information’? Set up a second page for contact details or those you would like to connect with or follow. Don’t get distracted taking lengthy notes though – you’ll have the recordings of all workshops and panels for 30 days after the Conference to continue your reflections.

10. Take breaks!
We will be giving you the opportunity for breaks throughout the day. Do ensure you get up and move, get something to eat and drink and rest your eyes from screen time. This will prepare you to come back to your next session re-energised and re-focussed.

Our flagship Back to Your Future Conference on 10 and 11 May 2023 is a fully interactive online event packed with the advice, inspiration, tools and connections you need to get you back to a rewarding role.
To book your ticket, click here!

Six Common Errors to Avoid in your Return-to-Work Job Application

When you are applying for a job or a returner programme after a career break, you may be totally focused on crafting and perfecting your CV. At the other extreme, you may be aiming to quickly apply for as many opportunities as possible. If you’re in either camp, it’s easy to make simple mistakes that reduce your likelihood of success. Here are 6 common errors to avoid in your job application process.

1. Don’t apply too late

Don’t leave it to the last minute to apply. Sometimes adverts/applications close early because there has been a lot of interest, or the advert link breaks, or you have problems with your internet connection. If you leave it to the last minute, you may miss out!

2. But don’t apply too early

Don’t apply as soon as the advert opens. You need to make sure that you have tailored your application to the job/programme. You want your CV to be adapted to clearly show why you are a good candidate for this opportunity, and any cover letter to be specific about both your fit and your motivation to join this specific organisation.

3. Don’t neglect the detail

Ensure that you check for grammar, spelling, and consistency. Make sure that your layout is consistent across the document. Recruiters will view lack of attention to detail in your application poorly. Double check that your contact details are correct: typos in your phone number could result in you missing a call for interview!

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Ask a friend or family member to proofread your CV and cover letter. It’s easy to miss your own errors. If you give your proofreader the job description, they can also check off the desired competencies, qualities, and skills against your CV, to highlight if you need to add more evidence.

5. Don’t send to the wrong person

If you are applying via email, double-check the email address for typos. If the job advert has a specific name to send your application to, ensure you are spelling it correctly. Avoid “Dear Sir or Madam” as this sounds very dated now. Instead you can use “Dear Hiring Manager”.

6. Don’t forget the attachments

Before sending your email, confirm that you have attached all the documents that are required. Have you been asked for a separate cover letter, proof of right to work, or other documents? Name these attachments in a professional and helpful way, for example YOUR_NAME_CV, YOUR_NAME_COVER LETTER.

Why ‘back to school’ is a good time to focus on your return to work

The nights are already drawing in and soon there’ll be an autumnal chill in the air. Many people have that ‘back to school’ feeling at this time of year – whether they have children or not – as the move into September can feel like a new beginning – more like New Year than New Year itself.

And it’s a great time to focus on a return-to-work as businesses return to full strength after the lull of July and August and start hiring again. You may also have taken time over the summer to relax and now feel refreshed, revitalised and raring to go. This can get your return-to-work off to a flying start!

Here are our top tips to capitalise on that ‘back to school’ feeling:

1. Getting started

Two of the most important things to nail when you start thinking about returning to work are clarity and focus. It’s therefore important to begin by taking the time to develop your return to work career direction as this will save you wasting time and energy on unhelpful job-hunting strategies.

If you’re struggling to decide what kind of role to look for it’s worth bearing in mind that studies consistently show that one of the key things that make us happy at work is using our strengths. Read our blogs for advice on how to identify your strengths and your unique strengths combination.

Once you have carefully considered your reasons for returning to work and what you want to do, you may find that you have too few choices or too many choices and therefore need to work on these. Taking the time to focus on your options at this stage will maximise your chances of success.

2. Making progress

Once you are clear on your career direction and the kind of roles you want to look for you’ll need to put together a great post-break CV, optimise your LinkedIn profile and brush up on your interview technique.

If you find yourself thinking things like ‘I’m too old to move into a new area’ or ‘I’m hopeless at networking’, these can be signs that you may have a fixed mindset, and this could impede your progress. Read our blog on how developing a growth mindset can improve your chances of finding a satisfying and fulfilling role.

Perhaps your professional confidence has taken a knock if you’ve had an extended career break – hardly surprising considering how much of our identity is tied up with our work. We have some top tips for boosting confidence and advice on how to look more confident than you really are.

Read our tips on how to be a successful returner candidate and also advice from people who have successfully returned to work. The advice from employers for returners on recognising your value can be especially helpful.

3. Keeping going

Looking for a new role after an extended career break can sometimes feel overwhelming and the inevitable setbacks may mean sustained motivation – so necessary for success – can wane. Read our advice on how to stay motivated in your return to work job search.

If you find yourself becoming demotivated – our stories from women who have successfully navigated a return to work will help give you encouragement and reassurance.

4. Accelerating your return to work

Our annual Back to Your Future Conference – online on 11 October 2022 – is a fantastic way to turbo-charge your return to work. Find out more about how the one-day event can help you to get back to rewarding work here.

You’ll find lots more help in the advice hub on our website. And don’t forget to sign up to our Women Returners Professional Network for information, inspiration, connections and advice.

Note: 2022 update of archive post

Advance preparation for your return to work

Is your return to work getting closer? This is the perfect time to get started to prepare for your return. Don’t wait for a job application or an offer, as advance planning can help you feel much calmer and more in control as interviews or your start date approaches.

We’d recommend tackling your preparation on three fronts: professional/technical, practical and – the bit we often forget – mental. Here are some tips for each of these.

Professional/technical preparation

Take steps to bring your knowledge back up-to-date. Resubscribing to professional journals or related press can help you to reconnect with your old sector and to understand any major developments, as well as new language or acronyms.

If you feel that your skills are rusty, there are lots of free online courses through websites such as coursera, udacity and Digital Garage, to name just a few which can help fill any skills gaps.

Get in touch with ex-colleagues and meet in person close to their work if you can. This is a good time to reconnecting with ‘dormant’ contacts through LinkedIn, particularly those colleagues you were once close to but have lost touch with in recent years. This gets you back in a professional setting and location, talking about you, your interests and the experience you bring. In turn, this can really help to boost your professional confidence. Talking about your career story with them can also help you to refine your narrative, which is very useful for when you’re meeting your new colleagues.

Practical preparation

Having practical support networks in place can really ease some of the stresses when you return to work. It helps to keep the focus on you and having the best possible start. If you’re going to need childcare, look into this asap to give yourself a good window to settle your child in before you start. And also think of your Plan B – who can look after them if they’re unwell? If you have other responsibilities, say for elderly parents, think about how you will fit in or change the care you provide now once you return.

Reflect on your current week, with all your commitments, and then consider how this will work once you add employment into the mix. With only 24 hours in a day, you’ll need to think about what you can delegate. Think about both chores and housework, and voluntary and community activities you may be involved in. Consider what you can start cutting back on or passing on, such as volunteering activities, and what other support you might be able to bring in. Get practiced at saying ‘no’ to free up your day.

This is a great time to get any other members of your household more engaged in domestic life and sharing the load! For mothers, start to delegate more to your children and encourage their independence. If you’re the default taxi driver, still ferrying your older children around, let them get used to public transport. Same with your partner, if you have one – start to hand over and share out more of the home responsibilities.

Think carefully about how work can fit with your life. Map out a balanced work week for you. When do you want/need to be at home & what for? And critically, work out what you are not going to do any more at home. You’ll need to be flexible about how this might pan out once you get into job discussions, but being clearer on your non-negotiables will help you to target the right opportunities.

Mental preparation

One of the things we often see with returners is that their professional confidence takes a hit whilst they’re on a career break. The professional preparation will help to boost your confidence, as you reconnect with the professional you and get clear on the strengths and experience you’d like to bring to your new role. Remember, your skills are still there despite your break, even if your knowledge might be a little rusty.

Spending time with supporters and those championing your return will increase your energy and enthusiasm for getting back to work and will help you to overcome any self-doubt or imposter syndrome! Sharing your excitement about returning to work with family members will get them involved in your journey and rooting for you as well as accepting of the inevitable changes that will come once you start work.

Seeing other people in similar situations succeed can also be a real motivator. Listen to our Career Returners podcast to hear the return to work stories of 9 inspirational women, and read our library of returner success stories on our website – if they can do it there’s no reason why you can’t! You can also read their advice for future returners to give you more tips.

And finally, don’t forget to take time for self-care. This is easy to forget in a busy life, but as important now in navigating the ups and downs of this return to work journey, as it will be when you start work.

 

 

Return to work planning for your financial wellbeing

Our guest blogger, Ian Simons from the Chartered Insurance Institute, highlights some financial aspects to consider when returning to work.
Planning your return to work is a great opportunity to take stock of your current financial situation and plan for your future. The tips below, taken from the Insuring Women’s FuturesFinancial Wellbeing Guide, show how you can actively engage in your own financial life journey and also raise awareness of the financial Perils and Pitfalls facing women.

Engaging in your own financial life journey

As you return or search for work you should consider the below:
1. When researching potential employers take time to compare financial packages, pensions and perks

2. Research the gender pay gap – reporting legislation requires employers with 250 or more employees to publish statutory calculations annually

3. Understand employers’ opportunities for flexible workers – openly disclosing policies is a good sign

4. Find out from potential employers what are the career prospects for returners and those with family commitments and are there carer policies?

5. When you start a new job, check out your employer’s pension arrangements, free employer contributions and tax deductions, and fully consider joining the pension scheme. If there are options on how much to contribute, you might be surprised how much bigger your pension pot could be if you paid in at a higher rate, together with the added ‘free employer and tax relief money’

6. If you want to work part-time, in multiple jobs or temporarily, think carefully about how you can maximise your workplace pensions (including any existing policies you may have) and any eligibility criteria
that might preclude you. Reflect on whether you might be inadvertently missing out on valuable contributions

We encourage you to read the full Financial Wellbeing Guide, in particular the re-entering the workforce section, to review your personal situation in more detail.

Arming yourself with knowledge

Once you have assessed your specific situation there are many places you can go for more information including:

  • Insuring Women’s Futures website: The resource page contains research, videos and links to useful websites and tools
  • ACAS website: You can find out more here on equal pay and gender pay gap reporting
  • Your employer: Once you are back at work, many workplaces run sessions for returners or have helplines
  • Your existing pension provider: Find out the position of your existing pension schemes and understand your options for reinvestment and transferral
  • An independent financial adviser: If you need further financial advice, you can search for a qualified, local financial adviser on Findanadviser

Empowering others

This November, Insuring Women’s Futures are running a campaign called Talk 2 10K. They are challenging as many people as possible to talk to at least 10 other people about women’s financial wellbeing. To get involved all you need to do is:

  • Read the toolkit and watch the webinar
  • Organise your conversations (these can be anything from a chat with a friend to a formal session with colleagues)
  • Spend a few minutes on 21 November sharing an anecdote, photo or video from your conversations on social media – make sure to use the following in your posts – #MakeEachMomentCount #InsuringFutures #WomensFinancialWellbeing and @CII


Ian Simons is Marketing Director at the Chartered Insurance Institute. 

Sign up to our free Women Returners network for more advice, support and job opportunities. You’ll find much more help and advice on our website.

How to write your New Year return-to-work action plan

Is Returning to Work one of your New Year Resolutions? 

How do you make sure you don’t let this fall by the wayside like New Year resolutions tend to do? Shift your thinking to make Returning to Work a goal, with a clear, specific and motivating personal action plan. Here are some of our suggestions on actions to include.
Action Steps to Get Back to Work

1. Clarify what you want from work 

Start by considering what your motivations are for returning to work. Do you need, or want, to earn your own money? Are you looking for the status a professional job brings? Do you want to be a role model for your children? Returning to work after a career break is a great opportunity to think about what you really want to do, so consider what kind of working life and job you would find most fulfilling and enjoyable. Think about what you most enjoyed about past roles and whether or not you need flexibility. You may prefer a corporate employed role, to work as a freelancer or to set up your own business.
Identifying your strengths can help you decide which career direction to take. And read our tips if you feel you have too many return-to-work options or too few. Don’t over-analyse at this stage – the ‘what shall I do with my life?’ career questions can rarely be solved just by brain-power. Move to action using a Test and Learn approach.

2. Fill the gaps in your work experience/skillset

Once you’re clearer on the broad direction you want to take, it’s time to identify any gaps in your experience and any new skills you will need. Get up to date with your old industry, or learn about a new one, by taking professional courses through industry associations, attending conferences, seminars or webinars, signing up to relevant newsletters and meeting up with ex-colleagues. Find courses locally through Floodlight and look at the free online MOOCs (Massive Online Courses). If you’re worried about your IT skills being out of date, take a course before you get back to work. Strategic volunteering can build your skills and experience and may even provide a route back to work.

3. Craft your return-to-work story

Talking about your career break and how it fits into your professional story can be tricky. Use our ‘Career Break Sandwich’ method so that you don’t fall into the trap of focusing solely on your career break (and neglecting your professional background) in response to the classic questions “what do you do?” or “tell me about your background?”.

4. Rebuild your work confidence

A loss of professional confidence can be a key factor in preventing you from making a successful return to work. Don’t let this hamper you – read our blogs on Re-establishing Your Confidence and addressing the Confidence Gap.

5. Re-write your CV and develop your LinkedIn profile

If you’ve been out of the workplace for any length of time it’s likely to be many years since you last wrote your CV. We have lots of CV information in the Advice Hub section of our website including How to Write Your Post-Break CV and the use of Action Words. A strong LinkedIn profile is also important – read our blog on how to make the most of your profile.

6. Select potential routes back to work

There are many routes back to work such as returnships, networking and creative crafting of a role. Consider which ones would work best for you.
7. Prepare for interviews
Facing your first interview for many years can be daunting, and we have lots of advice on our website to help you prepare. Six Essential Steps for Successful Interviewing is a good place to start. We have advice on how to prepare for competency-based interviews, informational interviews and telephone interviews. You can also read how to respond if an interviewer tells you you’re overqualified for the role and what to wear to interviews.

8. Maintain your motivation

Our motivation to achieve our goals inevitably fades after a while. Learn from psychology research about how to stay motivated longer-term.

Sign up to our free network for more advice, support and job opportunities.


The 5 step summer return to work plan

With the school holidays in full swing and the general feeling that the whole world is slowing down, you may be tempted to postpone your plans to return to work until the autumn. However, away from the hectic pace and demands of the year, this is an ideal time to think about what you really want from a career and to start shaping an action plan for the months ahead. By taking a few simple steps now, you will feel more focused, confident and motivated about gearing up in September:
 
1. Identify your ideal role
 
A good starting point is to think about a work role in the past that you enjoyed and then focus on the elements that made it fulfilling. This exercise will help you to highlight your key skills and values and give you the direction you need to scope your job search. You may find that you look for a role in your previous field, or explore the option of starting your own business, or consider a role that combines aspects of your old job, but in a different sector, or you may even think about retraining.  Either way, the process will clarify your thinking and give you the confidence and motivation to pursue that new role. 
 
                                                                                                                            
2. Planning for courses, workshops or events
 
Whatever your career stage or length of your career break, everyone can benefit from sharpening their work skills. This is a good time to investigate which courses could best fill your needs. By doing a little research now, you will not only be on your way to plugging a skill gap, but you will also feel more in control.                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Feeling a little overwhelmed at the prospect of researching a return-to-work strategy? Put our Women Returners Annual Conference in your diary for November. It’s an intensive one-stop-shop for finding out about returner opportunities, meeting returner-friendly employers, attending workshops and being inspired by the success stories of other returners.  
 
3. Create a Network Map
 
You may be well aware of the benefits of networking – but uncertain where to start. Begin by listing people that you have met through the different phases in your life into three categories: Those from your past academic and work life, people from your current social circles such as volunteer groups, neighbours, parents or fellow sport enthusiasts – and also people who you are yet to meet – through groups and networks. You will be surprised how quickly the list grows and how receptive people are to meeting up after a summer break.
 
                    Top tips for enjoyable networking
4. Craft your story
 
Away from the everyday, holidays are often a time when we meet new people in relaxing surroundings. Use the opportunity to practise answering the often daunting but frequently asked question: “What do you do?” Include your previous work, what you are currently doing and what you would like to do in the future.
 
See our post: Telling your story
5. Prepare your family
 
Looking for a new position requires time and focus, let alone the actual return to work. Use the summer break to plan how you can free up your time – perhaps by introducing new childcare arrangements, booking after school clubs or reassigning responsibilities among family members.
 
 
Posted by Anna Searle, Sales and Marketing Manager, Women Returners

Updating your wardrobe for your return to work

As well as updating your professional knowledge and networks to prepare for your return to work, think about spending a bit of time organising and updating your work wardrobe. Feeling good in what you’re wearing can help to boost your confidence and to shift your identity back to your professional self. If you’ve had a very long career break, workwear/styles may well have moved on and we sometimes change shape too!
Organising your Work Wardrobe
  1. Consider the culture of the organisation/industry you will be, or hope to be, working in. How formal/informal is it? What type of clothes would be most appropriate? Dress codes may have changed since you left – many sectors are less formal now – so do some research to update your knowledge.
  2. Think about how you want to be perceived and choose a few key words to sum this up, eg professional, competent, approachable.
  3. Take all your potential work clothes and shoes out of your wardrobe. If you have a rail you can use/borrow, even better.
  4. Select all the clothes that meet the first 2 criteria.
  5. Try them on to check they still fit you well and that you feel good in them. If not, sort them into piles for giving away, altering or storing.
  6. Group the remaining clothes into potential outfits. Make a note of any gaps, eg shoes, tops, and what colour would be a good match. Turn this into your shopping list and prioritise what’s most important.
  7. If you have space to store some of your clothes, such as under the bed or in a spare wardrobe, put away anything that’s not suitable for the current season. The fewer items you have to choose from, the quicker the process!
  8. I’m not a fan of selfies, but this is the exception: take photos of whole outfits (preferably with you in them) so that you can either print out a sheet of outfits or flick through your phone the night before work or an interview for inspiration and time-saving.
  9. Draw up a table (if this appeals – it may not!) and list outfit ideas on each row, eg:

Updating your Work Wardrobe

Once you have your shopping list, bear in mind the following points:
Colour: try to avoid falling into the ‘black trap’.  Black really only suits people who have ‘deep, cool and bright’ colouring, otherwise, it can be very draining, especially close to the face. Grey, for example, is a good alternative, there are many shades to suit different people and, when it comes to more expensive items like coats or bags, it will go well with many other colours.
Materials: I have a personal preference for natural fibres and avoid anything made from fabrics like polyester. Although these fabrics are often cheaper and wash easily, they can cling and feel unpleasant when it’s warm. Also, if you’re heading towards, or already in, hot flush territory, synthetic fabrics are not your friend! You might also want to avoid structured dresses with sleeves which you will feel trapped in during a hot flush unlike a jacket/top where you can quickly remove a layer if you need to. For those of you who are fortunate enough not to have reached, or been affected by, this stage, enjoy the freedom of choice!
Brands:

  • Any good department store will cater well for different shapes, styles and budgets.
  • For more formal/reasonable quality workwear, look at these high street brands: Cos, Hobbs, Jigsaw, Massimo Dutti, Zara, Reiss, Gerard Darel, Jaeger, M&S, Boss. A few good smaller brands, mostly online, are The Fold, Pinstripe and Pearls, Libby London and Rose & Willard.
  • For less formal/more contemporary workwear, consider Whistles, Top Shop, Finery, Baujken, Me+Em, Uterque, Joseph. For shoes, try websites such as Zalando or Sarenza.
  • If you’re on a tight budget, keep an eye on the sales (you can set Sale Alerts for items if you use websites such as Shop Style), look at shops such as H&M and Uniqlo and browse the charity shops in upmarket areas. If you are from a low income household, you may be able to get a referral to the charity SmartWorks which provides free interview clothing.
Prioritising: Good quality workwear is usually quite pricey but I encourage you, if possible, to buy fewer, better quality items to get a good ‘cost per wear’ ratio. Buy the key items (dresses, skirts, trousers, jackets, suits) in fairly neutral tones (eg black, grey, blue, taupe, burgundy), so you can easily change the look with more affordable tops, accessories and different colours. For inspiration on reducing the amount of clothes we tend to own, have a look at this TEDx Talk by Jennifer L Scott.
Help! If the thought of refreshing your wardrobe for work feels daunting ask for help from a friend whose advice you trust and style you admire, or take advantage of the ‘Image and Impact’ coaching session we offer at Women Returners.
For more ideas about what to wear for work, have a look at this earlier blog post: What to wear to interviews.
Posted by Natalie Hunter, one of the Women Returners Coaching Team and a trained Colour/Style Consultant. She offers these services separately, or together, for clients. Please contact coach@womenreturners.com if you’d like to find out more.