Everyone is allowed to dream, and I’m certain we all do. But what we shouldn’t do is allow ourselves to be held back from making that dream into a reality.

So many times I hear of women, and men, who are struggling to navigate their way back into the workplace after taking a few years off to raise their children.

The problem is that too many people are over qualified and are up against young, highly competent school and University leavers who have more up-to-date CVs.

But what employers fail to realise is that experience is often more valuable than qualifications, and work ethic is invaluable to the growth and success of business.

Having worked my way from Marketing and PR Assistants; to being a Marketing Manager for a local company by the time I was twenty-three, I then side-stepped into A General Management role when I was twenty-five years old.

Then in 2010 I started my own company which grew rapidly whilst my business partners and I chased behind the success of it. I ran the accounts department, built the website, managed the marketing and PR, the HR and more. We were thrown into the deep end of business and we loved it.

I continued working up until lockdown in 2020 when my children had to take the forefront of my world.

It wasn’t until I became a Single Mum in 2023, that I decided I wanted to get back into the workplace. And that’s when the struggle started. No company wants to take someone on who is highly qualified, highly experienced, and seeking a low-pressure, low-waged role. Because in an employers mind, there must be something wrong with them. What’s the red flag?

> They will want to progress rapidly.

>They’ll want more money.

> They’ll need loads of time off for childcare.

> They won’t be satisfied within the role.

> They won’t like being told what to do.

> They will want my job.

This is the stark reality of employment along with a whole host of compatibility checks employers have for their roles.

I was a successful business owner, entrepreneur, author and bloody hard-working woman and I found myself taking half of my qualifications and job roles off of my CV. I removed that I owned companies, removed that I was a manager. It was becoming ridiculous.

And then I saw that one of the mums at my children’s school was posting on Whatsapp about a job at her company. It was for a Financial Administrator.

And the rest, they say, is history.

By the time my interview came around, I was almost done with enthusiasm. Tired of the knock backs and rejection emails. I was interviewed by two women. Both parents, one in Management, the other HR Director. And I told them my story. My real story, and finally someone heard me.

I was taken on a three-month contract to help with the closure / merger of one business into another. I had completed the tasks within a matter of weeks and I was soon taking on greater responsibilities.