Returning To Work After a Career Break - How To Own Your Comeback

Navigating the Return Journey

When it comes to returning to work after a break, the experience is rarely linear. In this candid conversation on Mums on Cloud Nine, Julianne Miles MBE traces her journey from corporate strategy to a four-year pause spent raising children, then through uncertainty and multiple pivots before carving a new path. She describes a return motivated by necessity and curiosity, marked by 14 months of soul searching and self-doubt, eventually leading her to retrain as a chartered psychologist. The work she does now, founding Career Returners and supporting professionals who step back onto the career ladder, is rooted in her own story’s twists and lessons.

Reflecting on their own career transitions, Kelly-Jace Halls and Lyn Constantine reveal that change can come in many forms. Whether you have taken a formal break, faced redundancy or pivoted to something new, the process begins with stepping back, reflecting, and making intentional choices about what comes next. Julianne Miles points out that these interruptions can be surprisingly powerful, creating space to redefine what you want from work and family life.

Reframing the Narrative

What emerges is a clear and practical framework for making transitions less daunting. One of the first critical steps, according to Julianne Miles, is to articulate your motivations for returning to work. Financial reasons are often powerful drivers, but she cautions against making them the only focus. Fulfilment, a desire to reconnect with a professional identity, intellectual stimulation, and a sense of belonging all matter deeply in the long run. Julianne Miles encourages listeners to develop a personal career compass, balancing flexibility, compensation and – most importantly – fulfilment. By understanding your strengths, values and what genuinely interests you, you get closer to work that feels both possible and exciting.

The conversation turns to mindset and the internal critique that can stop many from chasing opportunity. All three speakers reflect on the challenge of overcoming self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or guilt that so often plagues mothers and career changers. Julianne Miles underscores the need for patience, resilience and a willingness to nudge your mind towards possibility, rather than letting a negativity bias control the narrative. Success is not just about tactics. It is about letting your needs and ambitions sit alongside the needs of your family, not beneath them.

Owning Your Story and Building Confidence

Self-marketing is now more important than ever, says Julianne Miles. She reassures listeners that career gaps need not be hidden. In fact, they can become a central and respected part of the story you tell to future employers and your network. Integrating your past achievements, the reasons for your career break, what you learned during that time, and where you want to go next creates a powerful narrative. The career break sandwich, a tool she shares, helps you highlight your full breadth of skills and experiences, not just what is on your CV.

The episode closes with optimism and practical hope. Julianne Miles insists the real opportunity lies in shifting focus from what you lack to what you have—a wealth of life and work experience, a resilient outlook, and goals that matter. Returning to work is not about surviving, but about carving out a new space where you can genuinely thrive. The journey is rarely easy, but it can be empowering once you own it.