Celebrating Our Women Returners: Inspiring Stories of Strength, Growth, and New Beginnings

Please note: The author of this blog has chosen to remain anonymous.

I was at home for almost 2 years prior to joining dunnhumby in July 2024, taking care of my newborn and other household responsibilities. It was all good initially as it was new but overwhelming at the same time. As time passed, I realised its time to get back on track and plan my return to the workforce.

Also to mention, dunnhumby is a company that really understands your reason behind career gap. My career gap was never a big deal while I was being interviewed here at dunnhumby as long as I was able to meet their expectations with respect to experience and skills.

What motivated you to return to the workforce?

Not being able to use my skills and experience for over a period made me realise its time to get back to work. After taking time off, I felt a strong drive to grow personally and professionally, seek new challenges and make a meaningful impact.

A sense of accomplishment, financial independence and professional growth are some of the factors behind my thought of returning to the workforce after almost 2 years of career break.

How has your career break influenced your perspective and work style?

Time away from work has allowed me to look into life more closely, leading to better understanding of what truly matters to me and how I always wanted my life to be. I have given a very deep thought on how I always wanted my career, where exactly is it and what needs to be done to get back on the path.

This time off has taught me few life skills which are of utmost importance when it comes to balancing your personal and professional life. Time management, multitasking, problem-solving, resilience, etc.

Career gap for family growth can foster empathy and greater understanding which can eventually help you build a better and healthy team environment.

Better communication and work management capability is something I’ve gained during my time off while managing different roles and responsibilities at home.

Why did you choose dunnhumby?

During my career break, I reflected on what I wanted in my next role and dunnhumby as an organisation provides lot of opportunities for growth and development. I chose dunnhumby because it aligns perfectly with my career goals and values.

I am excited about the opportunity to bring my refreshed perspective and experience to a team that values customers satisfaction and collaboration. I am particularly impressed by its supportive work culture.
 

 
Any tips or advice for women considering a return or looking to grow?

Some practical tips when planning to return to work –

1. Assess your skills and objectives – Reflect on your interests, skills and career objectives. Plan what all upscaling do you need in order to fulfil your objectives.
2. Update your resume – Make sure you update your resume as per the current industry standard. Also, make sure to update your LinkedIn profile and other career sites with the most updated resume and experiences.
3. Networking – Get back to your previous colleagues and start building a network again so as to get to know what’s new in the field you are interested in and if they can help you land a job by referring or sharing your profile.
4. Consider upskilling – Learning new technology and other relevant things associated closely with your objectives and dream job. You can make use of free trainings available on google and you tube along with few of the paid ones from the learning platform like Udemy and Coursera.
5. Interview preparation – Consider practicing common interview questions related to your area of interest. You can also give mock interviews that are available online which can make you understand your weak areas to work on and will give you a boost of confidence as well.
6. Returnship programs – You can search for various returnship programs which are offered by various companies and apply for the one suitable for you. Such programs are specifically designed for women returnees after certain years of career gap.
7. Job Application – Keep visiting career pages of your dream companies and apply for the jobs which are suitable for you. You can also search for appropriate jobs on various career sites like Naukri and LinkedIn.
8. Embrace change – Stay adaptable and open to learning. Flexibility can lead to great and unexpected growth opportunities.
9. Balance – Make sure you have a good support system which can help you balance your personal and professional life allowing you to focus on your return.

Lastly, it is all a process, and everything takes its own time to fall into place. It’s just that we need be consistent with our efforts and follow the path drawn while starting this journey.