Can't get back into chosen career due to freeze on recruitment

[fatfingers]

I'm sure there are other people in the same boat and wondered what people do.

I took a break from my career in 2009 after dd2 was born. Since then there has been a recruitment freeze so no chance of returning. In 2010 I did some agency work in a related field but agency work also dried up so I got a permanent job in a different area. I've been in that job ever since.

There are some aspects of my current job that are related to my original career but the longer I am out, the more remote I feel it is that I'll be able to return because my knowledge and skills will be out of date. I am worried I've thrown my career down the drain.

Hi there, I was constructively dismissed (that has to be an oxymoron) after getting pregnant for the second time and it is now nearly 7 years later and I have never been able to get back into my career. It is usually always women who have to sacrifice career for family, whether it is the whole career or the rate of progression. Maybe it is the chance to find a new position that fits in better with family commitments? I have had no alternative but to do this and have finally found a position that suits. Good luck xxx

where I work the recruitment freezes only last a few months, usually in the new tax year (new budget) they're lifted anyway, but often get lifted a few months before that because the freeze has to be overridden due to sickness and maternity etc and the inevitable amt of disalusioned staff that quit during a recruitment freeze

Yep, same here. Currently overseas so being like an ostrich...will come back to haunt me tho.

Have you got transferable skills that can be used in I different line of work?

I knew there would be others on here in the same position! It is so frustrating. I know in this climate I'm lucky to have a stable job, which fits in around my family but I have really done all I can do with the role and there is no opportunity to progress so I'm just plodding.

Givemeaclue - yes I do have transferable skills and I could move into a job where I use more of those skills than I currently do but if I don't get back into my original area of work in the near future (criminal justice) then my specialist knowledge will be totally out of date.

I'm heartened slightly by the fact that Wales have just recruited again so maybe at some point over the next couple of years there might be a recruitment drive closer to home (keeping my fingers crossed).

I had thought I could make the most of this lull in my career by having another baby but that doesn't seem to be happening either! [hsad]