been out of paid work over 4 years ...

[americantrish]

how likely is this to put off potential employers or temp. agencies?

:I

It depends if you have done anything else vocational in those 4 years. Also what your career field is. There's no doubt that women returners feel discriminated against because of gaps but you can do things to combat this; see www.livingit.com/money/pgArticle.aspx?aid=36

wouldn't put me off AT. Depends what you do for a living - if it's something that requires regular updating of your skills/knowledge you may have to demonstrate how you have done this while being out of paid work.

Gaps are a problem if not explained, or look suspicious in anyway, but a gap for child rearing purposes (I am assuming) shouldn't be a problem I would hope.

If you can say other things you have done during this time that might have enhanced/broadened your skills that may help as well.

and 9 years ? Can't reenetr my old line of work and no professional transferable skills

twotimestrouble> some of that time i could not work due to visa restrictions. after those ended, i was pregnant and had ds. so that's really been the last 4 years for me :I
thanks for the link

i've got reasonable experience in two fields, the field i'd be most likely to go back to now would be retail management..

Lizs if you can't reenter previous line of work 9 years away shouldn't make a lot of difference either as you will be starting lower down anyway. If that's the case you may have an advantage over younger candidates starting lower in new field, as you have more life experience and more previous working experience even if none of it is transferable (really, no transferable skills at all? You can put a transferable spin on most things...).

flowerybeanbag , yes would definitely be lower down , the company car is a distant brief dream, and I used to commute so had benefit of London wages. Can account for most of my gap - Career break, 2 kids , living abroad , settling back etc but not sure what direction to take things like IT skills. My original job was pretty specific to that environment but there must be something useful to drag out ! I'm thinking of temping or short term contracts for the flexibility and to keep school holiday childcare minimal. In fact just seen one job advertised locally for a 6 month/3 days a week which might be feasible.

Lizs I'm sure your skills can be framed as very transferable despite a very specific environment, if you think a bit creatively (and thinking creatively about how your skills would work in a new environment is also impressive to a new employer).
Temping/short term contracts is an excellent way to get back into the job market - you are getting wide experience of different roles and employers and of the world of work in a short period of time - always useful - a lot can change in 9 years!
It also means employers can take a chance on your skills without too much commitment or risk for them. Win-win!

AT - if you've got good experience in retail management (in the UK?) and want to get back into full time work I would have thought you could get back in without too much difficulty. What you do need is a sound CV that emphasises your retail experience. It's a reality that many employers looks for up to date skills, so you might need to go down a level and work your way back up?