Going back to work after a massive gap?

[ComfortFoodCafe]

I have been out of work for nearly a decade. I have been a carer for four different family members in that time and haven’t had the opportunity to work as they needed me to be around all the time. (Child with learning disabilities. Two family members with stage four cancer. Child with type one diabetes!)

Unfortunately the family members I was caring for passed away after a long battle & my children are getting older and more independent (my child with LD is in his final school years and is finally at that point where I can leave him at home safely within reason.)

i am desperate to go back to work, but I no longer have any work references due to the large gap. What exactly do I do about this?
Please don’t judge me for not working & being a carer wasn’t something I planned, it just happened.

You could apply for agency work or in supermarkets, they always need staff and usually it’s short hours which sounds like it would be ideal. I used to work 4 hours putting out stock in Sainsbury’s when I was a teenager, it’s decent work.

What did you do before? And do you want to go back to the same thing or something different? Are you in touch with any old colleagues who could allow you to do some shadowing or something?

Google Women Returners and see what comes up. There’s a special programme for tech returners and I’m sure there are similar for other careers too.

Many women have similar stories and companies are realising they will benefit if they can tap into this potential workforce.

Good luck - Don't forget you can capitalise on the transferable skills you will have honed during your carer years.

I was a wedding & advertisement photographer for ten years. I don’t want to go back to photography & no longer near London so at a disadvantage for that field regarding advertising work.

I was a SAHM for 13 years (and looked after elderly parents).I did voluntary work for a year which really boosted my confidence and gave me up to date work experience. Also had someone to give me a reference when I applied for paid employment

That is a good idea! I have been mulling over a few volunteering opportunities, could do that for a year and get myself back into the swing of things.

I'd do some volunteering in an area you enjoy, it gets you back into a routine, gives you a chance to test out child's independence without pressure and eases you back into the structure of a working day. Then, if you don't need full time, I'd apply for part time stuff and see how the applications go, there's a bit of a strategy to applications now and even lower level jobs require you to be able to score the right number of 'points' at interview. Perhaps see if friends might do a practice interview etc as it can be a bit daunting at first. Best of luck

I had a huge career gap for caring reasons and then applied for a care job which I got and I was surprised how much i loved it.
I was used to doing it anyway, except now I got paid and was able to clock off later and was actually appreciated and respected for all I did.
Mostly a fabulous bunch of women with really varied lives.
Taking a career break to raise kids is normal and nothing to feel bad about

You could apply to Civil Service. I needed no references for my role, it was all competency based recruitment. Work from home too x