Name: Fay McFarland

Career break: 3 and a half years

Company placed into: Phoenix Group

New role: Business Analyst

Are you, like us, a little tired of hearing about the “Mothers’ Penalty”?   When will people start talking about the “Mothers’ Gift”?

Yes, women do often face challenges keeping their career on track after starting a family, but it isn’t all doom and gloom.  More and more organisations are recognising that women who may have stepped back when they have young children are raring to go a few years later.  And many of those organisations are our clients.

Earlier this year we launched our first cross-market Insurance returner programme with the aim of helping women return to their careers in Insurance and in September fifteen such women took up their places.

One of them was Fay McFarland who had a planned 3 and a half year career break after having her second child in 2018.  After completing a degree and a post graduate qualification, Fay had also qualified as a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM). She then built a successful career as a business analyst, working in Financial Services for over seven years, before taking a break.

After her youngest started nursery, Fay was keen to return to work and when Inclusivity founder Stephanie Dillon reached out on Linked-in, she jumped at the chance to apply for the programme.

“All the pieces slotted into place” she explains.  “Emma did a really helpful review of my CV and talked about my previous work experience.  It all felt very informal, friendly and constructive.”

Fay’s past experience immediately jumped out to the hiring manager at Phoenix.  She had clearly led a number of complex projects and was able to manage some difficult relationships.  It was easy to see why she had been a valued team member and to imagine how she could contribute to his own team.

Fay is working as a Business Analyst for The Phoenix Group in a role which allows her the flexibility she needs to accommodate to childcare needs.  She is benefiting from on-going support from the Inclusivity coaching team and her line managers who are committed to helping her make the transition back to work.

Fay adds “I totally understand there will be challenges around juggling family commitments but I am excited about using my previous experience, building on it and working on different projects”

Insurance is an industry Inclusivity has worked with for some time and we have excellent connections with the UK’s top employers. If you are on a career break seeking to return to this industry we urge you to submit your C.V to us here. Or view all opportunities here, all candidates we place will receive our unique 1:1 coaching and on-going support to ensure your transition back to work with confidence

We will keep you posted on Fay’s Journey.

Elspeth’s return to Insurance

Elspeth Fairgrieve is a qualified lawyer who had taken a five year career break for health reasons.  She had taken a role working for a charity but had begun to think about returning to her career as a lawyer when she saw an advert for the Cross Sector Insurance Returner programme.

We spoke to Elspeth about her experience and also to Stephanie Scrimgeour, of The Phoenix Group, where Elspeth now works.

Elspeth

How did you find the application process?……

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