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?……
Nerina Wright, her story upon joining Axis Capital as ESG London Market Lead after a 17 year career break.
NOT FITTING IN ON PURPOSE
We are taught to fit in from a young age. That has transcended into the core of working in organisations. While it is true that a certain amount of fitting has to happen – we have to interact with others, to be understood in a way that others can interpret and connect. Yet, fitting in doesn’t build trust. It simply makes you easy to overlook (Seth Godin).
The chance to shine, comes from not fitting in on purpose. Yet organisations that avoid the temptation to the norm and truly invite employees to bring their whole selves to work, are few. All too often the adage ‘bring your whole self to work’ is pure rhetoric – a tick box exercise matching skillsets to job specs by gatekeepers who lack the courage to seek the authenticity that is key to blight the conformity trap.
Does this sound familiar?
After child one, two, three or four (in fact, who’s counting?!) your maternity leave happens to extend into a career break, which leads to you becoming a full time mum and thus starts a blur of school runs, a feeling all you’re doing is constantly feeding your tribe and the fear you’ll never be capable or have the time to step back into the workplace?