Very often when a woman writes her CV, there are gaps of some description, the so-called “career break”.  These breaks most often are as a result of taking a break to have children, or to be at home for a period while the children are young.  Increasingly, such breaks are also as a result of women taking care of an elderly or sick relative.  Sometimes they are because a woman has worked all her life and decided that it is time to take stock or to spend time with older children before they leave home completely.  Such career breaks are (very slowly) starting to appear on some men’s CVs as well – usually for the same reasons.

It seems that such career breaks usually have to be accompanied by an explanation, almost an apology.  They almost always come with the assurance that the person is still capable and hasn’t lost any skills in the process.  I think it’s time to turn that view on its head and look at the benefits of a career break and what positive things a career break say about a person.  After all, if you were smart before you took a career break, having a baby or being a carer or stopping to review your career doesn’t make you any less smart.

There is, of course, the chance that if you worked in the financial markets where new derivative based products are developed every day, that you might have missed the extra bell or whistle that has been added while you were sitting out of the market for the past six months.  But really, there are very few roles where the details can’t be filled in again – even in rocket science and brain surgery!

But what about all the other skills that are developed while the person is not “working”.  Any person who has had a career break will tell you that being at home juggling the kids, the washing, the shopping and the other parents at school or in the canteen or uniform shop needs a whole new set of skills.  The same is true for those who have to deal with doctors, nurses, hospitals and other health support services.  It might be a change, but it’s certainly not a holiday.  Not only are you flat-out busy, you’re not paid and often not appreciated much either.  On top of it, if you don’t learn very fast to listen to others, to be accepting and empathetic, to multi-task, to be resilient and persistent, life just becomes frustrating and unmanageable.  For someone not used to this part of the world, it can be much tougher to be successful than climbing the corporate ladder.

The truth is, taking a career break is more likely to give you exposure to the real world, and an understanding of real world challenges as well as the broader community; much more so than when one is ensconced in the corporate world.  When these women (and the occasional man) return to the workforce, they are generally more efficient, better collaborators and have a greater ability to get to the real issues and understand what is really important.  The skills they have gained while away from the office should be valued for what they are – indispensible assets.

So those looking at CVs with career breaks worked into them should not be thinking: “Oh, you might have lost your edge” and but rather “Great, this is someone with a much broader perspective”.

Coffee count: 181

PS For those interested in my personal progress, I am delighted to report at that the 176 coffees mark I was appointed to my first board role – moving from Board Observer to Non-Executive Director.