It’s been a long journey from finding out I was pregnant to now, nearly 2 years later returning to work after 13 months off with my little girl. But my return to work this January feels like the perfect time to reflect upon this huge change in my life and its positive impact on this next stage of my career at Henderson Scott.
The elation of finding out I was pregnant was also tinged with uncertainty. I’d spent 10 years building up many valued and meaningful business relationships with my clients and candidates moreover, and my career was extremely important to me. How were people going to take my news? Were these relationships only strong in my head? Would clients desert us whilst I took time off? Recruitment can be fickle, if you’re half decent, and essentially (!) not arrogant, you know you are only as good as your last placement and there is always someone waiting in the wings looking for their next break. You never take it for granted when you are in the game…. Let alone if you are out of it for over a year!! Equally, I knew that I owed it to my growing bump to take as much time off as I could afford as it was precious time we wouldn’t get back.
Kitty arrived in December 2018 and I spent the first four months in a new-born haze. Maternal instinct kicked in and amidst the sleepless nights and nappy changes, I noticed that for the first time in a long time work wasn’t the first thing on my mind (although I did call the office to check in, only to be reminded that I was off!!).
At around six months we were starting to establish a routine, naps were affording me more free time and I was starting to question the reality of how I was going to make it work when I decided to return to my role at Henderson Scott.
Seriously… how was I going to juggle servicing a reactive contract market and being a Mum? Would I even be able to return to a job that I loved in the same capacity? I’d been hearing many horror stories from friends whose flexible working requests had been rejected, whose employers were inadvertently showing ‘concern’ about juggling both roles of Mum and career woman.
Internal conversations started to happen and luckily for me I needn’t have worried. Straight away conversations were about how we made my return to the working world satisfying and effective for my clients, candidates and me.
I work for a great employer who have offered me the flexibility and trust to manage both my workload and home life to ensure that everyone gets the best of me. The support network internally gives me the confidence to know that all bases are covered, no one will be let down, and I can hand over efficiently if needed. I can focus on one task at a time ensuring I can continue to deliver quality efficiently. Which in this game, is the name of the game.
Its early days and I’m at the start of this new chapter, I’m under no illusion that there will be days where the juggling act will be a real challenge. However, knowing I have the support of my seniors and peers at Henderson Scott in itself makes these coming challenges seem less daunting.
I feel more determined than I ever have, sometimes it takes change to offer a new perspective. I feel incredibly fortunate to be in the position that l am. Equally, I need to remember that by working hard and being committed to the business, clients and candidates - I earned this.
Thank you to all my clients who have stuck with us in my absence and my candidates who have worked hard in the time I have been away. Most importantly thank you to Henderson Scott for managing my workload and always working with me to ensure that together we can achieve great things.
2020 let’s do this!