Hello Bright Minds, my guest today is an HR leader who recently returned to a new job in a new organisation after being bereaved. Having met at university Helen Rowell and her husband Mike married in 2015 and went on to have a son together, Alfie, who at the time of recording is five. In March 2022 Mike was killed in a skiing accident, leaving Helen to raise Alfie alone. One of the many decisions she needed to make was how to approach her career. Up until that point she had worked full time for a global bank, progressing to Director level at the age of 33. After a period of leave Helen has now returned to work having made some radical changes.You’re going to hear about:Choosing the attitude that’s going to help you the most.Remembering who you were before the bereavement.How employers can support bereaved colleagues including the importance of a bereavement policy.Signs you’re ready to start thinking about returning to work.Deciding to start a new job, in a new organisation.The difference a brilliant line manager makes to your self esteem.The joy and purpose Helen found in setting up a charity, Brightest Star and why she started The Widowhood podcast with Rosie, another young widow.MORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds and welcome to an impromptu and somewhat experimental "Just Jessica" episode of COMEBACK COACH, the podcast for people returning to work after a break. I’m Jessica Chivers, a coaching psychologist, author, founder of The Talent Keeper Specialists and developer of the Comeback Community employee experience of which this podcast is a part.I started to write this fortnight’s edition of Caremail – that’s our newsletter for people returning to work and looking for support for that transition and career development beyond their break – about the happiness and opportunity that can be found in rejection and thought: I wonder if I might turn this into an episode of the podcast. So here I am experimenting! If you listen all the way through and like it please let me know and maybe I’ll do some more. If you’re on Instagram an easy way to tell me what you think is via a DM and you’ll find me @comebackcommuk.3 SELF-REFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR YOUWhat are you repeatedly asking yourself to do that is draining for you?What piece of self-knowledge are you repeatedly ignoring?Where would your time be better spent?MORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds, my guest today is Divya Manek, a senior portfolio manager at BlackRock and a mother of two beautiful girls who I had the complete pleasure of coaching when she returned to work two summers ago. Day to day Divya’s work involves being close to market developments, being close to clients and what they want and making sure client money is managed in the best way possible. She manages 5 people directly and 6 indirectly and she cares hugely about supporting the people around her. And she works extremely hard, you might think too hard when you listen to this.  We talk about:Doing maternity leave your own way – and not comparing yourself to what others are doing.Studying for a qualification on maternity leaveHaving an incessant hunger to achieveWhat it’s like to ask for and receive family support on maternity leaveThe mindset to employ when a colleague says something hurtfulDivya’s tips for making your comeback.Here's the link to the Live Q&A with Dr Mandy Lehto on taming your overachiever gremlin and spotting the signs of burnout (26/9/23 8pm BST) that I mentioned during this episode. Complimentary tickets available via this link.MORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds, Chantelle Angel started her career as a Montessori teacher before going onto work for a children’s disability charity where she became pregnant with her first child. That baby is now 3 ½ and she has another son who is 17 months. Chantelle is now a qualified paediatric sleep consultant and founder of  Dreaming Angels,  working with a range of parents, mainly in the UK, although she’s reached as far as Singapore and the US.You’re going to hear about:Common baby sleep issues and what you can do about themChantelle’s transformative experience of being helped by a sleep consultantThe science behind why babies who are cuddled off to sleep are more prone to waking and crying later in the nightTop tips for settling babiesAnd as always the wobbliest moment and peak moment of my guest’s return to work experience.Here's the link to the Live Q&A with Dr Mandy Lehto on taming your overachiever gremlin and spotting the signs of burnout (26/9/23 8pm BST) that I mentioned during this episode. Complimentary tickets available via this link.MORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright MInds, in this episode you're going to hear from Georgie Siddall, an operational risk manager who took voluntary redundancy in 2019 when she recognised she was burnt out trying to keep the show on the road at work and at home with three sons under 10. One of her sons is on the autistic spectrum and with no family around to help share the load, life was really challenging for her and her husband. She made her career comeback in July 2021 when she landed a job at Santander, one of three organisations she had on her “want to work for” target list. Alongside her day job she also co-Chairs Santander’s Enable network because she wants to make a difference to colleagues who have different needs.Georgie and I met on LinkedIn on GCSE results day 2022 when I posted about my son, being permanently excluded from school for persistent disruptive behaviour four months ahead of his exams. He has ADHD and ASD and my golly it’s been quite a ride and in the end he smashed his GCSEs which was just brilliant and he’s now got his sights set on a Russell Group University to study economics and finance.…I am so proud! Anyway, back to Georgie. It’s a beautiful story of really coming through after a very difficult time and finding a job you love. You’re going to hear about: the signs of burnouthow Georgie came to the decision to take voluntary redundancyhow she got herself ready to return to workhow to ask for compressed hours and make it workthe joy and meaning that can come from doing ‘off the side of your desk’ work – and how to make that work when you’re already working really hard in your day jobwhat makes Santander a great employerIf you're reading this before Tuesday 26th September 2023 you're in time to come to our live Q&A with Dr Mandy Lehto on HOW TO SPOT THE SIGNS OF BURNOUT & TAME YOUR OVERACHIEVER GREMLIN.MORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds, my guest today is Jess Heagren, founder of That Works For Me – a platform that connects employers with people seeking flexible work - and author of the Careers After Babies report. Jess previously held strategically important roles at Direct Line Insurance, NIG and RBS Insurance. She’s wonderfully honest and generous and I was so happy to have this chat with Jess where among other things we talked about:Coming back to work too soonPreparing for a good returnThe joy of spreadsheetsCareer progression andIdentifying a family-friendly business cultureIf you’ve been listening a while you’ll know that this podcast is part of the Comeback Community™ employee experience. This is a solution we deliver for progressive employers to keep their people feeling confident, connected and cared for when they take extended leave from work – be it sick leave, maternity leave, shared parental, adoption, bereavement or sabbatical.If you think the experience of people returning to work after a break could be better where you work, please come over to comebackcommunity.co.uk/introduce. There you’ll find a quick and easy way for you to tell us who in your HR team we should be in touch with.MORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Well hello, it’s good to be back. I wonder how you are? Our season four finale was all about how to make full time work work when you have a young family and today we’re turn our attention to career progression, ambition and in particular the role of sponsorship in elevating women’s careers.Although COMEBACK COACH is a podcast for people returning to work from any type of extended leave, the majority of you wonderful Bright Minds are female - and most of you are coming back from maternity leave. Plenty of you have you sights set on taking your career further when you return from leave which is why I think you’re going to love hearing from Kathryn McCulloch, who’s four months back from her second maternity leave and on Denton’s first Global Women’s Sponsorship Programme.Kathryn is a partner in Dentons’ Dispute Resolution group, whose key areas of practice and expertise include aviation, drone (RPAS) regulation, wills, trusts and estates, and corporate/commercial disputes. With a strategic focus on reaching early resolution to claims, Kathryn looks to achieve timely resolution of disputes through alternative dispute resolution tools, including formal and informal mediation. She’s both a fixed wing and a drone pilot, and a proud mama to two young boys.Also in this episode we’ve got Romana Bruderer-Schwab, who’s Denton’s Global Inclusion, Diversity & Equity manager and supports the ID&E agenda in more than 80 countries. Romana was born in the U.S., is based in Edinburgh and describes herself as a global citizen who has a penchant for learning, amassing new experiences and growing as a person and a professional. She is passionate about tilting the scales of equity and justice in favour of the underrepresented. In this conversation you’re going to hear about:The difference between sponsorship and mentoring.Why sponsorship programmes are needed for women in the law.How self-doubt can affect the most accomplished people when they take a break from work.How a Type A personality prepares for maternity leave.Kathryn’s wobbliest moment when she came back from maternity leave and her advice to people coming back from extended leave.COMEBACK COACH is part of the Comeback Community™ employee experience designed to keep employees feeling confident, connected and cared for when they take extended leave from work – be it sick leave, maternity leave, shared parental, adoption, bereavement or sabbatical.If you think the experience of people returning to work after a break could be better where you work, please come over to comebackcommunity.co.uk/introduce. There you’ll find a quick and easy way for you to tell us who in your HR team we should be in touch with.***MORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds, this is a special season finale involving six guests who are making full time work work with  young children. I wanted to do this episode after I read a statistic that didn’t shock me as much as sadden me in a report published earlier this year called “CAREERS AFTER BABIES”. 848 women took part in the research which found 85% of women leave the full-time workforce within three years of having children.Upfront disclaimer, all voices in this episode are women who are in a partnership with the father of their children. The guests are drawn from our Instagram community where I put up a poll one Saturday morning in February asking whether they worked FT or PT. I was surprised that the majority in our community answered that they work full time and then thought…haha, let’s do a podcast about working full time and ask these mamas to be part of it. I didn’t hear from anyone who is solo parenting and working full time and so we’ve got the voices who volunteered to chat to me.When I reflect on the DM’s people sent me on instagram and the voices of the women you’re about to hear, there appear to be four key factors that enable women to continue to work FT when they become parents. Mindset and attitude of the individual: wanting to work full time and enjoying your work.Your employer having a positive and supportive attitude towards of compressed hours.Your employer having a positive and supportive attitude to working from home. And number four relates to a woman’s partner: having a partner who is positive about you working FT and is committed to sharing the load equally at homeIn this episode you’re going to hear those factors brought to life. My guests are:Carina Hoskisson, Engineer at Caterillar.Caoimhe Burins, Audit Manager at Dell.Rebecca Knight, an Executive Assistant in financial services.Kirsty Trude, HR business partner in an international charity.Chrissy, who works in the NHS."Anna" who works in the police.MORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Mind and welcome to episode 61. Today my guest coachee is Natalie Trice, a PR consultant and trainer and the author of three books. She’s also an ICF-accredited career coach for PR and comms professionals.She’s worked in PR for 25 years and put everyone and everything in the media spotlight. From Epson printers, Discovery Channel documentaries, and Betty Crocker cakes to Animal Planet celebrities, vegan bags and coastal holidays.Today she specialises in PR mentoring and training for brands and experts so they can get themselves in the media, and a lot of this work is based on her second book, PR School.She lives by the sea in Devon (which she’s also written a book about) with her husband, two teenage sons and their two dogs, Coco and Dotty.Our coaching conversation is about Natalie’s changing identity as she moves away from being a “hospital mum” – and you’ll hear what that means – and towards an empty nest and re-finding her focus on a love of learning and teaching. It’s a conversation about knowing what your big career dream is and what it will take for Natalie to get there.   As you’re listening, if you’ve got a question or want to tell me about your return to work please find me on Instagram @comebackcommuk because I really do love hearing from you.And did you know, this podcast forms part of our Comeback Community employee experience designed to keep you feeling confident, connected and cared for when you take extended leave from work? If you think your organisation needs to improve the way it cares for people taking any kind of extended leave I’d be really grateful if you’d tell your Head of HR or Chief People Officer about this podcast and send them a link to comebackcommunity.co.uk.MORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello, Bright Minds and welcome to episode 60 with Sophie Giddings and Sam Crossley who are the job-sharing Marketing Directors at the gorgeous pet care brand Lily’s Kitchen who we’re proud to count among our clients. I coached Sophie when she returned from maternity leave and as you’ll hear, returning to work as part of a job-share wasn’t plain sailing but they have very definitely got there.In this episode we talk about Being the first job-share at Lily’s KitchenThe benefits to businesses and individuals of job-sharingChallenges Sophie & Sam encountered and how they’ve evolved how they work togetherEducating the business about how to work with themThe best way to handover to your job-share partnerMORE FOR YOU DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film