Louise is an experienced lawyer who recently returned to work after a career break of around 10 years. She has been working with Bird & Bird, a City law firm, for almost two months. We asked her about her experience and the advice she would have for other women thinking of relaunching their professional careers. […]
No-one told me just how tough recruitment could be. You’re in the middle of two parties, each of whom can say the right thing, do the right thing and then at the last minute pull out. That a hiring manager might suddenly decide a vacancy isn’t a vacancy after all wasn’t so much of a […]
You’ve set some targets, you’ve published your plan, be that around race, gender or other aspects of “diversity”. You have probably published both on your website and you’ve briefed recruiters. Now all you need to do is sit back and wait for the results to roll in. After all, everyone knows that there’s a McKinsey […]
Krista is a qualified insurance/reinsurance litigator with 9 years PQE experience. After a successful career in private practice, she took a career break to raise her family. Five years on, she was ready to resume her legal career but unsure about where to begin. An introduction to the Reignite Academy and to member firm RPC […]
The best laid plans didn’t fare so well last time Back in March, everyone I spoke to was fairly stoic about the looming lockdown. Many had grand plans. They would seize the opportunity to use isolation to do a good clear out of the house, learn a new language, finally get round to reading The […]
I know, I know. Only a few days ago I was writing about how WFH isn’t necessarily good for women’s careers. And I stand by what I wrote; there are risks. At the same time, the seismic changes that are affecting the whole world, do present opportunities. Any crisis brings with it opportunities The thing […]
Are you asking yourself this very question? “What does a middle aged woman have to offer that a 20-something doesn’t?” It’s a question many of the women I meet ask. Sometimes, it’s a question going on in their own heads, holding them back from pursuing new opportunities. I’m too old, surely? Who would want me? […]
Thelma Ainsworth was one of the participants in the third Reignite Academy Programme, which kicked off in January 2020. Less than three months later, the pandemic struck and we went into lockdown. Cue heavy hearts and lots of worries about what the future might hold. Thelma is a mum of two young boys and has […]
In our first ever Annual Impact report, we were proud to report that 35% of our successful candidates were from black, Asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds. We never set out with a target, we certainly had never signed a pledge. Nevertheless, we were very please with this result. How did you go about attracting […]
Helen had over nine years of post-qualification experience in insolvency and restructuring at firms including Clifford Chance and Sidley Austin before taking a career break in 2012. With three young children, Helen decided to move out of London to Surrey. There, she took a course in social media and set up a business to support […]