Re-entering finance after child rearing / family care
Long time lurker and first time posting. A different twist on a topic I’ve seen posted a few times. Are there any people out there who have re-entered finance after taking a prolonged break (2-5+ years) for family care (child rearing, ageing parents, sick spouse, etc.)? Appreciate that the users here might be younger, so this could go stale quickly.
I spent 10 years in M&A and in PE (buyout) before taking a multi year career break for these reasons, but remain as ambitious as ever. I’m flexible on what my next role looks like, not necessarily wedded to “the path”, but I have a ton of great experience (both transactional and operational) which I would love to put to good use. I’m female, in case that’s important.
I suppose I’m wondering whether this is it for me, or whether there’s some hope. Would love to hear any stories or anecdotes, both good and bad.
Thanks all!
Check out JPM ReEntry programme if you want to go back to the sell side for a bit
From what I’ve heard these are prohibitively competitive, but I will investigate further. Thank you!
Your relationships will be worth their weight in gold. Start reaching out to everyone you previously worked with or knew and ask them to make introductions. Everyone includes former colleagues, bankers, diligence providers, literally everyone you worked with who was connected to the industry and may know someone who is hiring. People will be able to overlook a gap if you are very highly referred and you are able to speak to how you kept up your finance knowledge during your time away.
I would also encourage you to consider if you really want to go back to an all consuming job… there are other ways to be very ambitious and successful that aren’t as all consuming and volatile as doing M&A deals can be.
This a really thoughtful response and much appreciated.
I hear you on the “all consuming” point and I’m giving as much thought to more adjacent roles, e.g. being a more technically minded fundraiser or on a value creation team, among other things.
If you’re willing to go corporate, the CFO track is a pretty good middle ground. Even at the highest levels it’s not that volatile of a job where you have control over your schedule and won’t work irratic hours.
Could be an opportunity to go straight into a VP finance or CFO seat at a portco given your level of experience.
Wells also has a re-entry program worth checking out. Worked with a director in cap mkts that left the industry indefinitely..5 yrs later she joined a Wells re-entry program and now she’s an MD in corp banking at Wells
Was this at Wells by chance?
no…. was actually at Dooma… not to be confused w Bofa…
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