Gema Mananes, Technology Professional Indemnity / Cyber Underwriter (14-year career break)
I began my career with Chubb, an American Insurance Company, where I spent 13 years as an insurance underwriter. I was based in Madrid for the majority of the time but did spend 4 years in London too and enjoyed working across different lines of business including Commercial Property, Casualty, Entertainment and Financial lines.
I was based in Madrid when my son was born but soon after decided to come back to London and so that’s when my career break started. During this time, I decided to explore my interest in teaching and went on a course to teach Spanish to young learners for a while and then went on to take a one year teaching assistant qualification. This enabled me to work in a primary school for 2 years, working with children who have English as an additional language.
I really enjoyed working with children and looking back, I can see that I developed transferable skills I can apply to my new role letting me be much more open and understanding of people than I was before. I also took the opportunity to complete a degree during this time in History and Art History, a real passion of mine.
As my son grew up and became more independent, I realised I had more flexibility again to be able to commit to a full time job and so I started exploring options to return to my professional career. It was a little bit daunting at the beginning and I wasn’t sure where to go or how to start with such a gap on my CV. These days, job applications happen predominantly through social media like LinkedIn which is very impersonal. Following such a long career break, you need a human touch to guide you through the process.
A contact I had met previously had successfully returned to work via Career Returners, and so I joined their professional network and heard about a cross company returner programme they were running in the insurance sector. This looked like a fantastic opportunity to return to work via a supported programme and so I applied. As part of the programme they ran support workshops on CVs and interview skills which really helped guide you throughout the application process. I was delighted to be offered a six month placement at Markel, one of the participating organisations, and was then thrilled to be offered a permanent role at the end of the returnship.
When I joined, I wasn’t sure how I would fit in after such a long career break. I just embraced every opportunity to learn. The team at Markel have been so welcoming and supportive and have always offered a helping hand. There were lots of meetings with different individuals in the early days that explained how things are done and how everything is connected which was so helpful. My manager was so supportive, helping to set me up for success, and I also received valuable mentoring from Markel.
Being back at work was a mix of excitement and fear at the beginning but very fulfilling as you go along. It can be very challenging at times, but you gain confidence to embrace the challenge, and you learn how to cope with it. I never thought I would be where I am now just 6 months after re-enacting my career in insurance. I feel very enthusiastic about the future, and I’ve gained the confidence I had somehow lost.
For others thinking about returning to work, my advice is to believe in yourself. You’re not starting from scratch, there is a lot already there and it comes back quickly, so be confident. The other thing I would say is to stop thinking and start acting. For quite a long time, I thought about returning to work, but I always had doubts I would be able to work without sacrificing my family. But it works, it is a challenge but it’s possible and I wouldn’t go back now. I am happier for having my own space outside family life, that I can share what happens at work with my family and inspire others around me in different ways.
