Ikigai for Returners: Finding Purpose and Pivoting After a Long Break
This year’s final Power Hour featured Priya Venkatesan, Business Systems Analyst at UC Davis and Gallup Certified Global Strengths Coach. After a 16-year career break focused on family and caregiving, Priya relaunched through returnships and intentional strategies. Her real-world journey shows how long breaks build resilience and clarity that lead to stronger careers.
Priya’s 16-Year Break: From Pause to Purposeful Return
Priya stepped away from corporate work to manage family needs and caregiving. When ready to return, traditional job searches felt overwhelming. She chose returnships instead, which provided structured on-ramps with skill refreshment, hands-on training, fewer interview rounds, and built-in networking.
In practice, her returnship at a major organization let her apply business analysis skills immediately while learning current tools. This real-world exposure rebuilt confidence faster than self-study alone. Priya stressed returnships work beyond tech: finance, operations, HR, and nonprofits actively use them.
Transferable Skills, Ikigai, and Reframing Gaps
Priya showed returners how to uncover workplace value from their career breaks. Event planning during community work translates to project management. Caregiving builds crisis response, time management, and empathy, skills healthcare and operations teams need. Volunteering demonstrates teamwork and initiative.
Frame gaps positively: “Managed family operations for 16 years, honing multitasking across competing priorities.” This shows readiness without oversharing personal details.
Her Ikigai framework guides pivots: intersect what you love (passion), excel at (vocation), world needs (mission), and pays (profession). Priya used it to shift from engineering to business analysis, starting with community college courses and volunteer projects.
Real-world example: A returner might love teaching (passion), organize events well (vocation), companies need trainers (mission), and training roles pay steadily (profession). Test via short gigs before full commitment.
Job Search Tactics, Upskilling, and Support Systems
Priya’s search involved 100+ applications but succeeded through strategy. Key strategies from her playbook:
- Tailor resumes: Pull 4-6 keywords from job descriptions, map accomplishments directly (“Led 50-person volunteer team = managed cross-functional projects”).
- Target fresh postings: Higher response rates than aged listings.
- LinkedIn/AI: Optimize profiles with keywords, use AI ethically for summaries (not fabrication).
- Network smart: Conferences build peer connections first, recruiters second. Informational interviews reveal unposted roles.
- Upskilling roadmap:
Free platforms: Google Digital Garage (digital marketing), HubSpot Academy (sales/CRM), Alison (certificates), Microsoft Learn (tech basics). - Certifications: Scrum Master shows agility; Google Data Analytics builds entry-level analysis skills.
- Hands-on: Personal projects, volunteer tech support, or community college classes fill resume gaps.
- Support matters: Mentors guide decisions, sponsors advocate internally, peers normalize struggles. Priya credits her network for interview referrals.
Apply at 80% match. Narrate breaks as growth periods. Scams target desperate searchers, so verify postings.
Your Next Steps with Women Back to Work
Priya’s story proves 16-year breaks lead to purposeful careers with the right tools. Join Women Back to Work returnships and Power Hour sessions. Power Hour takes a holiday break, and we return January 6th 2026 with an exciting lineup of speakers.