The Complete Guide to Returning to Work After a Career Break

You're not behind. You're just between seasons.

Let me guess: It's 2am, you're doom-scrolling LinkedIn, and you're spiraling harder than Kody Brown trying to explain why he needs a fifth wife. Every job posting might as well say "Must have worked continuously since birth and also invented ChatGPT in your spare time."

That voice in your head is louder than Teresa flipping a table: "Everyone knows AI and I can barely figure out the parent portal app." "My resume gap is giving Grand Canyon." "I'm one 'so what have you been up to?' away from a full Bethenny breakdown."

Here's what I know after 20+ years leading global talent acquisition teams: That voice is lying and also needs therapy.

Your career break wasn't a cancellation. It was a rebrand. You've been doing the hardest job on the planet—one that involves learning at a pace like no other, managing chaos, negotiating with tiny terrorists / angels and operating on zero resources while everyone asks what's for dinner. If you can survive the toddler years, you could run Bravo. Hell, you could run the entire entertainment industry better than whoever keeps giving us more seasons of shows that should've ended three years ago.

This is your "getting my diamond back" era. Your "returning to the reunion with receipts" moment. Your full-on comeback arc.

And I'm going to show you exactly how to do it, and also have a little reality tv fun along the way…

✨ Why Your Career Break Is Actually Your Villain Origin Story
💪 The Mindset Shifts That'll Change Everything
📄 Resume Strategies That Turn Your Gap Into Your Origin Story
🤖 The AI Upskilling That'll Make You Dangerous
💼 LinkedIn & Networking Without Feeling Desperate
🎯 Nailing the Interview When They Ask About Your Gap
🚀 What Happens Next (How I Can Help You)

Stop apologizing for having a life. Start using it as your superpower. Seriously no apologies here. You are more than a laptop warrior. Always have been.

You know what every good Housewife needs? A comeback storyline. You know what makes a comeback storyline good? Adversity, growth, and coming back stronger than ever with a new business, a new tagline, and absolutely zero patience for nonsense.

That's you, friend. That's your arc.

While your former colleagues were in their third Zoom meeting about the meeting, you were developing skills that actually transfer:

The truth nobody wants to say out loud: Hiring managers are exhausted by people who've been doing the same job the same way since 2015 and have the personality of unseasoned chicken. Your non-traditional path makes you memorable. Your career break proves you can handle change. And in a world where AI is disrupting everything? Being able to adapt is literally the most valuable thing you can bring.

According to LinkedIn's research on career breaks, professionals who take intentional career breaks often return with enhanced skills and fresh perspectives that make them highly valuable to employers—especially in rapidly changing industries.

So we're done apologizing for your gap like you committed a crime. We're positioning it like what it is: proof you're built different and exactly what 2025 needs.

Your biggest obstacle isn't your resume. It's the absolute LIES you're telling yourself at 3am.

Remember when everyone thought Ariana was done after her whole world imploded on national television? And then she came back with a Broadway show, a book deal, and a whole new career while her ex was still trying to figure out how to make a Lightning McQueen pool work?

That's the energy we need.

You haven't been behind. You've been in training. You've developed adaptability, resourcefulness, and the ability to make decisions with incomplete information—which is literally every single day of the modern workplace.

Oh, and guess what with AI, it’s an even playing field. Everyone is learning and trying to figure it out. Companies don't need another person who can show up and do things "the way we've always done them." They need people who can handle ambiguity, pivot fast, and think creatively under pressure.

You know... exactly what you've been doing.

Real talk: Most people currently employed don't actually understand AI either. They're just better at nodding confidently in meetings and throwing around words like "machine learning" without knowing what it means.

You're in the perfect position. You're coming in fresh, without old habits or that annoying resistance to change. You're like a Housewife who joins in season 7—everyone else is exhausted and over it, and you show up with energy, fresh takes, and no old drama weighing you down. Total let’s get the job done so we can move on and go home, if AI is the answer… Let’s do it!

Here's the secret: You don't need to be a tech genius. You just need to be curious and willing to try. That's it. That already puts you ahead of 60% of people currently working.

I use AI for literally everything—Literally helps me get a ton done, from creating learning plans for my kids to building this business. And I'm not some tech wizard. I'm just someone who decided to figure it out instead of being scared of it. And honestly? If I can train ChatGPT to know my voice and create custom GPTs, you absolutely can too.

You know what's never too late? Deciding you deserve better. Choosing to bet on yourself. Refusing to settle for a life that makes you feel dead inside.

Look at every Housewife who got "fired" and then came back more successful than ever. Bethenny left and built an empire. NeNe became a cultural icon. Garcelle has three careers. They didn't let getting replaced define them—they used it as fuel.

The companies worth working for don't want people who've been phoning it in for 20 years. They want people who've lived, who have perspective, who bring something real to the table.

Your age isn't a liability. It's proof you've survived enough to handle whatever chaos comes next. And yeah, the kids we're raising are terrifyingly smart (Gen Alpha is coming for all of us), but we'd absolutely survive without our Starbucks and Yetis. That's the energy we're bringing to this job search.

Your resume isn't a confessional. It's a trailer for the comeback season everyone's about to watch.

Listen, hiring managers spend six seconds scanning your resume. Six. That's less time than it takes for a Housewife to throw a drink.

They're not looking for reasons to reject you. They're looking for reasons to say yes. So give them those reasons first, loud and obvious.

Here's what you need to know:

Use a hybrid or functional resume that leads with value, not chronology. Put your best stuff up front—your skills, your achievements, your "here's why you'd be dumb not to hire me" section. Then list your experience strategically so your gap isn't the main character.

You've got options:

1: The Confident One-Liner

Drop this in your summary and keep it moving:

"After an intentional career break focused on family, I'm returning to [industry] with updated AI skills, fresh perspective on [trend], and the kind of project management experience you only get from coordinating humans who can't find their own shoes."

(Okay maybe edit that last part, but you get it.)

2 Set it & Forget it

One quick unapologetic line about your break, take some free Coursera or Udemy courses (ideally on AI,) List them here to show you have been paying attention. The goal is to move the conversation to your skills ASAP. Don’t get stuck talking about the gap.

This is where ChatGPT becomes your new best friend. (Sorry to your actual best friends, but this one doesn't judge you and works at 2am.)

Ask it: "I'm returning to work after a career break. I [describe what you did]. Transform this into a professional achievement statement using strong action verbs and measurable results. Make it relevant for [target role] and make it sound confident, not desperate."

Example:

Same thing. Different vibe. Much more "hire me immediately."

And yes, you need to beat the robots (ATS systems) by using the right keywords from job descriptions. But I'm not going to bore you with a whole tutorial here—that's what my Back to Work Blueprint is for. (See what I did there?)

[CALLOUT BOX] 💼 Pro Tip: Use years only on your resume, not months. "2020-2023" looks way more substantial than "June 2020-March 2023." This is a simple formatting trick that completely changes how your gap looks on paper. [END CALLOUT BOX]

The fastest way to stop feeling obsolete? Start using the tools everyone's pretending they already know.

If you're not at working on AI skills by now, you're getting benched. I don't make the rules. (Actually the robots make the rules now, which is kind of the point.)

But here's the good news: You don't need a computer science degree. You just need to be willing to experiment.

I'm obsessed with AI. I use ChatGPT, Claude, Gamma, Sintra, Blaze, Gemini—all of it. I create custom GPTs. I train them on my voice. I use them for work, for my kids' homework, for literally everything. And I'm not special. I'm just someone who decided to figure it out instead of being scared. It’s so fun! I have one creating a website for me right now as I write this.

Here's what you need to do:

Spend 15-20 minutes a day playing with ChatGPT or Claude. Ask it questions. Make it help you write your resume. Have it generate interview questions. Get comfortable with it so you can confidently say in interviews: "Yes, I've been actively learning AI tools and using them to stay current."

That sentence alone puts you ahead of most candidates who've been working this whole time.

Want the full 30-day upskilling plan? The specific prompts to use? The exact way to create custom GPTs that sound like you? That's all in my mini course, because this blog post is already longer than a Vanderpump reunion and we need to keep moving.

Your network is your net worth. But you're not sliding into DMs like a thirsty Bravo fan account.

Your headline matters more than anything else. It shows up in searches. It's the first thing people see.

❌ "Stay-at-Home Mom | Seeking Opportunities" (This is giving Scheana's "Good as Gold" rebrand. We're not doing this.)

✅ "Marketing Strategist | Helping Brands Actually Connect With Humans | AI-Powered Campaigns | Open to What's Next"

See the difference? Specific. Confident. Interesting. Not desperate.

Your summary should tell your story like you're narrating your own Housewives tagline. "I took time off for family, I stayed current, I'm coming back with fresh perspective and zero patience for inefficiency. Let's talk."

(Okay, maybe make it slightly more professional. But that energy? Keep that.)

Stop mass-applying to jobs like you're casting a Housewives franchise and hoping someone sticks.

Instead: Pick 5 companies you actually want to work for. Find 5 people at each company. Send them personalized messages asking for advice, not jobs.

Template:

Hi [Name],

I came across your profile while researching [Company] and I'm genuinely impressed by [specific thing]. I'm returning to [industry] after a career break, and I'd love to learn about your experience there. Would you be open to a quick 15-minute virtual coffee?

Thanks! Laura

That's it. Short. Specific. Not weird.

And here's the thing: Research from Harvard Business Review shows that 70% of jobs are never publicly posted—they're filled through connections, referrals, and people who knew people. So networking isn't optional—it's literally how the game is played.

But if you're sitting here thinking "Laura, I don't have time to figure all this out, I need someone to just TELL me what to do step by step"—I hear you. That's exactly why I created my course, or book some time and we will cover it all in a strategy session. More on that in a second.

Okay, real talk for a second.

This is hard. Not because you're not capable or qualified. But because the system wasn't built for us. It was built for people who go straight from college to retirement with zero flexibility, without ever having a life emergency, a sick parent, a baby, or a full mental breakdown.

So yeah, you're going to face bias. You're going to get ghosted by companies that don't deserve you. You're going to have moments where you wonder if you should just give up and become a full-time Real Housewives recapper. (Just me?)

But here's what I also know:

You've already done the hardest thing. You've survived years of chaos and uncertainty. You've made impossible decisions with incomplete information. You've kept tiny humans alive during a literal global pandemic., and you have continued to dream big!

If you can do that? You can absolutely navigate a job search.

And when you land something good—something that pays you what you're worth and reminds you that it’s never to late to have a new dream, change your mind or reimagine your next adventure. It's going to feel like the best kind of plot twist.

Like when Ariana left Sandoval and became more successful than he ever was. Like when Bethenny came back to Housewives on her own terms. Like when any Housewife gets their diamond back after everyone counted them out.

That's your story. You're just in the middle of filming it.

Alright friend, you made it this far. That means you're serious about this comeback era.

So let me make it easier for you.

If you're thinking: "This is great but I need the FULL playbook. I need someone to walk me through this step by step with actual templates, scripts, and accountability..."

I've got you.

I've compiled a list of companies that have returnship programs that pay very well (like paid internships for people returning after a break). Real opportunities. Real companies. No MLM nonsense.

My Back to Work Blueprint Mini Course walks you through every single step—from mindset work to AI upskilling to resume building to interview prep to salary negotiation.

It's everything I've learned in 20+ years of hiring, packed into a format you can do at your own pace. With templates, scripts, prompts, and the exact strategies that actually work.

Includes: ✅ The complete 30-day AI upskilling plan with prompts
✅ Resume templates and bullet point formulas
✅ Word-for-word networking scripts
✅ Interview question database and response frameworks
✅ Salary negotiation strategies
✅ LinkedIn optimization checklist

I'm over on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest dropping career advice, reality TV hot takes, and real talk about navigating this whole "career comeback" thing.

Find me: @LCTalentLab

[Instagram icon] [TikTok icon] [Pinterest icon]

Follow along. Send me your questions. Tell me your stories. DM me your favorite Housewives moment. Let's build your comeback together.

Because you're not behind, friend.

You're just getting started.

And honestly? Your best season is about to begin.

I'm a talent strategist with 20+ years leading global talent teams, an AI enthusiast (maybe too enthusiastic?), and your no-BS career comeback coach. I help people at all stages in their career journey. I am a big believer that it’s never too late to reinvent, reimagine or build something new, while reinventing the systems so that they support & enable a full life.

When I'm not creating career strategies, I'm watching Bravo, raising tiny humans who are definitely smarter than me, and using AI for literally everything from work productivity to my kids' learning plans.

I believe in real talk, reality TV references, and helping people stage the comeback they deserve.

Let's connect: @LCTalentLab on Instagram | TikTok | Pinterest, Get my free resources: Returnship Directory |

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