My Story
I Didn't Have a Plan B. I Had Plans C Through Z.
A candid look at what it really takes to rebuild a career — and why every wrong turn was actually the right one.
I left my career to raise my kids. It wasn't a choice that I planned to make. I had a miscarriage after my first child and didn't think I would be able to have another kid, so when my contract was ending and I was 5 months pregnant, I thought I would take a short career break. Also, my almost three year old was learning to talk with a Caribbean accent from his caregivers, which was absolutely heart breaking that he spent more time with them than with us. What I thought would be a short career break turned into a much longer stay at home stint that I hadn't necessarily planned but life happens and I had no idea how hard getting back to work would be.
I'm not a career coach. I'm not a LinkedIn influencer with a perfectly curated success story. I'm a woman who stepped away, struggled to return, pivoted more times than I can count, and still after over 10 years am trying to find where I belong. This is that story.
Trying to Go Back to Work
After eleven years at home, I decided to try my hand at going back to work. Initially, I got a few interviews that didn't pan out. So, I started applying to ever possible job I could. I didn't look at salary just something to get my foot in the door.The rejection wasn't just professional. It felt personal. Like the world was confirming what that little voice in my head had been whispering: your just a stay at home mom, you've lost all relevant skills and nobody will hire you.I believed I had no value as my self-esteem was at an all time low. I felt like the only thing I could do was take care of kids and the home. It wasn't true though, I had been basically working a full time job as a PTA volunteer at the elementary school.The First Job ( From $85k/yr to $9.50/hr)
I had built a successful career in defense contracting in the Northern Virginia area before moving to Charleston, South Carolina. I believe if I had stayed in Northern Virginia where I had many contacts this journey may not have been so difficult.So I pivoted. I took a job as a Customer Support Representative (CSR) thru an online contracting company. It was the only job I could secure. I sent in a resume. Then, went to a mass hiring event; think 100's of people on a zoom call. They explained the contract that we would be supporting a well known tax company thru the tax season. I think training was a few weeks. It was really inadequate as it was my first CSR work from home job. This was 2015 so technology is no where near what it is today. I had my personal lap-top loaded with the company software. The purpose of the job was to take basic calls. For example, change passwords, pay for software. We weren't supposed to be fielding tax questions but we were. People normally told me, I was in idiot and in truth I was pretty terrible at this job. We had at least 6 different programs to verify identity, research answers to customer questions and help the customer pay for the software. In truth, I never figured out how to get the customer to pay for the software and gave away a lot of software for freeThat contract ended in 4 months. I vowed I would never do taxes again or take a job like this again. It was so stressful, didn't help with my self-esteem issues and I made next to nothing ($9.50 an hour). Surely, in the next 8 months I could find something better.Behind the Scenes of Career Re-entry
At that point in time mid- 2015, I am sure I needed at least a month to recuperate from that experience. Then, summer came and all the kids were home from school so it just made sense to entertain them and start looking again in the fall.I was always the full-time care giver for our three kids, did the grocery shopping, doctors appointment etc so that really didn't change when I was working. So when I had the work from home job as soon as I logged off I had to make dinner, do homework or whatever my family needed. For this reason, I don't necessarily recommend work from home as a first re-entry job. You need the down time of a drive home to reset and re-align to be Mom otherwise it is to much stimulation all the time. I am an introvert so talking on the phone all day is exhausting to me, then dealing with family, it was all to much.After the summer, I as definetly ready to find a fulfilling job."The gap on your resume isn't a hole. It's a chapter. And chapters don't disqualify you — they define you."
— Something I wish someone had told me sooner
What I Know Now
Your skills didn't expire
Every year you spent managing a household, raising children, and navigating family logistics was a masterclass in leadership, budgeting, and crisis management. Own it.
The right job won't require you to apologize for your life
If a company makes you feel ashamed of your career gap, that's information about them — not about you. Keep moving.
Momentum beats perfection
You don't need the perfect plan. You need the next step. Take it, even if it's small. Especially if it's small.
Community changes everything
The women who helped me most weren't recruiters or career coaches. They were other women who'd been through it. Find your people.
Why I Started Pivot Pioneer
I started this site because the only advice I could find was from people who had personal connections and good luck on re-entering the workforce. The advice I was seeing was saying go get a Masters degree to re-enter. I have a Masters degree and it wasn't helping me at all. Connect with your college alumni service, well that didn't help either. Network with old work colleagues, I had moved so that wasn't helping. I live in a Southeastern state that is very consservative, no one was even giving me a chance. I wanted honest stories, not polished success narratives. I wanted practical advice, not generic LinkedIn tips. I wanted someone to tell me it was going to be okay — and mean it.
So that's what this is. A real, messy, honest account of what career re-entry actually looks like — with all the detours included. If you're in the middle of your own pivot right now, I want you to know: you're not behind. You're exactly where you need to be.