Returning after a career break - Ruth Cruikshank

Ruth worked for 30 years in quality assurance and business assurance management prior to her career break.

At the start of the covid pandemic, the contract I had been working on came to an end and, in all truth, I was ok with that, in fact, I was looking forward to some time out but …. there is only so many books to read, so much daytime TV to watch, so many walks the dogs can endure and so many household chores one can take. The truth is I missed working.

I started looking at the job market.  Jobs weren’t exactly abundant during the early part of the pandemic, and I soon realised not only was there a shortage of jobs, but I was on the wrong side of 50, female and had been out of work for a period!  I did however have years of experience and a good skill set.

I joined LinkedIn.  One day I was contacted by a recruiter – STEM Returners - regarding the role of Business Assurance Manager at SSE Thermal, it sounded great so where was the catch? The role was in Perth, Glasgow, or Dublin, most definitely not within my commutable range – I live in Aberdeen.  I said thank you but I cannot put myself forward for application due to my location and thought that was that.  A couple of weeks past and STEM Returners contacted me again and said SSE would consider working from home! Great news, send my application, please!!

I’m delighted I was offered the role and even more delighted to be working for a diverse and inclusive company that could see that age, location, or current employment status, was not an obstacle and who could appreciate the experience and skill set I could bring to the business and, moreover, were open to employing from out with the immediate industry.

I’m enjoying working from home and the quiet that brings to my concentration (I’m more productive than I’ve ever been), the absence of early morning commuting and the flexibility.  I’m so impressed and grateful to STEM Returns for their open-mindedness in realising skillsets are assets for life, and to Thermal for choosing to be that inclusive company that can also see the benefit in recruiting from a diverse pool.