Returners Career Advice

FDM Returners Success Stories: Sian Saini

Paul Brown
11.05.2021 Published: 11.05.21, Modified: 11.05.2021 11:05:21

What was your education and role prior to taking a career break? 

From early on I had always aspired to be a Lawyer in the Corporate/ Mergers & Acquisitions space and with a lot of LA Law episodes under my belt, I pursued a Law degree at university. However, after graduation I came across the Lloyds Banking Graduate Management Scheme by chance and decided to apply. It wasn’t my plan A but I’m glad I followed my instincts as it led me to an exciting and varied career of over ten years with the organisation, where I gained a vast range of experience in Financial Services.  

I worked on high-profile projects in retail and commercial banking, delivering operational improvement, business resilience programmes and transformational change projects. I had also been involved in numerous Group-wide strategic initiatives, change implementation programmes,
product lifecycle projects, client journey enhancement strategies and more.   

Tell us more about your career break  

With a highly successful career behind me and a fantastic future outlook in the Financial Services industry, I took the decision to leave work and start a family, thinking that it would only last a few years.  Before I knew it, ten years had passed by!  

I found my career break fulfilling on so many levels. I explored different options in terms of starting my own business and engaging in a range of activities: from getting involved in charitable causes to running a dental practice and supporting a Barristers Chambers, as well as being heavily involved in school events.  

Did you face any challenges when you decided to return to work? 

Having spent a decade away from work, other than the expected battles of a ‘returner to work’, there are those other ‘soft’ battles to win, such as regaining my confidence in a very competitive world, perfecting my CV, putting together a LinkedIn profile and many more! Then there are other factors such as the competition – I had applied to a multitude of ‘Women Returning to Work’ programmes but I had little progress and very few responses. In addition to this, Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic gave returning to work in 2020 a completely new meaning.  

What was your experience during your time with FDM and re-joining the workforce? 

Through FDM I managed to secure an exciting role in Financial Services and into an area which was new to me. I can really say I was nervous and confident in equal measures. As to what I have learnt through the whole experience of preparing myself to go back into a career, is that my core skills and attributes are inherent in me and my career break has only helped me develop these further. I had to master the art of resilience, but it was worth it.  

An important tip I would like to share is to take the time to analyse and understand your core skills, attributes and experience and see how that translates into your search for a new role. I was also honest with myself about what I needed to restart my career – I had to update my professional qualifications and learn how to sell myself in a competitive market place.   

What are your top tips for those looking to return to the workplace?  

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