'I found myself at a crossroads': The mid-career women taking a leap of faith

Lori Saldana needed a change. For many years the Gold Coast mother-of-two had climbed the corporate ladder with relative ease.

"Prior to having children, I was in a scenario where I felt that it was quite easy for me to find employment and [career] progression happened easily," Lori recalls.

But some major life changes – having two young children and moving away from her previous home in Sydney – meant this new mum needed to take a step back from her career.

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"I found myself at a crossroads, seeking to rediscover who I was and determine the best path forward," she said.

Lori is not alone. Many women find themselves trapped between their former and current selves, when returning to work after having a family. Returning to the job you had before kids somehow doesn't make sense when your own life – and indeed, your own sense of self – has changed so fundamentally.

By the way, it's not just a challenge for women either. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, almost one third of all people who left their jobs in the 12 months leading up to last February did so because they simply wanted a change.

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Psychiatrist Dr Tanveer Ahmed has written previously for 9honey about what prompts this "mid-life career crisis" amongst women. Dr Ahmed says this sense of being at a crossroads is linked to the conflicting roles women have navigated in their lives, as mothers, as workers and as daughters.

"Today's career-minded woman might have shifting aspirations … [and] the craving to reach one's potential can ultimately lead to a lonely fate," he said.

For Lori, the decision to change careers was easy. It was going about this change that was difficult.

She felt isolated in her job search, and after a lengthy career break soon struggled to return to the workforce.

"Since I had the kids, I was trying to figure out what my passions were. I've always been envious of people who literally wake up and love what they do," she said.

"I don't think I've ever been in a situation where I had clarity as to what I could do".

It was at this point, while frustrated and looking for jobs she wasn't sure she was suited to, that Lori stumbled across an advertisement for the FW Jobs Academy.

FW Jobs Academy is a nationwide program, funded by the Australian Government, that supports women who face barriers to work and helps them find meaningful, secure and flexible jobs.

The program helped rebuild Lori's self-confidence and clarify her professional ambitions.

She says that Jobs Academy "has instilled the confidence that I needed to believe in myself again … [it] really helped me to continue to believe, to continue to pursue the changes that I wanted to have in my life."

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Not long after joining the program, Lori found work helping nurses and midwives find work in remote Australia. She says the program helped open her eyes to opportunities she would not have considered before.

Lori's story is proof that if you're struggling to get back to work after starting a family, you're not alone. Many women experience exactly the same crisis of confidence. The key is to take some time, reflect and reevaluate – and remember that you deserve to have a job that makes you feel happy and fulfilled, as well as paying the bills.

Jobs Academy is a FW initiative supported by government funding. It's a free, fully virtual program designed to boost women's workforce participation and economic security. Find out more about FW Jobs Academy here.

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