Latest news with #AlicePeacock
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
I went back to corporate work after a 17-year career break. My résumé gap would have been a bigger barrier if it weren't for a career returners program.
Alice Peacock left her IT operations job in 200 to be a stay-at-home mom. Her career break lasted 17 years. A specialized returners program helped her rejoin the workforce. Peacock was conscious of the gap in her résumé, but she says the break made her a better employee. This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 55-year-old Alice Peacock from Reading, England. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I fully intended to go back to work after having my first child. I looked into nurseries near my workplace and tried to get increased flexibility to cut my hours at my company, but nothing seemed to be working out. My first child, Michael, was born in 2001, and I fell in love. When my maternity leave was coming to an end, I questioned whether I wanted someone else to look after him. I decided to give my one-month notice and take a break. Motherhood kept me busy, and I had my second child, Melissa, in 2005. I didn't return to a full-time job until 2018. My 17 years away from corporate made me a softer and kinder person. When I began looking for full-time jobs again, a career returners program helped me get back into the corporate world. I'm now working at the same level as I was when I left IT. I really enjoyed being part of the corporate world. I'd been working in operations for an IT services company since 1998. I understood my work and felt good at it. It was hard to leave my job in 2001. I'd built up a reputation and felt connected to my colleagues. I invited the whole global team to my wedding. But looking after the children was like a permanent holiday. When you've got time to spend with your kids, you can instill lessons into them so they can be independent. My children can cook, and they know the value of money. I'd always make sure they finished a meal when we went out to eat, and not be wasteful. At the back of my mind, I wanted to go back to work, but I didn't think I could handle a corporate operations job alongside the children. We had to cut back on expenses by having shorter holidays and not sending our kids to private school, but we were willing to make these sacrifices so I could stay home and look after them. While my children were growing up, I did take on some part-time work and voluntary opportunities. My money wasn't required to contribute to the household resources, but I missed adult conversation. When my 16-year-old son got a job at a grocery store back in 2017, he made a cheeky joke that he was making more money than I did. My eldest was a teenager, and my daughter was old enough to go to school by herself, so I started looking for operations jobs again. I knew my résumé gap would be a barrier, so I was open to lower-level roles than I had when I left IT. I attended employment workshops at a local community center, where we learned about résumés, LinkedIn, and interview techniques. Actively preparing for employment made me feel confident about the job search. One hiring manager I spoke to told me they were looking for someone with more recent experience. Not long after that, I was accepted into a three-month employment program I heard about and applied to. The program was with O2, a British telecommunications company now known as Virgin Media O2. The program was designed specifically for people returning from career breaks, like me. It was coincidental that the program was accepting applicants at the same time I started job searching. Without this kind of specialized scheme, it would've been a bigger challenge to get back into work because I lacked recent experience. The program's interviewers considered my transferable skills and asked me how things I did during my career break might apply to the role. I started the program in October 2018 and settled easily. It felt like I'd never left the workforce. I received support from my line manager, a mentor, and my peers in the program. At the end of the three months, I was offered a full-time position as a problem process manager. The role overlaps with my previous experience, and I've found the operations processes similar to when I was last in the workforce. Technology has changed, though, because now we have things like Teams for video calls, and there's more virtual collaboration. I got promoted to senior problem manager in 2022. I'm probably on the same level now as I was before having kids. However, had I not stopped working in 2001, I think I would've been in a "head of" or director role by now, because I was very ambitious. My career break made me a better employee. Having children brought out my nurturing side and made me a softer person. I listen more, am more personable, and kinder. I'm grateful for the opportunity to get back into work. Without this career returner's program, I think I would've had to lower my expectations and either work my way up from an admin role or apply for an apprenticeship. The traditional hiring process unfairly penalizes career returners because of gaps in their résumés. Returners bring years of professional experience and industry knowledge, along with additional skills gained during their career breaks. Do you have a story to share about taking a career break? Contact this reporter at ccheong@ Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
8 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
I went back to corporate work after a 17-year career break. My résumé gap would have been a bigger barrier if it weren't for a career returners program.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 55-year-old Alice Peacock from Reading, England. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I fully intended to go back to work after having my first child. I looked into nurseries near my workplace and tried to get increased flexibility to cut my hours at my company, but nothing seemed to be working out. My first child, Michael, was born in 2001, and I fell in love. When my maternity leave was coming to an end, I questioned whether I wanted someone else to look after him. I decided to give my one-month notice and take a break. Motherhood kept me busy, and I had my second child, Melissa, in 2005. I didn't return to a full-time job until 2018. My 17 years away from corporate made me a softer and kinder person. When I began looking for full-time jobs again, a career returners program helped me get back into the corporate world. I'm now working at the same level as I was when I left IT. Leaving my job to look after the kids was like a permanent holiday I really enjoyed being part of the corporate world. I'd been working in operations for an IT services company since 1998. I understood my work and felt good at it. It was hard to leave my job in 2001. I'd built up a reputation and felt connected to my colleagues. I invited the whole global team to my wedding. But looking after the children was like a permanent holiday. When you've got time to spend with your kids, you can instill lessons into them so they can be independent. My children can cook, and they know the value of money. I'd always make sure they finished a meal when we went out to eat, and not be wasteful. At the back of my mind, I wanted to go back to work, but I didn't think I could handle a corporate operations job alongside the children. While I wasn't working, we relied on my partner's income We had to cut back on expenses by having shorter holidays and not sending our kids to private school, but we were willing to make these sacrifices so I could stay home and look after them. While my children were growing up, I did take on some part-time work and voluntary opportunities. My money wasn't required to contribute to the household resources, but I missed adult conversation. I considered going back to full-time work because of a comment my son made sometime in 2017 When my 16-year-old son got a job at a grocery store back in 2017, he made a cheeky joke that he was making more money than I did. My eldest was a teenager, and my daughter was old enough to go to school by herself, so I started looking for operations jobs again. I knew my résumé gap would be a barrier, so I was open to lower-level roles than I had when I left IT. I attended employment workshops at a local community center, where we learned about résumés, LinkedIn, and interview techniques. Actively preparing for employment made me feel confident about the job search. One hiring manager I spoke to told me they were looking for someone with more recent experience. Not long after that, I was accepted into a three-month employment program I heard about and applied to. Getting into a career returner's program helped me transition back into full-time work The program was with O2, a British telecommunications company now known as Virgin Media O2. The program was designed specifically for people returning from career breaks, like me. It was coincidental that the program was accepting applicants at the same time I started job searching. Without this kind of specialized scheme, it would've been a bigger challenge to get back into work because I lacked recent experience. The program's interviewers considered my transferable skills and asked me how things I did during my career break might apply to the role. I started the program in October 2018 and settled easily. It felt like I'd never left the workforce. I received support from my line manager, a mentor, and my peers in the program. At the end of the three months, I was offered a full-time position as a problem process manager. The role overlaps with my previous experience, and I've found the operations processes similar to when I was last in the workforce. Technology has changed, though, because now we have things like Teams for video calls, and there's more virtual collaboration. My career break has made me softer and kinder I got promoted to senior problem manager in 2022. I'm probably on the same level now as I was before having kids. However, had I not stopped working in 2001, I think I would've been in a "head of" or director role by now, because I was very ambitious. My career break made me a better employee. Having children brought out my nurturing side and made me a softer person. I listen more, am more personable, and kinder. I'm grateful for the opportunity to get back into work. Without this career returner's program, I think I would've had to lower my expectations and either work my way up from an admin role or apply for an apprenticeship. The traditional hiring process unfairly penalizes career returners because of gaps in their résumés. Returners bring years of professional experience and industry knowledge, along with additional skills gained during their career breaks.
RNZ News
02-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
The disruptor that's sent diamond prices tumbling
Lab-grown diamonds, indistinguishable from mined diamonds, are flooding onto the market, at a tenth of the price of those that came out of the earth. Photo: Alexia Russell Diamonds are having a pearls moment. Once upon a time pearls were the world's most valuable jewellery item - their extreme rarity making them the way to display wealth to the world. But in the early 1900s Japanese pearl famers worked out how to culture them and for the first time, a string of round pearls became affordable and obtainable. Now, lab-grown diamonds, indistinguishable from mined diamonds, are flooding onto the market at a tenth of the price of those that came out of the earth. But before you rush out to buy a ring that will give you more bang for your buck, think again - the price of yellow gold has risen so much that if you want your sparkler set in a gold band, it could well have cancelled out your savings. "We've had big movements in diamond prices, in both mined and lab diamonds, over the past five years," says Newsroom senior business reporter Alice Peacock. "A lot of jewellers, a lot of retailers have been getting into the lab space, and manufacturing of lab diamonds has increased a lot over the last decade. They've been around for a few decades but have really taken off in popularity over the last 10 years. "There's a bit of confused terminology around what lab diamonds are, but they are real diamonds. The chemical and the physical makeup of them is exactly the same. Essentially you can't tell the difference. I think people have different ideas about the ethics of them, but again that's a bit of a murky area." The split between customers who want a lab or a mined diamond varies greatly between outlets, but Peacock says Michael Hill Jeweller told her it's still lower than 50 percent. In its Canadian and Australian stores however, the demand is higher. In the US demand is soaring. Zoë and Morgan is a bespoke jeweller in Auckland. If you look at the company's website you will see side by side two rings, a two-carat lab diamond for $6,000, and a mined diamond of 1.01 carats for $16,700. Zoë Williams is the co-owner of Zoë and Morgan, a bespoke jeweller in Auckland Photo: Alexia Russell Zoë Williams is the co-owner and says at the moment more than half of her customers are opting for a lab-grown diamond - but it's a really changeable situation. She tells The Detail that many customers come in who don't know what lab diamonds are, or who think they're fake. "It's been fun just to be able to chat about the different processes ... obviously the way diamonds have been extracted through history is really horrible." However, the increasing popularity of lab diamonds has forced the "natural" diamond industry to improve its game, with more ethical operations and giving back to the communities they're taken from. Williams explains how jewellers can trace the origins of mined stones using the code each one comes with. "In modern times, all of those mining processes have had to become much more ethically-minded to come up to speed with how we should be treating our humans in the world. "And that's a fantastic thing. That's what I personally quite like about the lab diamonds coming onto the market, is it's .... caused the other side of the industry to really tidy up their act and to really become a lot more responsible. And within all of these things there's pros and cons ... but I do feel like we've made some great advances in the last few years." But lab-grown diamonds aren't spotless when it comes to sustainability - it takes an immense amount of energy to make them and there are nasty chemicals involved. Williams says the diamond market is also no longer just about engagement rings, but people are buying them to mark special moments in their lives - from the 21-year-old who's celebrating getting a job, to someone who's not waiting for someone to give them a diamond, to those who've made it to 40 and are happy with where they are in life. They might not be quite the investment they used to be sold as, but Williams questions if that really matters. "Sometimes I like the idea that it doesn't stand up financially, but it holds an incredible story and it holds a lot of personal value, and I think that's really important as well." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
RNZ News
02-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
The disruptor that's sent diamond price tumbling
Lab-grown diamonds, indistinguishable from mined diamonds, are flooding onto the market, at a tenth of the price of those that came out of the earth. Photo: Alexia Russell Diamonds are having a pearls moment. Once upon a time pearls were the world's most valuable jewellery item - their extreme rarity making them the way to display wealth to the world. But in the early 1900s Japanese pearl famers worked out how to culture them and for the first time, a string of round pearls became affordable and obtainable. Now, lab-grown diamonds, indistinguishable from mined diamonds, are flooding onto the market at a tenth of the price of those that came out of the earth. But before you rush out to buy a ring that will give you more bang for your buck, think again - the price of yellow gold has risen so much that if you want your sparkler set in a gold band, it could well have cancelled out your savings. "We've had big movements in diamond prices, in both mined and lab diamonds, over the past five years," says Newsroom senior business reporter Alice Peacock. "A lot of jewellers, a lot of retailers have been getting into the lab space, and manufacturing of lab diamonds has increased a lot over the last decade. They've been around for a few decades but have really taken off in popularity over the last 10 years. "There's a bit of confused terminology around what lab diamonds are, but they are real diamonds. The chemical and the physical makeup of them is exactly the same. Essentially you can't tell the difference. I think people have different ideas about the ethics of them, but again that's a bit of a murky area." The split between customers who want a lab or a mined diamond varies greatly between outlets, but Peacock says Michael Hill Jeweller told her it's still lower than 50 percent. In its Canadian and Australian stores however, the demand is higher. In the US demand is soaring. Zoë and Morgan is a bespoke jeweller in Auckland. If you look at the company's website you will see side by side two rings, a two-carat lab diamond for $6,000, and a mined diamond of 1.01 carats for $16,700. Zoë Williams is the co-owner of Zoë and Morgan, a bespoke jeweller in Auckland Photo: Alexia Russell Zoë Williams is the co-owner and says at the moment more than half of her customers are opting for a lab-grown diamond - but it's a really changeable situation. She tells The Detail that many customers come in who don't know what lab diamonds are, or who think they're fake. "It's been fun just to be able to chat about the different processes ... obviously the way diamonds have been extracted through history is really horrible." However, the increasing popularity of lab diamonds has forced the "natural" diamond industry to improve its game, with more ethical operations and giving back to the communities they're taken from. Williams explains how jewellers can trace the origins of mined stones using the code each one comes with. "In modern times, all of those mining processes have had to become much more ethically-minded to come up to speed with how we should be treating our humans in the world. "And that's a fantastic thing. That's what I personally quite like about the lab diamonds coming onto the market, is it's .... caused the other side of the industry to really tidy up their act and to really become a lot more responsible. And within all of these things there's pros and cons ... but I do feel like we've made some great advances in the last few years." But lab-grown diamonds aren't spotless when it comes to sustainability - it takes an immense amount of energy to make them and there are nasty chemicals involved. Williams says the diamond market is also no longer just about engagement rings, but people are buying them to mark special moments in their lives - from the 21-year-old who's celebrating getting a job, to someone who's not waiting for someone to give them a diamond, to those who've made it to 40 and are happy with where they are in life. They might not be quite the investment they used to be sold as, but Williams questions if that really matters. "Sometimes I like the idea that it doesn't stand up financially, but it holds an incredible story and it holds a lot of personal value, and I think that's really important as well." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
Newsroom
02-06-2025
- Business
- Newsroom
Diamonds and their pearls moment
Diamonds are having a pearls moment. Once upon a time pearls were the world's most valuable jewellery item – their extreme rarity making them the way to display wealth to the world. But in the early 1900s Japanese pearl famers worked out how to culture them and for the first time, a string of round pearls became affordable and obtainable. Now, lab-grown diamonds, indistinguishable from mined diamonds, are flooding onto the market, at a tenth of the price of those that came out of the earth. But before you rush out to buy a ring that will give you more bang for your buck, think again – the price of yellow gold has risen so much that if you want your sparkler set in a gold band, it could well have cancelled out your savings. 'We've had big movements in diamond prices, in both mined and lab diamonds, over the past five years,' says Newsroom business reporter Alice Peacock. 'A lot of jewellers, a lot of retailers have been getting into the lab space, and manufacturing of lab diamonds has increased a lot over the past decade. They've been around for a few decades but have really taken off in popularity over the last 10 years. 'There's a bit of confused terminology around what lab diamonds are, but they are real diamonds. The chemical and the physical makeup of them is exactly the same. Essentially you can't tell the difference. I think people have different ideas about the ethics of them, but again that's a bit of a murky area.' The split between customers who want a lab or a mined diamond varies greatly between outlets, but Peacock says Michael Hill Jeweller told her it's still lower than 50 percent. In its Canadian and Australian stores however, the demand is higher. In the US demand is soaring. Zoë and Morgan is a bespoke jeweller in Auckland. If you look at the company's website you will see side by side two rings, a two-carat lab diamond for $6,000, and a mined diamond of 1.01 carats for $16,700. Zoë Williams is the co-owner of Zoë and Morgan, a bespoke jeweller in Auckland. Photo: Alexia Russell Zoë Williams is the co-owner, and says at the moment more than half of her customers are opting for a lab-grown diamond – but it's a really changeable situation. She tells The Detail that many customers come in who don't know what lab diamonds are, or who think they're fake. 'It's been fun just to be able to chat about the different processes … obviously the way diamonds have been extracted through history is really horrible.' However the increasing popularity of lab diamonds has forced the 'natural' diamond industry to improve their game, with more ethical operations, and giving back to the communities they're taken from. Williams explains how jewellers can trace the origins of mined stones using the code each one comes with. 'In modern times, all of those mining processes have had to become much more ethically minded to come up to speed with how we should be treating our humans in the world. 'And that's a fantastic thing. That's what I personally quite like about the lab diamonds coming onto the market, is it's …. caused the other side of the industry to really tidy up their act and to really become a lot more responsible. And within all of these things there's pros and cons … but I do feel like we've made some great advances in the last few years.' But lab-grown diamonds aren't spotless when it comes to sustainability – it takes an immense amount of energy to make them and there are nasty chemicals involved. Williams says the diamond market is also no longer just about engagement rings, but people are buying them to mark special moments in their lives – from the 21-year-old who's celebrating getting a job, to someone who's not waiting for someone to give them a diamond, to those who've made it to 40 and are happy with where they are in life. They might not be quite the investment they used to be sold as, but Williams questions if that really matters. 'Sometimes I like the idea that it doesn't stand up financially, but it holds an incredible story, and it holds a lot of personal value, and I think that's really important as well.' Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here. You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
