I spent months interviewing people who took career breaks. This is what stayed with me.

Over the past four months, I’ve spent hours interviewing people who were brave enough to take a career break.

I wanted to know if and how they overcame the many obstacles career returners face when we try to crack the labor market. It’s all built up to the series My big breakwhich told a wide range of stories, from leaving to care for a child with autism, caring for parents until their last breath, and moving to another country with family and leaving a job behind.

As someone who isn’t planning a career break anytime soon, One thing I didn’t expect was that I would learn so much from the people who shared their stories with me. Although their journeys were not always smooth, I found it comforting to see how they adapted, found ways to advance in their careers, and learned lessons that shaped their character.

Here are three lessons I learned.

1. Your network can help you make a career comeback

During my fantasy-free career break, I would be offline as much as possible and unplug. But the more interviews I did, the more I noticed how big a difference it can make if you stay in touch with your network during a comeback.

When Nicki Schroeder, a British media lawyer, tried to re-enter her industry after a decade, her contacts helped her get back on track, meaning she was prepared. successful job interview. The same contacts then provided her with a list of important precedents set when she was no longer in the workforce.

Talking to Schroeder made me think about how important help from people you know and trust can be, especially if you’re feeling a little rusty after taking time off.

In the case of Ramya Ramesh, a semiconductor professional who feared she would never get another job after a six-year career break, her former colleagues encouraged her to request an opportunity in her old department. Meanwhile, Adam Stewart, an ex-Googler who took an eight-month hiatus, said he turned to former colleagues for advice on his next steps, while also making new connections.

2. A career break is an opportunity to open yourself up to new things

Not all the people I spoke to returned to their original industry. Mounika Chinnam and Natasya Pawanteh both felt that it would be challenging to re-enter their industry after a long absence.

The tech industry had changed significantly during Chinnam’s seven-year hiatus, so she was open to non-technical jobs. Become an intern working for a digital marketing company at the age of 31 with colleagues younger than her felt a little strange, but it allowed her to land a full-time job in a new industry.

Pawanteh thought it would be an uphill battle to get someone in geology to give her a chance after a gap of seven years. She tried volunteering, which led to her transition to nonprofit work.

Seeing how happy Pawanteh and Chinnam seemed in their new industries, which they might not have gotten into had they not taken a career break, made me think about the value of trying new things and keeping an open mind.

I felt similarly inspired when I met Glenn Stephenson, who was taking a break from his ‘safe’ life. career at PwC experimenting with his own business. I like to think of myself as someone who is open to new things, but seeing someone take such a big leap makes me wonder how far I would go to explore an idea or passion.

3. Sacrifice can be character building

I’m still at a relatively early stage in my career and my friends and I often debate whether we want to take a break from work when we have children. I never really knew how to answer, partly because my parents worked while I was growing up.

Meeting people like Schroeder and Pawanteh, who took a step back become caregiversgave me insight into the costs and sacrifices associated with taking a break from a fruitful career to invest in someone else.

When I heard about the energy and effort they put into it, I felt challenged by how good as having a fulfilling job is, our collective focus on climbing the corporate ladders, getting promoted and racking up likes on LinkedIn can make us quite self-centered. It’s something Pawanteh captured well when she talked about why she decided not to return to her geology career.

To quote from her essay: “I loved geology since I was 16, but I realized I had a selfish view of life, all about me, me, me. Caring for my parents made me realize what it was like to be present for another human being.”

Her story in particular made me hope that if there came a time when a loved one needed me, I would have the love and selflessness necessary to put my career aside for them.

As Pawanteh said of her parents in her essay, “It was a privilege to care for them until the end of their lives, and I think that will be the greatest achievement of my life.”

You can read all the stories mentioned in Business Insider’s series here, My big break.