Returning to work after a career break — the psychology of luck, neuroplasticity, and starting again in midlife.

Julianne Miles knows what it takes to return to work because she's done it herself. After stepping away from marketing when her children were small, she spent over a year asking herself "can I really start again?" — a question many of us will recognise. The answer was yes: she retrained as a psychologist and went on to co-found Career Returners, a social enterprise that has changed how employers and policymakers think about career breaks.

In this episode, Julianne shares the science behind why it's never too late, including the encouraging research on neuroplasticity, work-family enrichment, and the psychology of luck. Her advice? Stop overthinking and start doing.

THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast for women rethinking their careers in midlife. Each season, Patsy sits down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

New episodes every other Tuesday.

ABOUT THE HOST: Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

ABOUT JULIANNE:

Julianne Miles MBE is an occupational psychologist and co-founder of Career Returners, a social impact enterprise and community dedicated to making career breaks a valued part of a lifetime career. A former marketer who retrained as a psychologist after her own career break, she has shaped how employers and policymakers think about return-to-work practices. She brought the concept of "returnships" — pioneered by Goldman Sachs — to the UK, and is the author of Return Journey: How to Get Back to Work and Thrive After a Career Break. She was awarded an MBE for services to career returners.

KEY TOPICS

• The "shall I, shan't I" phase — and how to break the cycle of indecision
• Why confidence comes from action, not from having the perfect plan
• Neuroplasticity: your brain makes new connections at any age — the science says it's never too late
• Work-family enrichment: why going back to work can give you more energy, not less
• The psychology of luck — Richard Wiseman's research on why "lucky" people create their own opportunities
• How Career Returners grew from kitchen table workshops to a national platform
• Navigating recruitment bias against career gaps — and what actually works
• Building your return-to-work support team and the power of community
• Why "every no gets me closer to a yes"

Links

• Julianne's book Return Journey: https://careerreturners.com/return-journey-book/
• Career Returners Professional Community (free or pay-if-you-can): https://community.careerreturners.com/
• The Wobbly Middle on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-wobbly-middle/id1767850643
• The Wobbly Middle on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4YhwsBch8Q9vAOUBBfusIv
• Subscribe to the newsletter: https://thewobblymiddle.substack.com?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=ep23-julianne-miles
• Find out more about The Wobbly Middle: https://thewobblymiddle.substack.com/about?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=ep23-julianne-miles

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS EPISODE

You might also love our Season 3 Episode with Carri Simmons From Teacher's Desk to Psychologist's Sofa with Carri Simmons. Where Julianne shares the science behind career returns, Carri tells the deeply personal story of walking away from teaching, going back to university as a mother of three, and retraining as a psychologist. Together, they're two sides of the same coin: the evidence that it works, and the courage to try.

HELP US GROW

If this episode resonated with you, there are two simple things that make a real difference:

• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it only takes a moment, and it's one of the best ways to help new listeners find the show. Every review counts.
• Share this episode with a friend — if you know someone who might be in their own wobbly middle, send them this one. Sometimes knowing you're not alone is all it takes.

SHARE YOUR STORY

Made a left turn in your career? We'd love to hear about it. Write to Patsy at patsy@thewobblymiddle.com — your story might just be the nudge someone else needs.

This episode was produced by Patsy Day. Studio recording by The Pod Collective.

Thank you for listening and for supporting independent podcasters.