The Return Desk

Women going back to work after years away

Nurul Hashim2 episodes2 min of audio48 playsEpisodic

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S1 · E2Jan 13, 20261:0529 plays Preview

Nine Years Away from Engineering

Penang engineer Mei Ling Tan went back to a structural firm after nine years at home. She describes relearning software, working under a younger manager, and her first site visit.

S1 · E1Dec 29, 20251:0519 plays Members

Six Years on the CV

Nurul explains how she wrote the gap on her CV, what she said in interviews about her children, and the one line that finally got her shortlisted.

About the show

The Return Desk is a weekly show for women heading back into paid work after a long break for children, caring, illness or a move across the world. Nurul Hashim, a Kuala Lumpur HR manager who returned to full-time work after six years at home with three children, mixes solo episodes with interviews. Guests include a Penang engineer who went back after nine years, a Johor nurse who re-registered at 47, and a Sabah accountant who started over in a different field. The conversations cover the practical things people are too polite to explain: the gap on the CV, interviews that ask about your children, negotiating hours, childcare mathematics, and the unexpected grief of leaving the house. Each episode runs about 30 minutes and ends with a single action for the week. The show is honest about what is hard and specific about what helps.

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