Reframing Career Breaks: Empowering Moms to Reclaim Their Careers and Confidence

NATIONWIDE - JANUARY 2026 - (USAnews.com) It’s a familiar story: you take time off from your career to focus on family, and suddenly, re-entering the workforce feels like a mountain you can’t climb. Many women, especially mothers, feel the sting of judgment when they try to return to work after a career break. They feel like they’re at a disadvantage, with a resume gap that often feels like a scarlet letter. But what if the real issue isn’t the break, but how we view it?

For Barbara Joyce ter Horst, Founder of Thrive. Career Development, this question isn’t just theoretical. After years of coaching women in career strategy and personally navigating the challenges of returning to work after becoming a mother, she discovered a painful truth: traditional career advice often doesn’t work for mothers. It overlooks the resilience, leadership, and adaptability that women build during their caregiving years. And it assumes that a career break means a loss of ambition, skill, and potential, something Barbara Joyce firmly believes is false.

Barbara Joyce's mission with Thrive. Career Development is to change that narrative. Thrive. isn’t just another career coaching service; it’s a human-centered approach to helping mothers re-enter the workforce with the clarity and confidence they deserve.

Breaking the Mold: Understanding the Hidden Power of Career Breaks

Career breaks are often seen as an interruption, something that derails professional growth. But Barbara Joyce sees it differently. “Motherhood doesn’t shrink ambition; it refines it,” she says, offering a fresh perspective that reframes the traditional view of career breaks.

Instead of positioning career breaks as something to apologize for, Barbara Joyce encourages women to recognize the leadership and life skills they’ve developed during their time away. These skills, decision-making, adaptability, emotional intelligence, are often overlooked by hiring managers, but they are invaluable in the workplace.

“Motherhood is a leadership training ground,” Barbara Joyce explains. “It teaches you how to manage competing priorities, make tough decisions on the fly, and stay resilient in the face of challenges. These are exactly the skills employers are looking for.”

This approach is at the core of Thrive.’s work: helping women see their breaks not as gaps, but as assets. By reframing their experience, Thrive. helps women articulate their value clearly and confidently, ensuring that they no longer feel the need to apologize for their career break.

The Confidence Gap: How the System Undermines Women

The confidence of many mothers erodes when they step away from work to focus on caregiving. Barbara Joyce sees this firsthand in her work with clients. This erosion isn’t about a lack of ability or ambition; it’s about how the system fails to recognize the full value of women’s experiences.

Barbara Joyce knows this well because she’s been there. As a mother herself, she understands the challenges women face when they return to work. “The problem isn’t that moms lost their edge,” Barbara Joyce says. “It’s that hiring systems stopped recognizing it.” Traditional hiring processes, which often focus on optimizing resumes and filling perceived “gaps,” miss the bigger picture: mothers are bringing back invaluable skills and experiences that will make them stronger, more effective employees.

At Thrive., Barbara Joyce’s coaching isn’t just about getting a job; it’s about rebuilding a woman’s confidence, understanding her worth, and preparing her to step into the workforce with clarity. Thrive.’s approach integrates emotional intelligence with strategic career planning, helping mothers articulate their strengths without feeling like they’re “explaining away” their break.

Building a Career Path That Fits Real Life

What sets Thrive. Career Development apart from other coaching services is its ability to meet women where they are. Thrive. doesn’t ask mothers to conform to the hustle culture or perfectionist standards of the corporate world. Instead, Barbara Joyce offers a coaching experience grounded in the reality of motherhood, where time is limited, mental load is high, and priorities constantly shift.

The key here is compassion and understanding. Thrive. works with women to build a career strategy that fits their real life, not one that pressures them into “bouncing back” or “getting back to normal.” The goal isn’t to fit into a mold but to create a new, sustainable path that honors both their career ambitions and the reality of being a mother.

Barbara Joyce’s approach is warm, grounded, and, above all, respectful of the lived experiences of motherhood. Her own experience of returning to work after having a child has made her uniquely qualified to support other mothers who are navigating similar transitions. She doesn’t just talk the talk, she’s walked the walk herself.

A Resource for Every Mother

Barbara Joyce’s ultimate goal with Thrive. is to make sure no mother feels alone in her career journey. Many mothers feel isolated and unsure about how to return to the workforce. Thrive.’s approach offers not just guidance, but a sense of community and support.

For those ready to take the first step, Barbara offers a free, gentle 3-step guide for moms navigating their career transition. This guide isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution; it’s a resource designed to help women begin their journey with clear, actionable steps. It’s not a hard sell; it’s simply there as a supportive tool for those who resonate with Thrive.’s mission.

If you’re a mother looking to re-enter the workforce, Barbara Joyce invites you to connect with her on LinkedIn to continue the conversation. Thrive. Career Development is more than a business; it’s a community dedicated to empowering mothers to feel seen, understood, and confident as they navigate the path to career success. And Barbara Joyce’s coaching approach ensures that every woman who comes through Thrive. is equipped not just with strategies, but with the confidence to create a career that truly works for her.

For more information or to download the free 3-step guide, visit Thrive Career Development. Connect with Barbara Joyce on LinkedIn here to continue the conversation and learn more about how Thrive. can support you.