For too long, gaps in resumes have been a red flag for recruiters. But what if this outdated bias is costing you your best hires? In today's world, where everyone's constantly reskilling and skills become obsolete within months, penalizing career breaks makes absolutely no sense. This red flag mentality drives ageism and automatically screens out experienced professionals. Organizations clinging to "recent experience" requirements are handing their competitors access to mature talent bringing fresh perspectives, proven loyalty, and decades of expertise.

So how can forward-thinking employers flip this nonsensical bias into strategic advantage by recognizing that career breaks often create stronger professionals, not weaker ones?

My guest this week is Hazel Little, CEO at Career Returners. Hazel exposes the real cost of resume gap discrimination and shares proven strategies for building returner programs that deliver business results. In our conversation, she reveals why the red flag mentality around career breaks belongs in recruiting's past.

In the interview, we discuss:

What is a career returner?

What are the common issues returners face

The human impact of bias

What drives career gap bias?

Incorrect perceptions, false assumptions, and outdated approaches to hiring

The significant advantages of tapping into the returner talent pool

The significance of the decreasing shelf life of skills

Advice to employers

What might the future look like?

Recruiting Future helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.

If you're interested in finding out how your TA function measures up in these four critical areas, I've created the free FITT for the Future Assessment. It'll give you personalised insights to help you build strategic clarity and drive greater impact immediately.

Just head to mattalder.me/podcast to complete the assessment—it only takes a few minutes.

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