The Career Break That Changed Everything

She walked back into the workforce after five years at home, marched into Merrill Lynch without a client list, and proposed the following deal: If I'm successful, you pay me. If I'm not, you don't. They gave her the job. Evonne Tan is a wealth management professional who now advises some of Asia's wealthiest families. She spent 27 years in finance across multiple countries, including a 5-year career break to raise her children, returning with a demotion. In this conversation with Uma and Jingjin, she unpacks everything nobody tells you about stepping away and coming back: why demanding a guaranteed return keeps you trapped, why "you can have it all" just needs a time qualifier, and why what goes on your life CV matters as much as your career CV. In This Episode 00:00 | Does the System Really Allow Women to Pause? 02:23 | From Deutsche Bank VP to Starting Over in Wealth Management 04:29 | Why Accepting a Demotion Is Actually a Power Move 04:58 | You Can Have It All — Just Not at the Same Time 09:23 | Finding Your North Star When You Don't Have Clarity 13:05 | "Pay Me Nothing — I'm Variable Cost": The Merrill Lynch Pitch 14:39 | Cultural Expectations and the Courage to Defy Them 17:16 | Enjoy the Flowers on the Road — Evonne's Philosophy of Life 20:51 | "I Have Two Hands, Two Feet, a Degree — I'll Be Fine" 23:35 | The Life CV: How to Reframe a Career Gap on Your Resume 27:59 | The Double Guilt of Working Mothers 30:12 | How the Break Transformed Evonne — She Left a Girl, Came Back Wiser 31:04 | Supportive Spouse, Finances, and Acknowledging Privilege 35:32 | "It's Our Money" — Financial Agency During a Career Break 37:57 | Invest in Yourself — The One Thing Nobody Can Take Away 38:59 | Energy Management and Compartmentalizing Your Brain Evonne is a senior wealth management professional based in Singapore who advises some of Asia's most prominent families. She spent 17 years building her career in financial markets — including heading the FX desk at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong — before taking a 5-year career break to raise her children. She re-entered the workforce in a deliberate pivot to wealth management, accepting a demotion to associate director to build a new client base from scratch. In 2021, Business Times named her one of the most prominent hires when Barclays Private Bank returned to Singapore. She is a mentor at FWA (Financial Women's Association). Evonne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evonne-tan-27a8663b Raw With Uma Do you feel like you're working harder than everyone around you but still getting overlooked for the opportunities you deserve? Take the free Discover Your 2026 Visibility Stage assessment and find out what's actually standing between you and being seen. → https://form.jotform.com/252218729975470 Follow RAW with Uma: 📱 On Instagram → https://instagram.com/rawwithuma Follow Elevate Asia: 📱 On Instagram → https://instagram.com/elevateasiaorg 💻 On LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevateasia Follow Uma Thana & Jingjin Liu: 📱 Follow Uma on Instagram → https://instagram.com/uma__raw 💻 Connect with Uma on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/umathana 📱 Follow Jingjin on Instagram → https://instagram.com/jingjin_liu 💻 Connect with Jingjin on LinkedIn → www.linkedin.com/in/jingjin-liu Listen on: 🎧 Apple Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-with-uma/id1821559768 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1R7vwGXeHLcJLsX8HjOX4e Share this episode with a woman who’s struggling with decisions around a career break. And if you have your own story about navigating motherhood, health, or identity in the workplace, drop it in the comments. Please subscribe and leave a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #careerbreak, #RawWithUma, #womeninfinance, #worklifebalance, #MerrillLynch, #FWASingapore, #womenentrepreneurship, #Elevatewomen