Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Stay-at-Home Parent Returned as a UX Researcher
Transcript
- Lucas: So Maya Chen spent six years at home with her twins, and when she went back to work, she didn't return to her old marketing job. She became a UX researcher at a fintech company. And the way she did it is actually a masterclass in packaging a career gap. Luna: I love that. Because so many returners think they need to explain away the gap, but she clearly did the opposite. Lucas: Exactly. And the first thing she did was reframe her parenting years not as a blank space, but as a period of intense, on-the-job training. She ran a household on a budget, mediated disputes, planned complex schedules. Sound familiar? That's project management, conflict resolution, and logistics. Luna: But how does that translate specifically to UX research? I mean, that's a pretty specialized field. Lucas: That's the key. She didn't just say 'I'm good with people.' She got concrete. She started by listening to her kids and their friends. She'd run what she called 'kitchen table interviews' — asking them about their favorite apps, what frustrated them, how they'd improve them. She treated it like a research project, taking notes, looking for patterns. Luna: So she was actually practicing the core skill of UX research — conducting interviews and synthesizing findings — just in a different setting. Lucas: Right. And then she took it a step further. She read a bunch of books on UX methodology. She took a couple of free online courses to learn the vocabulary — think think-aloud protocols, affinity diagrams, usability testing. That gave her the language to describe what she'd been doing informally. Luna: But did she have a portfolio? Because that's usually the hurdle for career changers. Lucas: That's where she got clever. She reached out to a local nonprofit that was rebuilding their website. She offered to do a few user research sessions for free. They were thrilled. She interviewed their clients, tested a prototype, and delivered a report with actionable insights. That became her case study. Luna: So she didn't need a degree or a formal internship. She just needed one real project to show she could do the work. Lucas: Exactly. And she put that case study on a simple portfolio site. She also wrote a blog post about how parenting had sharpened her research instincts. It was personal, but it was also a piece of thought leadership. Recruiters could see she understood the field and had a unique perspective. Luna: I bet that blog post got attention. It's such a different angle than the typical 'I'm passionate about user experience' line. Lucas: It did. She told me that a hiring manager at the fintech company actually mentioned it in her first interview. He said, 'I've never seen anyone frame parenting like that.' It made her memorable. And being memorable is half the battle in a job search. Luna: So what about the interview itself? How did she handle the inevitable question about the gap? Lucas: She didn't apologize for it. She owned it. She said, 'I took six years off to raise my kids, and that experience taught me more about empathy and observing human behavior than any job I've had before.' Then she gave a specific example. She talked about watching how her twins interacted with a kids' app — how one would get frustrated with the navigation, and she realized the buttons were too small for small hands. Luna: That's a perfect UX insight. And it shows she was thinking like a researcher even at home. Lucas: And that's the thing — she wasn't just talking. She had evidence. She showed the notes from her 'kitchen table interviews' as part of her portfolio. That kind of initiative is rare, and it signals to employers that she wasn't just waiting to get back — she was actively building skills. Luna: Now, a lot of our listeners might be thinking, 'That sounds great, but I don't have the time or money for courses.' What did Maya do on that front? Lucas: She didn't spend a dime. She used free resources — YouTube, blog posts, and the public library. She also joined a local UX meetup group. It was free to attend, and she met people who were actually working in the field. She asked questions, learned from their experiences, and eventually one of them became a referral. Luna: So networking was a big part of it. But how did she manage the job search while still being a full-time parent? Lucas: She was strategic. She used her twins' nap time and after-bedtime hours for the search. She set a goal of two hours a day, five days a week. That might not sound like much, but over three months, that's about 120 hours of focused effort. She treated it like a part-time job. Luna: That's a good reminder that you don't need to have a ton of free time to make progress. It's about consistency. Lucas: And she didn't spray her resume everywhere. She targeted about ten companies that she really wanted to work for, and she tailored her application to each one. She researched the product, the team, and the company culture. For her dream company, she even did a small usability test of their mobile app and included her findings as a one-page document in her application. That got her an interview. Luna: That's bold. Did it feel risky? I mean, what if the company had been offended by unsolicited feedback? Lucas: She said she was scared, but she figured the worst they could say was no. And actually, the hiring manager told her later that it was the reason she got the interview. It showed she was already invested in their product. That kind of initiative is hard to ignore. Luna: Now, she got the job, but what about the salary and the schedule? Was she able to negotiate? Lucas: She did. She knew the market rate for a UX researcher in her area, so she asked for a number that was at the midpoint. But more importantly, she negotiated a flexible schedule — she works four days a week, with Wednesdays off for school pickups. That was a win-win, because the company got a motivated researcher, and she got the flexibility she needed. Luna: That's a great example of how returning parents bring a certain pragmatism. They know what they need, and they're often willing to be flexible themselves. Lucas: Exactly. And here's a statistic that backs that up. According to a report from the Center for Work-Life Policy — now called the Center for Talent Innovation — about 93 percent of high-earning women who take a career break want to return to work, but only 74 percent actually manage to do it. And many of them end up underemployed. Maya refused to be one of those statistics. Luna: That's a powerful number. And I think it underscores why stories like Maya's are so important — they show it's possible to come back and find a role that values your skills, not just your past titles. Lucas: And that's really the takeaway for any returner. It's not about erasing the gap; it's about making it work for you. Maya built a bridge from parenting to UX, but the same principles apply to any field — identify the transferable skills, get concrete evidence, and tell a compelling story. Luna: If today's episode gave you a useful framework for your own career comeback, you know what keeps this show ad-free? It's listener support. If you've gotten value from our episodes, consider saying thanks by buying us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small gesture that keeps the lights on here. Lucas: Yeah, we really appreciate it. And honestly, the messages we get from listeners who've used our advice to land a new role are the best part of doing this show. So if you ever want to share your own comeback story, we're all ears. Luna: So, Lucas, for someone listening right now who's in the middle of their own gap, what's the first step they should take tomorrow morning? Lucas: I'd say pick one skill you know you can offer, and find a low-stakes way to practice it. For Maya, that was interviewing her kids. For you, it could be building a simple website for a friend's business, or writing a sample marketing plan. The goal is to have something tangible to show — a proof of work — before you even start applying. Luna: And don't underestimate the power of a well-told story. Maya's blog post was a game-changer. If you can articulate how your time away has actually made you better at what you do, you'll stand out from the crowd. Lucas: That's the takeaway: your gap isn't a hole in your resume, it's a different kind of experience. Own it, translate it, and prove it. That's how you turn a career break into a career springboard.