Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Career Gap Helped One Parent Return as a Corporate Trainer
Transcript
- Lucas: Melissa Soriano spent eight years at home with her three kids. When she decided to return to work, she assumed her corporate training background was outdated — and honestly, so did a lot of hiring managers she talked to at first. Luna: So what changed? Did she retrain completely or find a way to reframe her experience? Lucas: She did something pretty clever. Instead of applying to full-time jobs right away, she took a three-month contract as a volunteer trainer at a local nonprofit. The gig paid zero dollars, but it gave her a current project to put on her resume — and a story to tell in interviews. Luna: A volunteer project as a bridge back — I like that. It's low risk, builds confidence, and you get a reference from someone who isn't family. Lucas: Exactly. And it worked. That one project led to a full-time instructional design role at a Fortune 500 company — she designs e-learning modules for a team of about 2,000 employees. And she negotiated a schedule that lets her pick up her kids from school every day. Luna: That's a huge win. I want to unpack how she actually pulled that off. What was her background before the gap? Lucas: Melissa spent about six years as an in-house trainer at a regional bank before her first child was born. She built training programs for new hires and ran workshops on compliance and soft skills. Standard stuff, but solid. Then she stepped away completely for eight years. Luna: Eight years is a long time in corporate learning. The tools alone have changed — I'm thinking about learning management systems, authoring tools like Articulate Storyline, that kind of thing. Lucas: She knew that. So when she started thinking about re-entry, she spent about two weeks taking free online tutorials on Storyline and a couple of other tools. She didn't try to master everything — just enough to create a simple sample module she could show. Luna: That sample became her portfolio piece, I assume. Did she use the volunteer project to create it? Lucas: Yes. She offered to design a short onboarding module for the nonprofit's new volunteers. It took her maybe 30 hours over a month. She used that module in every job application and interview as proof that she was current. She didn't just say 'I used to do this' — she showed it. Luna: There's a big lesson there. A lot of returners focus on explaining the gap, but Melissa flipped the script: she led with a recent concrete example. Lucas: Right. And she was strategic about where she applied. She targeted companies that had formal return to work programs or had publicly stated they were open to career break candidates. She found a list compiled by a site called iRelaunch and cross-referenced it with LinkedIn. Luna: So she did her homework. How did the actual interview process go? Was there a moment where the gap came up? Lucas: It came up in every single interview. She told me she stopped trying to hide it or apologize for it. Instead, she framed it as a period where she honed project management, patience, and the ability to explain complex things simply — which are all core training skills. She'd say, 'I've been managing a small team of three kids for eight years. I can handle a classroom of adults.' Luna: That's a great reframe. I think a lot of parents worry that talking about parenting will sound unprofessional, but she made it relevant. Lucas: Exactly. And the company she ended up at — a large health insurance firm — actually valued that perspective. They told her that trainers who understand adult learning and have real-life experience connecting with different personalities are hard to find. Luna: So the gap became an asset in the end. But I'm curious about the salary negotiation. Did she have to take a cut from where she left off eight years ago? Lucas: She actually took a slight step back in title — she came in as a senior instructional designer, which is one level below where she would have been if she'd stayed in the field. But the total compensation was about fifteen percent higher than her last training role, adjusted for inflation. So she didn't lose ground financially. Luna: And she got flexibility. That's the part I think a lot of listeners will find inspiring — she didn't have to sacrifice being present for her kids to restart her career. Lucas: She negotiated a four-day work week during the interview. She was upfront that she needed to pick up her kids by 3 PM twice a week. The company agreed to let her start earlier those days and work from home. It helped that she had a strong portfolio and a clear vision of what she could deliver. Luna: That's a good reminder that flexibility isn't a handout — it's a trade. She offered value and asked for what she needed in return. Lucas: If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these conversations going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Luna: Yeah, it really makes a difference. And we keep the show ad-free because of that support. Lucas: Alright, back to Melissa. One thing I found striking is how much the landscape has shifted in the past few years. Employers are more open to returners than they were even five years ago. Luna: Do you have numbers on that? I know some big companies have return to work programs, but is it a real trend or just PR? Lucas: There's real data. A 2025 study from the Society for Human Resource Management found that about 38 percent of large companies now have formal programs or informal policies to recruit people with career gaps — up from about 22 percent in 2020. And the number one reason cited was talent shortage. Luna: So necessity is driving openness. Makes sense. When the labor market is tight, employers stop filtering out candidates with gaps. Lucas: Exactly. And Melissa benefitted from that timing. She started her job search in late 2025, when the unemployment rate was around 3.8 percent. Companies were desperate for experienced hires who didn't need six months of ramp-up time. Luna: What about the skills piece? Did she have to learn anything beyond Storyline to stay competitive? Lucas: She took a free course on adult learning theory from a site called Coursera — just to refresh her memory on things like Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation. She also brushed up on basic data analysis because her new role requires measuring training effectiveness through completion rates and quiz scores. Luna: So she didn't go back for a degree or certification. She did targeted, low-cost upskilling. Lucas: Right. The total cost of her re-entry was essentially zero — the Coursera audit was free, the Storyline trial was free for 30 days, and the volunteer gig cost her time but no money. She spent about 80 hours total on prep before she started applying. Luna: That's a good benchmark for listeners. About two weeks of focused effort to get current, then start networking. Lucas: And networking was actually her biggest challenge. She told me that after eight years, most of her old contacts had moved on or were at different companies. She had to rebuild from scratch. Luna: How did she approach that? Cold LinkedIn messages? Lucas: Not exactly. She joined a local chapter of the Association for Talent Development, the main professional group for trainers. She went to one in-person event and introduced herself to three people. One of those connections eventually referred her to the hiring manager at the insurance company. Luna: So one event, three conversations — that was enough to open a door. Lucas: It was. But she didn't rely on that alone. She also reached out to former colleagues on LinkedIn, not asking for jobs, but asking for fifteen-minute informational interviews to learn about their current roles. That led to two other interviews, though neither worked out. Luna: Still, it built momentum. I think a lot of returners feel paralyzed by the idea of networking after a long break, but Melissa's approach is very low-pressure. Lucas: Low pressure and high specificity. She didn't send generic connection requests. She'd say something like, 'I'm returning to training after a break and I'd love to hear how your team uses data to measure learning impact.' That's a conversation starter, not a favor request. Luna: Okay, so let's zoom out. What's the one piece of advice Melissa would give to someone listening who's in the same boat? Lucas: She said: 'Don't wait until you feel ready. Pick one small project you can finish in a month — volunteer, freelance, even for a friend's small business — and use it to prove to yourself that you still have the skills. Then apply to ten jobs immediately, before you overthink it.' Luna: That's actionable. And it sidesteps the confidence trap — you don't need to feel ready, you just need to start. Lucas: Melissa has now been in her role for about six months. She told me the first three months were tough — she had to relearn company culture and the pace of corporate life. But she says the second three months felt natural. She's already led a company-wide training on a new compliance system. Luna: That's great. And she's doing it on her own terms. Four days a week, picks up kids, meaningful work. Lucas: It's a reminder that a career gap is not a permanent stain. If you're strategic about how you re-enter, it can actually be a differentiator. Employers increasingly value people who have perspective beyond the office. Luna: I think that's a hopeful note to end on. For anyone listening who's thinking about going back, Melissa's story shows it's possible without starting over from scratch. Lucas: Next week we'll talk to a former stay-at-home dad who returned as a supply chain manager after a six-year gap. Different industry, same kind of strategy. See you then.