Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How to Use Volunteer Roles to Bridge a Career Gap
Transcript
- Lucas: So here's a question I hear all the time from people returning after a gap: 'What do I do if I have no recent paid experience but I've been volunteering?' The answer is — you're probably sitting on a stronger resume than you think. Luna: I love that, because a lot of people dismiss volunteer work as 'not real work' when it often ticks the same boxes hiring managers care about. Lucas: Exactly. And there's actually new data on this. A LinkedIn survey from late 2025 found that 63 percent of hiring managers say they consider volunteer experience equivalent to paid work when evaluating candidates with career gaps. That's a huge number. Luna: Sixty-three percent — so almost two out of three managers are willing to count it. But I bet there's a catch, like it depends on the type of volunteer role. Lucas: There is a catch. And it's not just any volunteer role. Walking dogs at the shelter is wonderful and necessary, but it's not going to close a marketing gap. What matters is how closely the volunteer role mirrors the skills a hiring manager is looking for. Luna: So skills-based volunteering. Give me an example of what that looks like in practice. Lucas: Sure. Let's take a former marketing manager named Priya. She stepped away from full-time work for four years to raise two kids. When she wanted to return, she had a blank spot on her resume from 2022 to 2026. Instead of just taking an online course, she joined the board of a local food bank and took over their marketing committee. Luna: That's smart — she's not just volunteering, she's leading. Lucas: Right. She ran their social media, redesigned their donation landing page, and managed a team of three other volunteers for a fundraising gala. That's campaign management, team leadership, and digital strategy — all in a volunteer context. When she later applied for a marketing director role, she led her interview with that story. Luna: And she got the job? Lucas: She did. The hiring manager told her afterward that the board role convinced them she was current. They didn't see a four-year gap — they saw someone who chose to apply her skills meaningfully during that time. Luna: So what are the kinds of volunteer roles that carry the most weight? Board service is one, but not everyone can get a board seat right away. Lucas: True. Board seats are great, but they're not the only option. Event committees — like a fund-raising gala or a charity run — give you project management experience. Pro-bono consulting through organizations like Catchafire or Taproot can match you with specific projects that use your professional skills. Even a regular volunteer role, if you take on added responsibility like training new volunteers, shows leadership. Luna: And what about the resume itself? How do you frame volunteer work so it doesn't look like a hobby? Lucas: You list it under 'Professional Experience' or a section called 'Leadership & Community Impact.' Use the same format as a job: organization name, your title — like 'Marketing Committee Chair' — dates, and bullet points with metrics. For Priya, her bullets included things like 'increased social media engagement by 40 percent over six months' and 'recruited and managed a team of three volunteers to execute a gala that raised $50,000.' Luna: The metrics are key. Without numbers, it's just an activity. With numbers, it's proof. Lucas: And the numbers don't have to be huge. A 40 percent increase on a small base is still a 40 percent increase. The fact that you measured it at all shows you approached it professionally. Luna: Let me push back a little though. What if someone's gap is really long — like seven or eight years — and they've been volunteering at their kid's school? That's not the same as a marketing committee role. Lucas: No, it's not. But you can still extract relevant skills. If you organized the school's annual book fair, you did event planning, vendor coordination, budget management, and volunteer scheduling. Those are transferable skills. The trick is to frame them in business language, not parent language. Luna: So instead of 'I ran the bake sale,' you say 'I managed a team of 12 volunteers to execute a community event with a $5,000 budget.' Lucas: Exactly. And if you're worried about the length of the gap, you can also consider taking on a volunteer role with a more formal structure. Some organizations even have 'virtual volunteer' positions that let you work remotely on marketing, grant writing, or data analysis. Luna: I want to talk about one more thing: the interview. How do you tell the story of volunteer work so it doesn't sound like you're making excuses for the gap? Lucas: Confidence is everything. You don't apologize. You lead with the volunteer experience as a choice, not a consolation. Say something like: 'During my time away from full-time work, I stayed actively engaged in my field through a board role where I led marketing strategy for a nonprofit. Let me tell you about a campaign I ran there.' Luna: That's a complete shift in framing. You're not explaining a gap — you're presenting a different kind of professional chapter. Lucas: Right. And if the interviewer asks directly about the gap, you keep it brief: 'I took a few years to focus on family. But I stayed current through volunteer work, and I'm excited to bring that energy back to a full-time role.' Then pivot immediately to your skills. Luna: One more concern: burnout. Volunteering can become its own full-time job. How do you know when you've done enough and it's time to focus on the job search? Lucas: Good question. I'd say set a time limit from the start. Give yourself three to six months of active volunteering while you job search. Once you have a solid story and a few concrete wins, start pulling back. You don't want to be so busy volunteering that you have no time to apply for jobs or prepare for interviews. Luna: And if you land something, you can transition out gracefully — give the nonprofit a month's notice, train a successor, leave on great terms. Lucas: Exactly. And that itself becomes another bullet point: 'Successfully onboarded a replacement and ensured continuity of marketing operations.' Luna: Okay, I think we've given people a really practical roadmap. Before we wrap, Lucas — I want to say something to anyone who found this episode useful. Lucas: Go ahead. Luna: If today's conversation helped you think differently about how to bridge your gap, that's exactly why we make this show. And the reason we can keep these episodes ad-free is listener support. So if you've gotten value, consider buying us a coffee — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It genuinely helps us keep going. Lucas: And it makes a real difference. We don't have a big network behind us — just the people who tune in. So thank you to anyone who's already done that. Luna: Alright, back to the topic. One final thought: volunteer work isn't a consolation prize. It's a strategic move. The key is to choose the right role, frame it professionally, and know when to shift from volunteering to applying. Lucas: And if you're listening and you've been volunteering but not seeing traction, maybe the issue isn't the volunteer work itself — it's how you're telling the story. Take an hour this week to rewrite your resume bullets. I think you'll be surprised at how much stronger you look on paper. Luna: Good advice. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. That's it for this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast. We'll be back with another angle on navigating career transitions.