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: So today I want to talk about a career path that I think a lot of returning parents overlook — corporate training. Luna: Huh. I can see why — it doesn't immediately come to mind the way data analysis or project management does. Lucas: Exactly. But it's actually a really strong fit for someone with a teaching background. And we've got a concrete example: a woman named Sarah Mitchell. She was a high school English teacher for eight years, then took seven years off to raise her three kids. When she wanted to go back, she didn't want to return to the classroom. Luna: Right, the classroom schedule is rough. Long hours, grading at home, not much flexibility. Lucas: Yeah. So she started looking at roles where her teaching skills would translate — and corporate training kept coming up. Companies are investing heavily in upskilling right now. According to a LinkedIn report from early this year, the corporate training market is growing at about 8 percent annually. And a lot of that training is done in-house. Luna: So what did Sarah do differently? I imagine her resume said 'high school English teacher' and 'stay-at-home mom' — which can read as a gap. Lucas: Right. But she reframed it. Instead of just listing her teaching experience, she rebranded herself as a 'learning and development professional.' Her resume highlighted curriculum design, assessment creation, and classroom management — which in a corporate context translates to instructional design, evaluation metrics, and facilitation skills. Luna: That's smart. She's not hiding the gap — she's telling a story where the gap is irrelevant because her core competency is still current. Lucas: Exactly. And she targeted mid-sized tech companies — places with maybe 200 to 500 employees that don't have a huge L&D department but still need someone to run onboarding and compliance training. Luna: That's a specific niche. Why tech? Lucas: Two reasons. One, tech companies are more open to nontraditional backgrounds and flexible arrangements. Two, they often need training on soft skills — communication, management, diversity — not just hard technical skills. That plays right into her strengths. Luna: So she applied. What happened? Lucas: She got an interview at a company called CloudBase — it's a SaaS firm with about 300 employees. The hiring manager told her that her demo presentation would be a big part of the decision. She had to prepare a 15-minute training session on a topic of her choice. Luna: That's where a lot of people freeze up. What did she do? Lucas: She practiced with a local Toastmasters club. She'd been a member years ago, so she rejoined and did three practice runs in front of the group, getting feedback each time on pacing, eye contact, and handling questions. By the time she did the actual demo, she was comfortable and polished. Luna: That's a great tip. Toastmasters is cheap — like 50 bucks a year — and you get real audience feedback. Did she get the job? Lucas: She did. But here's the part I find interesting: she didn't just accept the first offer. They offered her a standard 9-to-5 in-office role, and she counteroffered with a four-day workweek, three days remote. And they accepted. Luna: Wow. That's a big ask for someone returning after a long gap. How did she have the confidence to negotiate? Lucas: She framed it as a win-win. She said, 'I can be more productive if I have one dedicated day for deep work at home, and I can compress my teaching-style energy into four intense days rather than dragging it across five.' She also pointed out that from day one she'd be fully remote-capable because she'd set up a home office during her gap. Luna: That's a really good lesson. The gap actually helped her — she had already proven she could work independently from home, managing her kids' schedules. That's a skill. Lucas: Exactly. And corporate training is actually a role where that flexibility is easier to justify because a lot of the work is asynchronous — you're creating materials, recording videos, scheduling sessions. You're not on the clock the whole time. Luna: So what's the salary range for something like this? I imagine it's decent. Lucas: For a mid-level corporate trainer at a company like CloudBase, Glassdoor shows roughly $65,000 to $85,000. Sarah's offer was around $72,000. Not a fortune, but it's a strong re-entry point, especially with the flexibility she negotiated. Luna: And she can grow from there. Senior trainers or L&D managers can make $90,000 to $110,000. Lucas: Right. The other thing she did was proactively address the gap in her cover letter. She wrote something like, 'During my time away from the workforce, I honed skills in time management, conflict resolution, and adult learning principles through volunteer work and self-study.' She didn't apologize for it. Luna: That's the key, isn't it? Own the gap, don't defend it. Lucas: Exactly. And look, if we've helped you think through a career move like this, whether it's corporate training or something else — a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these episodes going. You can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Seriously, even five bucks a month makes a difference. It keeps the podcast ad-free and allows us to keep drilling into these specific stories. Luna: Yeah, and we really do read every message. It's a small community but a great one. Lucas: So back to Sarah. One more thing she did that I think is replicable: she started building a portfolio before she even applied. She created two sample training modules on Canva — one on giving constructive feedback, one on time management — and linked them on her LinkedIn profile. Luna: That's brilliant. It shows you can do the work, not just talk about it. And it's free to do. Lucas: Exactly. So for anyone listening who's a former teacher, or even someone who's done a lot of presenting in a previous role — corporate training is a route that's very much open right now. The key is to pick a niche, practice your demo, and don't be afraid to negotiate the schedule you need. Luna: I love that this is a role where the gap almost works in your favor. You've already proven you can manage complex schedules and keep people engaged. Lucas: Right. And companies are realizing that a good trainer is worth more than a shiny degree. It's about connection and clarity — and that's something you can build even while you're out of the traditional workforce.