Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Career Gap Led to a Corporate Communications Role
Transcript
- Lucas: Okay, so today I want to talk about something that comes up a lot in our listener questions — how do you return to corporate communications after a career gap? It's a field where your network can dry up fast, and the tools and platforms change constantly. Luna: Right, and it's one of those roles where 'soft skills' are huge, but hiring managers still want to see concrete examples. How do you prove you still 'have it' after years away? Lucas: Exactly. So I wanted to use a specific case — a woman named Sarah Chen. Before her gap, she was a marketing manager at a mid-sized tech company. Then she took five years off to raise twins. When she decided to go back, she didn't target marketing — she went for corporate communications at a Fortune 500 energy firm. Luna: That's a pretty big pivot. What made her think she could do it? Lucas: She told me she looked at the job description and realized that a lot of the core competencies — writing, stakeholder management, crisis messaging — she'd actually been doing, just in a different context. During her gap, she volunteered as the communications chair for her local parent-teacher organization. That meant drafting newsletters, managing a social media account, and handling a couple of minor PR crises when the school had snow days or budget meetings. Luna: So she turned PTO emails into portfolio pieces. That's smart. Lucas: Exactly. She didn't just list 'volunteer' on her resume. She framed it as 'Communications Lead, PTO' and bullet-pointed things like 'developed weekly email strategy reaching 1,200 families' and 'managed crisis communication during district-wide school closure.' That's real experience. Luna: And how did she address the five-year gap in interviews? Because that's the part people dread. Lucas: She had a specific script. She said something like, 'I took a planned career break to focus on my family, but I stayed active in communications through volunteer leadership. That experience actually deepened my ability to communicate with diverse stakeholders under tight deadlines.' She didn't apologize, and she didn't over-explain. Luna: I love that. It's confident, it's concise, and it frames the gap as a period of growth rather than a void. Lucas: And it worked. She got the job. But I think the bigger picture here is that the landscape is shifting. A LinkedIn survey from early 2025 found that 68% of HR leaders say they view career gaps more favorably than they did five years ago. That's a huge swing. Luna: What's driving that? Is it just the tight labor market, or something more structural? Lucas: Both, probably. But I think there's also a growing recognition that people who take intentional breaks often come back with more maturity, better time management, and a clearer sense of what they want. Sarah told me she was far more focused in her interviews than she was in her twenties. Luna: That makes sense. You're not just taking any job — you're choosing a role that fits your life. Lucas: Right. And speaking of choosing — if this show has helped you think through your own career move or decision, we just want to mention that listener support is what keeps these episodes ad-free. A couple of dollars a month at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo genuinely makes a difference. Luna: Yeah, it's a small thing that adds up. And it means we can keep doing deep dives like this one. Lucas: Anyway, back to Sarah. One of the smartest things she did was to take a free online course in crisis communication from a university during her last year of the gap. She put that on her resume under 'Professional Development' with the dates. Luna: That signals that she's current, that she's investing in herself. I think a lot of returners underestimate how much a single certification or course can bridge the perception gap. Lucas: Totally. And she didn't just list it — she mentioned in her cover letter that she applied a framework from that course to a real situation with the PTO. That's the kind of specific detail that makes a hiring manager sit up. Luna: What about networking? Did she rebuild her contacts? Lucas: She did, but strategically. She reached out to three former colleagues — not asking for a job, but asking for a 15-minute informational interview about the communications field. Two of them ended up referring her to openings. One of those was the Fortune 500 role. Luna: So it's not about blasting your resume to everyone. It's about reconnecting with a few key people in a low-pressure way. Lucas: Exactly. And she prepared for those calls like she would for a job interview. She had a list of questions about industry trends, tools they were using, and what skills they valued most. That made the conversations valuable for both sides. Luna: Okay, so let's say someone listening is in a similar spot — maybe they've been out for three years, not five, and they want to target corporate communications. What's the first step you'd recommend? Lucas: I'd say do what Sarah did: audit your current activities — volunteering, side projects, even managing your household budget — and identify the transferable skills. Write them down in professional language. Then pick one area to upskill in, like crisis comms or internal comms, and take a short course. Then reach out to two former colleagues for informational interviews. That sequence builds confidence and material at the same time. Luna: I'd add: update your LinkedIn profile before you start reaching out. Use that professional language from your audit. And change your headline to something like 'Corporate Communications Professional | Returning after Career Break' — it signals transparency. Lucas: Great addition. And one thing Sarah stressed to me: don't wait until you feel 'ready.' You'll never feel fully ready after a gap. Start the process, and the readiness will catch up. Luna: That's such an important mindset shift. I think a lot of people hold themselves back because they think they need to be perfect. Lucas: Right. And the data is on your side. That LinkedIn survey — 68% of HR leaders more open to gaps. And another stat: returners who complete a structured re-entry program have a 90% retention rate after one year, according to a 2024 study by the Society for Human Resource Management. Companies are realizing that hiring returners is good business. Luna: So if you're listening and you've been hesitating, let this be your nudge. You don't need to have it all figured out. Just start with one small step. Lucas: Exactly. And we'll keep bringing you stories and strategies that make that step a little easier. That's all for today — thanks for being here.