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 Clinical Data Manager
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to talk today about something I see over and over in the returnship space — people who spent years out of the paid workforce and come back not to the same role they left, but to something better. More aligned. More strategic. Luna: I love that framing because it pushes back on the idea that a gap is a setback. So who's the example today? Lucas: Her name is Priya. She was a clinical research coordinator before she had her second kid — worked at a large academic medical center for about four years. Then she stepped away for seven years. When she decided to go back, she didn't want to return to the coordinator role. She wanted clinical data management — more analytical, more remote-friendly, better pay. Luna: And she landed it. At a mid-size biotech, I believe. Lucas: Yes. And the really interesting part is how she got there. She didn't take a course, she didn't get a certification. She used her volunteer work as a PTA treasurer and as a data-entry person for a local health fair as her 'experience.' And she framed it in a way that actually made sense to hiring managers. Luna: Okay, I need to hear how she did that, because I think a lot of parents hear 'volunteer work counts' and they don't really believe it or they don't know how to make it land. Lucas: Right. So the first thing Priya did was she pulled the job description for the clinical data manager role. It listed things like 'maintain accurate data entry into clinical databases,' 'perform quality control checks,' 'assist with data cleaning and query resolution.' Standard stuff. Then she mapped each of those bullets to something she had actually done. Luna: So for 'maintain accurate data entry' she would put — what? The health fair registration? Lucas: Exactly. She volunteered to manage the registration database for a community health fair that saw about 1,200 attendees. She entered all the participant data, ensured demographic fields were complete, and reconciled duplicates at the end. That's data entry. That's quality control. She just needed to translate it into the language of the role. Luna: So she built a skills matrix — matching job description verbs to real volunteer tasks. Lucas: Yes. And she didn't put this matrix on her resume. She used it to prepare for interviews. When they asked 'have you done clinical data entry before?' she could say 'I managed a database of over a thousand records for a health event, with strict attention to accuracy and deadline.' She didn't say 'I was a volunteer.' She said 'I managed a database.' Luna: That reframe is everything. How did she handle the gap question itself? Lucas: She was direct. She said 'I took seven years to be home with my kids. During that time I stayed connected to the field through volunteer work and I'm now ready to return full-time, ideally in a hybrid setup.' She didn't apologize. She didn't over-explain. She treated it as a fact, not a liability. Luna: And the hiring manager didn't push back? Lucas: Not at all. In fact, the hiring manager later told her that her confidence in owning the gap was one reason she got the offer. They had interviewed someone with two years of data management experience who was very nervous. Priya was calm, specific, and she knew what she wanted. Luna: What did she want — besides the hybrid schedule? Lucas: She wanted a clear path to senior data manager within three years. And she negotiated that into the offer — a development plan with milestones. She also negotiated the hybrid schedule: three days in office, two at home. That came up because she'd done her homework on the company's remote policy and knew other teams had that flexibility. Luna: So she didn't just ask for it — she had data to back up why it was reasonable. Lucas: Right. She said, 'I see that the biostatistics team has a hybrid policy. Would it be possible for the data management team to have a similar arrangement?' That's a much stronger ask than 'Can I work from home sometimes?' Luna: I want to circle back to the skills matrix because I think that's the most actionable takeaway here. How exactly did she build it? Lucas: She took a piece of paper — literally — and drew three columns. Left column: job requirement from the description. Middle column: volunteer or life experience that matched. Right column: the specific language she would use to describe that experience in an interview. Then she rehearsed those sentences out loud. Luna: I love that it's so low-tech. No fancy app, no template. Just pen and paper. Lucas: Exactly. And she told me that rehearsal piece was crucial. Because when you've been out of the workforce for years, you lose the muscle memory of talking about your work. You have to practice sounding professional again. She practiced in the car, in the shower, while folding laundry. Luna: That's honest. And I think it's reassuring for listeners who feel rusty. You don't have to be polished on day one — you just have to be willing to practice. Lucas: Right. And the other thing she did was she reached out to two former colleagues from her coordinator days. Not to ask for a job — to ask, 'How has data management changed in the last seven years?' One of them told her about a specific software platform called Medidata Rave that was now standard. She watched a few YouTube tutorials on it. By the time she interviewed, she could talk about it intelligently. Luna: So she used her network for information, not for favors. That's smart. Lucas: Yes. And it made her feel more confident going in. She knew she wasn't starting from zero. She had real experience — she just had to frame it correctly. Luna: Speaking of confidence — how long did it take her from deciding to go back to actually starting the job? Lucas: About four months. The first month was just the skills matrix and informational conversations. The second month she applied to ten roles. The third month she had three interviews. The fourth month she got the offer. So it wasn't fast, but it wasn't years either. Luna: I think a lot of people get discouraged if they don't get a job in two weeks. Four months is actually quite reasonable for a return after seven years. Lucas: Absolutely. And she had a timeline for herself — she said 'I will spend four months actively looking. If nothing happens, I'll reassess.' But she didn't need to. It worked. Luna: You know, this episode is exactly the kind of concrete, step-by-step story that I think really helps people who are in that same position. If today was actually useful to you, the way the show stays ad-free is through listener support. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a big difference. If you've gotten value from any of our episodes, consider tossing a coffee our way at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Even a few dollars helps keep the podcast independent and focused on real stories like Priya's. Okay — back to the tactics. Lucas, what's one thing Priya did in the first week on the job that really set her up for success? Lucas: She scheduled a 30-minute meeting with every person on her team — including the two data managers she'd be working with most closely. She introduced herself, asked what their biggest pain points were, and asked for advice on how to ramp up quickly. She didn't pretend to know everything. Luna: So she built relationships before she needed anything. Lucas: Exactly. And that's a tactic anyone can use, whether you're returning after a gap or just starting a new role. The people who succeed early are the ones who ask good questions and listen. Luna: Priya's story also highlights something we don't talk about enough — the emotional side of returning. She told me she felt imposter syndrome for the first three months. Lucas: I'm glad you brought that up. She said she would come home some days and think 'I don't belong here.' But she had a few anchors — her manager was supportive, she had that development plan, and she kept a list of small wins. Every time she completed a data pull or caught a query error, she wrote it down. That list helped her see progress. Luna: A 'small wins' list. I like that. It's concrete and it counters the all-or-nothing thinking that imposter syndrome feeds on. Lucas: Right. And by month six, she said the feeling mostly went away. She had achieved enough, she had relationships, she had delivered on projects. The gap became irrelevant. Luna: So for anyone listening who is exactly where Priya was — seven years out, not sure where to start — what's the one thing you'd say to them? Lucas: Start with that skills matrix. Don't worry about the job title yet. Just take one job description for a role that interests you, and map your life experience to it. You'll be surprised how much you have to offer. The language will come. The confidence will come. But you have to start somewhere. Luna: That's a good note to end on. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. See you next time.