Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Career Gap Can Help You Build a Personal Board of Advisors
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, one of the most common questions we get from listeners navigating a career gap is 'Who do I even talk to about my next move?' And I think there's a really underused solution that a lot of people don't consider. Luna: Let me guess — you're about to say 'build a personal board of advisors'? Lucas: Exactly. And I know it sounds a little corporate — like you're forming a mini board of directors for your own life. But when I look at the people who've made the smoothest transitions back into work after a gap, almost all of them had a small, intentional group of people they checked in with regularly. Luna: So not just one mentor, but a handful. What's the magic number? Lucas: Three to five. And they shouldn't all be your former bosses. You want diversity of perspective. I'm thinking of a case study from a listener named Jenna — she was a marketing manager at a consumer goods company, took two years off when her second kid was born. When she started thinking about re-entering, she didn't just update her LinkedIn. She reached out to three people: her old boss, a friend who'd started a small software company, and a recruiter she'd stayed in touch with. Luna: That's a smart mix. The old boss knows her work, the startup founder knows the current landscape, and the recruiter knows what hiring managers are actually looking for. Lucas: Right. Jenna framed it explicitly — she said, 'I'm not asking you for a job. I'm asking you to be on my personal advisory board for the next six months. That means two thirty-minute calls, one now and one later. I'll prepare an agenda each time.' Luna: And they all said yes? Lucas: All three. Because it was bounded, it was respectful of their time, and it gave them a clear role. Nobody wants to be the person you dump your resume on once and never talk to again. But being on a 'board' — that implies ongoing dialogue and that their input is valued. Luna: And presumably, she came to each meeting with a specific ask. Not just 'What should I do with my life?' but something like 'I'm seeing a lot of product marketing roles that ask for experience with agile — how do I talk about my campaign management experience in that context?' Lucas: Exactly. And that specificity is what makes the whole thing work. Jenna's old boss was able to say, 'Remember that cross-functional launch you ran in 2022? That's basically agile — just call it that.' Her startup friend could tell her which job boards actually lead to interviews for product marketing. And the recruiter gave her a heads up that one company she was eyeing had a reputation for not hiring people with gaps — so she could deprioritize it. Luna: That kind of intel is gold. And it's not something you'd get from a generic job search course. Lucas: No, it's insider knowledge. And it's free — except for the intentionality it takes to set it up. Now, Jenna's story has a happy ending: she landed a product marketing role at a mid-size tech firm about five months after she started the board. She credits those three advisors with helping her avoid at least two wrong turns. Luna: It's interesting — she didn't just get advice on how to market herself. She also got a reality check on which doors were realistic and which weren't. Lucas: That's a key function of the board. If you're coming back after a gap, you can easily waste months chasing roles that are a stretch without a clear path. The board helps you calibrate. Luna: So how do listeners start building their own board? Let's say they're at home, feeling isolated, maybe their network has gone cold. Lucas: First step: list fifteen people who know you professionally or have relevant industry knowledge. Then rank them by three criteria: do they know your work, do they know the current market, and would they be candid with you? Pick the top three to five who score highest across those. Luna: And what's the actual ask? Because I think a lot of people are afraid of being a burden. Lucas: You frame it exactly like Jenna did: 'I'm putting together a small group of advisors to help me think through my next career move. Would you be willing to commit to two thirty-minute conversations over the next six months? I'll prepare an agenda in advance.' You're not asking for unlimited access. You're asking for a contained, structured contribution. Luna: And you're giving them a clear out — they can say no. But most people will say yes because they like feeling like an expert. Lucas: Exactly. And if they say no, you just move to the next person on your list. The goal is to get three committed advisors. Luna: One thing I'd add — you should vary the seniority. Not all advisors need to be above you. A peer who's a few years ahead in their career can be just as valuable, especially if they've recently navigated a gap themselves. Lucas: Great point. Jenna's startup friend was actually a peer — they'd worked together early in their careers. But that friend had taken a six-month sabbatical herself, so she understood the psychology of re-entry. Luna: And speaking of psychology, one risk I see is that people turn their board into a therapy session. 'I feel so behind, I'm not sure I still have the skills' — that's not what the board is for. Lucas: Right. The board is for strategic guidance, not emotional venting. That's what friends and family are for. You need to show up with a clear agenda: here's the role I'm targeting, here's my concern about my gap, what's your read on this? Keep it forward-looking. Luna: One more thing — how do you keep the board engaged over months? Because six months is a long time. Lucas: You hold up your end. Send a brief update after each call — 'Thanks for the advice on X, I applied it and here's what happened.' That shows you value their input. And you can even share a draft of your resume or a cover letter for quick feedback between calls. But always respect their time. Luna: That makes me think about something else — how this kind of structured support network can make a real difference. If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, and you want to help us keep these episodes ad-free, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Even a couple of dollars a month genuinely goes a long way toward keeping the lights on. Lucas: Absolutely. And we mean that — it's the listener support that allows us to stay independent and dive deep on topics like this. So thank you to anyone who's already contributed. Luna: Alright, back to boards. Another pitfall: don't let the board become a crutch. Jenna made a point of not asking her advisors every little thing. She would research first, form a hypothesis, then bring a specific question to the board. Lucas: That's the right approach. The board should be a sounding board, not a decision-making body. Ultimately, you own your career. They're there to sharpen your thinking, not to tell you what to do. Luna: So what happens after you land a role? Do you dissolve the board? Lucas: You can, but you don't have to. Some people keep their board going as a long-term career advisory group, just meeting quarterly instead of monthly. Jenna actually kept all three advisors — she now meets with them twice a year to talk about bigger career decisions, like whether to pursue a promotion or a lateral move. Luna: I love that. It turns a gap-era strategy into a lifelong practice. Lucas: Exactly. And honestly, I think that's the hidden gift of a career gap — it forces you to be intentional about your network in a way that you might not have been when you were busy working. If you build a personal board of advisors, you come out of the gap not just with a job, but with a stronger support system for the rest of your career. Luna: That's a great note to end on. For our listeners, if you're thinking about building your own board, start with that list of fifteen people. And if you get stuck, we've got a worksheet on our website that walks you through the process. Lucas: Next week, we're going to talk about something that often comes up in those board conversations — how to explain a career gap in a cover letter without sounding defensive. See you then.