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: Maria took a five-year career gap to raise her two kids. When she decided to return, she didn't go back to her old role in marketing. She became a corporate trainer at a Fortune 500 company, and she actually earned 15 percent more than she did before the gap. Luna: Fifteen percent more? That's the opposite of what most people expect after a long break. Lucas: Right. And the key wasn't just her marketing background. It was what she did during the gap. She volunteered at a community center teaching digital literacy to adults — basic computer skills, how to use email, how to navigate job portals. Luna: So she was essentially facilitating training sessions, even if she didn't call it that. Lucas: Exactly. She was doing facilitation, curriculum design, and one-on-one coaching. All of that maps directly to corporate learning and development. The trick was framing it correctly on her resume and in interviews. Luna: How did she frame it? I imagine 'volunteer teacher' doesn't scream corporate trainer. Lucas: She reframed it as 'Digital Literacy Program Facilitator.' She listed specific outcomes: designed a 12-week curriculum, trained 40 adult learners, achieved an 85 percent course completion rate. She also earned a facilitation certificate from a well-known online platform during her gap. Luna: That certificate probably helped signal that she was serious about training as a career, not just volunteering. Lucas: Absolutely. And she built a portfolio of training materials — lesson plans, handouts, even a short video of one of her sessions. When she applied for a corporate trainer role at a large insurance company, she brought that portfolio to the interview. Luna: I think a lot of returners underestimate the power of a portfolio. A resume lists skills, but a portfolio shows them in action. Lucas: The company was impressed because most candidates come from an academic teaching background or have years of corporate training experience. Maria brought a fresh perspective — she understood adult learners who were intimidated by technology because she worked with that exact population. Luna: That's a real differentiator. So many companies are trying to upskill their workforce, especially in digital tools. Having someone who can teach tech to non-tech people is valuable. Lucas: And Maria's marketing background helped too. She knew how to present information clearly and how to engage an audience. Corporate trainers often need to create presentations and communicate with stakeholders. She had those skills from her previous career. Luna: So she was combining two skill sets: marketing communication and volunteer facilitation. That's a pretty strong package. Lucas: If today's episode helped you think differently about your own career gap or gave you a new angle to explore, consider supporting the show. We keep it ad-free, and listener support is what makes that possible. If it was worth a coffee to you, you can find the link at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, even a small contribution helps us keep doing deep-dive episodes like this one. Lucas: So back to Maria. She also networked strategically. She didn't just apply online. She reached out to learning and development professionals on LinkedIn, asked for informational interviews, and learned what skills were most in demand. Luna: What did she learn from those conversations? Lucas: She found out that many corporate training teams were moving toward more interactive, cohort-based learning. They wanted trainers who could facilitate live virtual sessions, not just create self-paced modules. Maria had done live workshops at the community center, so that was a strong selling point. Luna: Did she have to learn any new tools? Lucas: She taught herself Zoom facilitation best practices and got familiar with a learning management system called Moodle, which many nonprofits use. Then she highlighted that experience on her resume. When the insurance company mentioned they used a similar LMS, she could speak to it directly. Luna: That's a great example of closing the gap between volunteer experience and corporate expectations. Lucas: One more thing: the salary negotiation. Maria researched the market rate for corporate trainers in her area and found it was between 65 and 80 thousand. She asked for 75, and they came back at 72 — which was still 15 percent more than her old marketing salary. Luna: She negotiated from a position of strength because she knew the value she brought. The gap wasn't a liability in her mind, and that confidence showed. Lucas: Exactly. She didn't apologize for the gap. She framed it as a period where she developed new skills and clarified her career direction. That mindset shift is often harder than the tactical steps. Luna: So for someone listening who's been out of the workforce and thinks corporate training could be a fit, what would you say are the first three steps? Lucas: First, identify any teaching, coaching, or facilitation you've done — even if it's helping your kid's scout troop or leading a church committee. Second, get a certification in adult learning or facilitation — there are affordable options online. Third, build a small portfolio: a lesson plan, a recording of a practice session, a feedback form you designed. Luna: And then network with L&D professionals. Ask them what they wish they'd known when they started. Lucas: Right. Maria did all of that, and within six months of starting her job search, she had an offer. Now she's been a corporate trainer for two years and she says it's the most fulfilling work she's ever done. Luna: It's a great reminder that a career gap can be a springboard, not a setback, if you know how to leverage what you've learned.