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 Website
Transcript
- Lucas: There's this stat from a CareerBuilder study in 2025 that I keep thinking about: candidates who include a link to a personal website on their resume get about 30% more interview callbacks. Luna: Thirty percent? That's huge. And it makes sense — a resume is a list, but a website can show who you actually are. Lucas: Exactly. And for someone returning after a career gap, that's a massive advantage. You have time. You can build something that tells a story your resume can't. Luna: So today we're talking about building a personal website during a career gap. Who's our case? Lucas: Maria. She was a retail manager for about seven years, then took a two-year gap — partly to care for a parent, partly to figure out her next move. She had no coding background. Luna: And she built a website from scratch? Lucas: She used WordPress and a free theme. She spent maybe two weeks learning the basics through YouTube and a Udemy course. The site had three pages: a home page with her story, a page highlighting her volunteer work with a local nonprofit — she'd helped them organize fundraising events — and a blog where she wrote about retail trends. Luna: So she positioned herself as someone who thinks about the industry, not just someone who worked in it. Lucas: Right. And that blog — she published eight posts over six months. Nothing crazy. But when she applied for a marketing coordinator role at a mid-size tech firm, she put the link in her cover letter and on her resume. The hiring manager later told her the website was the reason she got the interview. Luna: I love that. Because the gap could have been a red flag, but instead it became proof of initiative. Lucas: Exactly. And the tech firm wasn't looking for a developer. They wanted someone who could communicate, who understood basic digital tools, who could write. Her website checked all those boxes. Luna: So what's the minimum viable version of this? Because I think a lot of people get overwhelmed thinking they need a full portfolio. Lucas: A single-page site can be enough. You need your name, a short bio — three to four sentences max — a summary of relevant experience, and a way to contact you. That's it. You can build it with GitHub Pages for free, using a simple HTML template. Luna: GitHub Pages — that's the one where you don't need to pay for hosting, right? Lucas: Right. You just create a repository, upload an index dot HTML file, and it's live. There's a learning curve, but YouTube has walkthroughs. Alternatively, WordPress dot com has a free tier. Or even a Carrd site — that's a one-page builder, very clean, costs like nine dollars a year for a custom domain. Luna: And a custom domain — that makes a difference. Having yourname dot com instead of a long subdomain feels more professional. Lucas: Absolutely. And it's cheap. A dot com domain is about twelve dollars a year. For less than the cost of a couple lattes, you get a URL you own. Luna: Let's talk about what to put on the site if you don't have traditional work experience from the gap period. Lucas: That's where volunteer work, side projects, even personal hobbies can shine. Maria included her volunteer fundraising work. Another person I know, a former teacher who took three years off, put up lesson plans she'd designed. A dad I interviewed made a simple site documenting his kids' sports team schedules — not work related, but it showed he could organize data and use a CMS. Luna: It's about demonstrating skills: writing, design, project management, attention to detail. Lucas: Exactly. And if you have a blog, you're showing you can communicate ideas clearly. That's a skill every employer wants. Luna: What about mistakes people make? What should listeners avoid? Lucas: The biggest one is overcomplicating it. Don't spend three months learning React or building a custom design. Keep it simple. Use a clean template. Also, check your spelling — nothing kills credibility like typos on your own site. And make sure it's mobile-friendly. A lot of hiring managers will look at it on their phone. Luna: And keep it updated. If you're actively job searching, update the site with new content or at least a note that you're available. Lucas: Right. A stale site can be worse than no site. But if you're in a career gap, you have the time to maintain it. Even one new blog post a month keeps it fresh. Luna: And this ties into something we've talked about before — using your gap to build a visible professional presence. A website is like your own little corner of the internet that you control. Lucas: Speaking of control — this podcast is the same idea. We own our content, we don't run ads, and that's only possible because of listeners who support us directly. If you've gotten value from episodes like this, consider buying us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps the show ad-free and helps us cover hosting costs. Luna: Yeah, and it really does make a difference. Even a small contribution adds up. Thanks to everyone who already has. Lucas: Alright — back to websites. One more thing: if you're worried about privacy, you don't have to put your home address or phone number. Use a contact form or a LinkedIn link. Luna: Good point. And a website can also feature testimonials or recommendations from people you've worked with or volunteered for. Lucas: Yes. Maria asked the nonprofit director to write a short blurb about her work. That social proof is gold. Luna: So the bottom line: if you're in a career gap, building a simple personal website is a low-risk, high-reward project. It can tip the scales in your favor. Lucas: Exactly. And with free tools and a weekend of effort, you can have something live that tells your story your way. Luna: Next episode, we'll look at how to use that website to network — reaching out to people you admire with a link to your work. Lucas: Sounds good. And until then, start small. Pick one tool, write your bio, and publish. See what happens.