Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How One Parent Returned as an HR Generalist After a Gap
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot on this show about returning to specific roles after a career gap — software engineer, project manager, grant writer. But one of the most common re-entry paths I hear about, and one we haven't really dug into yet, is HR generalist. And I think it's worth a closer look because it's a role that actually rewards a broad skill set — the kind of thing a lot of parents build without realizing it. Luna: Yeah, I've seen that. HR generalist is often a catch-all title, but it's also one that can be surprisingly flexible for someone coming back. Who's our case for today? Lucas: A woman named Maya. Before her gap, she worked as a communications specialist at a mid-size manufacturing company. She left when her first child was born, and she was out for about five years. Two kids. When she decided to go back, she didn't target communications — she went for HR. And she landed an HR generalist role at a nonprofit with about 120 employees. Luna: I want to hear how she bridged that. Communications to HR is a pretty big pivot, even without a gap. Lucas: It is. And she didn't just apply cold. She started while she was still at home. She took a certification course in HR fundamentals through her local community college — twelve weeks, online, about four hundred dollars. She did it during nap time and after the kids went to bed. Luna: That's the kind of concrete step I love. A small investment, but it gives you a credential and a vocabulary. Did she do anything else before applying? Lucas: She also joined the board of her neighbourhood association — and specifically asked to be on the personnel committee. That committee handled hiring for the association's part-time staff, reviewed policies, that sort of thing. So she had a real, verifiable hr related activity during her gap. It wasn't just 'I took a class.' Luna: That's smart. It gives you a story to tell. 'I served on a board and helped develop our employee handbook.' That's not fluff. Lucas: Exactly. And when she started applying, she didn't go for full-time permanent roles right away. She found a part-time contract position at a local nonprofit — basically a six-month assignment to help them update their HR policies and set up a new performance review system. It was twenty hours a week, remote mostly, paid thirty dollars an hour. Luna: Which is a pretty typical rate for an HR contract, but it's also a foot in the door. And the low commitment works both ways — the employer takes less risk, and you can ease back in. Lucas: Right. She used that contract to refresh her skills — payroll processing, benefits administration, employee relations basics. And she made sure to get a strong reference from the nonprofit's executive director. After that contract ended, she started applying for permanent HR generalist roles. She had a six-month runway of recent, relevant experience. Luna: How long did it take her to land the generalist job? Lucas: About three months. She sent out about forty applications, got four interviews, two second-rounds, and one offer. The offer was from a different nonprofit — about a hundred and twenty employees — and it was a true generalist role: benefits, onboarding, compliance, some recruiting. Salary was fifty-eight thousand, which for a first-year back and in that sector is pretty solid. Luna: And did she have to explain the gap a lot in interviews? Lucas: She did, but she had a clear frame. She said: 'I took five years to be home with my kids. During that time I stayed connected to the workforce through board service and a certification, and I recently completed a contract that proved I can do this work.' She didn't apologize. And she said the fact that she had a recent contract made a huge difference — interviewers focused on that, not the gap. Luna: I think that's the key takeaway for anyone listening. You don't need to erase the gap. You need to sandwich it between something before and something after. The certification and the contract are your bridge. Lucas: Exactly. And there's some data here that backs this up. The Society for Human Resource Management — SHRM — did a survey in 2025 of HR hiring managers. They asked what factors matter most when evaluating a candidate with a career gap. The top three were: recent relevant experience, a credible explanation for the gap, and any professional development during the gap. Luna: So Maya hit all three. And it's worth noting that HR generalist is actually a role where a lot of parents who've been managing a household — scheduling, conflict resolution, budgeting — can draw direct parallels. Lucas: Absolutely. The soft skills are transferable. But you still need the technical vocabulary. That certification gives you that. Maya told me that in her interview, she was able to talk about FMLA compliance, COBRA, 401k nondiscrimination testing — terms she picked up in that twelve-week course. Luna: That's the difference between 'I'm good with people' and 'I know how to administer a benefits plan.' And employers in HR are looking for the latter. Lucas: So one concrete thing to take away: if you're eyeing HR generalist after a gap, consider a certification as a non-negotiable first step. It doesn't have to be a full degree. A focused, low-cost program that gives you the language and a credential. Luna: And then a contract role — even just a few months — to prove you can do it in a real setting. Lucas: Right. Maya's story is a great example of a deliberate, stepwise return. She didn't try to leap back in where she left off. She built a on-ramp. Luna: If this episode helped you think through your own return, or gave you a concrete idea to try — that's exactly why we make the show. And the way we keep it ad-free and focused on real stories is listener support. If you found value, you can head to buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a simple way to say 'this mattered to me.' Lucas: Yeah, and it genuinely helps us keep doing deep dives like this one. So, back to Maya — one more detail I thought was interesting. She negotiated her start date to be three weeks out, even though the nonprofit wanted her in two. She used that extra week to arrange childcare and do a dry run of her morning routine. Luna: That's a pro move. Coming back after a gap, you're not just learning the job — you're learning the rhythm of working outside the home again. Giving yourself that buffer is smart. Lucas: Exactly. And she told me that first week was still chaotic, but having that extra time made it manageable. She's been in the role for about eight months now, and she just got promoted to senior HR generalist. Luna: Love that. A return story with a promotion arc. Thanks, Maya, for sharing. Lucas: And thanks to everyone listening. If you've got a return story of your own, we'd love to hear it. Maybe it'll be our next episode.