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 Marketing Manager
Transcript
- Lucas: So we talk a lot on this show about how a career gap can open doors you might not expect. But today I want to get really specific about one role: marketing manager. Luna: I think that's a great focus. Marketing is one of those fields where the landscape changes fast — tools, platforms, consumer behavior. It can feel intimidating to step back in. Lucas: Exactly. But the story we're looking at today — Jenna's story — actually flips that assumption. Jenna was a brand manager at a mid-sized consumer goods company before she took five years off to raise twins. When she started looking to return, she didn't lead with 'I've been out of the game.' She led with 'I've been running a household with a $50,000 annual budget, scheduling for four people, and negotiating with vendors.' Luna: That's smart framing. She took the same skills — budgeting, project management, negotiation — and reframed them for a marketing context. Lucas: Right. And she didn't just talk about it. She created what she called a 'gap portfolio' — a one-page document showing volunteer marketing work she'd done during those five years. She helped her local library run a social media campaign for their summer reading program, managed a small email newsletter for a community coop, and even ran a Facebook ad for a friend's small business. She had real numbers: a 12 percent open rate on the newsletter, a 3.5 percent click-through on the ad. Luna: So concrete results, not just 'I kept my skills up.' That's a powerful way to close the gap in an interview. Lucas: Exactly. But here's the part I found most interesting. Jenna didn't apply cold. She used her alumni network from her undergraduate university. She reached out to five alums who worked in marketing at companies she was targeting, asked for informational interviews, and ended up with a referral at a firm that had never posted the job publicly. That job turned into her current role as marketing manager at a consumer packaged goods company. Luna: So the gap wasn't a liability because she had a network that could vouch for her before she even walked in the door. Lucas: And she also negotiated a flexible schedule from day one. She asked for a three-day-in-office, two-day-remote arrangement, and got it. She told me the key was framing it as a productivity arrangement: 'I'll use the remote days for deep work like campaign analytics and content creation, and the in-office days for collaboration and meetings.' Luna: That's a classic win-win. The employer gets a motivated, experienced hire who's willing to be transparent about her needs. And she gets a structure that works for her family. Lucas: Now, I want to pause here because this episode — like every episode — is ad-free thanks to listeners who support the show. If you've found our conversations useful — maybe you're navigating your own return to work, or you're thinking about how to reframe your own gap — you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small gesture that keeps this going, and we really appreciate it. Luna: Yeah, and we mean that. It's a way for listeners to say 'this content matters to me' without any pressure. Now, back to Jenna — she also invested in two certifications before she started applying. Lucas: Right. She did Google Analytics and HubSpot Academy's inbound marketing certification. Total cost: maybe $200 and about 40 hours. She put them on her LinkedIn profile and her résumé right under her degree. That gave her a tangible signal that she was current. Luna: And it's not just about the certificate. Those courses teach you the actual vocabulary and frameworks that hiring managers are using in interviews. Lucas: Exactly. She told me that in one interview, the hiring manager mentioned a campaign they'd run using a new feature on Meta Ads Manager. Jenna said 'Oh, I read about that in a case study from HubSpot's blog' — and she was able to discuss it. That's the kind of moment where the gap disappears. Luna: So what about the companies themselves? Are there employers that are particularly welcoming to returners in marketing? Lucas: Great question. Patagonia has a formal 'return to work' program for parents, and they've hired marketing managers through it. HubSpot also has a 'returnship' program — they call it 'HubSpot Returns' — that's specifically for people who've been out of the workforce for two or more years. And a lot of mid-sized consumer goods companies are starting to see the value of hiring parents who understand household decision-making firsthand. Luna: That last point is key. If you're marketing diapers, or cereal, or family vacations, who better to lead that campaign than someone who's been in the trenches? Lucas: Right. Jenna actually used that in her cover letter. She wrote: 'I've spent the last five years as the primary decision-maker for my family's brand choices. That's given me a perspective I can't get from a textbook.' That's a bold line, but it worked. Luna: I love that. It's not apologetic. It's confident. Lucas: Now, let's talk about the salary negotiation. Jenna went in knowing the market range for marketing managers in her city — she used tools like Glassdoor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. She asked for the 75th percentile because she knew she had strong pre-gap experience and a fresh certification. She got it. Luna: So she didn't take a pay cut for the gap. That's a common fear — that you'll have to start at an entry-level salary. Lucas: And that fear is often unfounded if you do the prep. Jenna's pre-gap salary was $72,000. She came back at $78,000. Not a huge jump, but she didn't lose ground. And she got the flexibility. Luna: What about the interview itself? Any specific questions she prepared for? Lucas: She told me she rehearsed an answer to 'What did you do during your career break?' She didn't say 'I was a stay-at-home mom' and stop. She said 'I managed our household operations, volunteered for marketing projects, and completed two certifications to stay current in digital marketing.' Then she pivoted to a question about the role. She never let the gap be the focus. Luna: That's a classic 'bridge and pivot' technique. Acknowledge it briefly, then redirect to your value. Lucas: Exactly. And she also had a portfolio of her volunteer work ready to share. She didn't wait to be asked. She said 'I brought a one-page summary of a campaign I ran for a local nonprofit — would you like to see it?' That's proactive. Luna: I think a lot of listeners might worry that their volunteer work isn't 'professional' enough. But Jenna's example shows that even small projects can demonstrate real skills. Lucas: Absolutely. The library campaign had a budget of zero, but she measured impact. She increased event sign-ups by 40 percent. That's a result. Luna: So the takeaway here isn't just 'you can return to marketing.' It's 'you can return to marketing on your own terms, with a strategy, and with confidence.' Lucas: That's exactly it. Jenna didn't wait for permission. She built a narrative, she invested in her skills, and she used her network. And she's now been in the role for 18 months and just got promoted to senior marketing manager. Luna: That's a great endpoint for today. I think a lot of people will hear Jenna's story and see a path they can follow. Lucas: Me too. It's not about pretending the gap didn't happen. It's about reframing it as a period of skill-building, not a blank space. Next week, we'll look at a similar story but in the tech field — how a parent returned as a product manager after four years away.