Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Career Gap Led to a Supply Chain Manager Role
Transcript
- Lucas: More than sixty percent of hiring managers say they've hired someone from a returnship program in the past two years, according to a recent survey from the nonprofit iRelaunch. Luna: That's a surprising number. Returnships have been around for a while, but they really seem to be hitting the mainstream now. Lucas: And one of the roles where I'm seeing this pop up most often is supply chain management. Today we're looking at the story of Maria Rodriguez, who took a five-year career gap to care for her two kids and then came back as a supply chain manager at a regional manufacturing firm. Luna: What kind of background did she have before the gap? Lucas: She was a logistics analyst at a midsize freight company. She handled route optimization and carrier negotiations. But after her second child, she decided to stay home full-time. Five years later, she was ready to return, but she knew the industry had changed. Luna: So how did she get back in? Did she just apply cold? Lucas: Not exactly. She found a returnship program through a local manufacturing consortium. The company she ended up at — let's call it Midwest AutoParts — had partnered with a returnship provider to create a twelve-week paid program designed specifically for professionals with a gap. Luna: So it's essentially a structured internship for returning professionals. But with a path to a permanent role. Lucas: Exactly. And that's a key difference. In Maria's case, she was paired with a mentor from day one, given a real project — improving inventory turnover at one of their warehouses — and evaluated at the end. Her mentor was a supply chain director who had also taken a career break years earlier. Luna: That mentorship component seems crucial. It's not just about skills refresh; it's about rebuilding confidence and workplace networks. Lucas: Right. And Maria said the biggest challenge wasn't learning new software — it was adjusting to the pace. She told me the first three weeks felt like drinking from a firehose. But the returnship program had built-in checkpoints, so she never felt alone. Luna: What kind of project did she work on? I'm curious how a returnship can demonstrate real value to the employer. Lucas: Her project was to reduce excess inventory at a warehouse that handled aftermarket parts. She analyzed six months of demand data, identified slow-moving SKUs, and recommended a phased discounting approach. The result? A fourteen percent reduction in carrying costs within the twelve-week program. Luna: That's a tangible win. And it probably made the decision to hire her full-time pretty easy. Lucas: It did. She was offered a supply chain manager role starting at seventy-two thousand dollars — which was actually higher than her previous salary adjusted for inflation. The company told her they valued her fresh perspective and her ability to synthesize data from different departments. Luna: I think a lot of listeners might worry that a five-year gap makes them obsolete. But Maria's story shows that if you can frame your gap as a period of skill-building — even if it's not technical — employers can be open to it. Lucas: Absolutely. And one thing she did really well was to highlight her volunteer work. She had served as treasurer for her kids' school PTA, managing a budget of about forty thousand dollars. That gave her a concrete leadership story to tell in interviews. Luna: So when she talked about budgeting and stakeholder management from the PTA, it directly connected to supply chain vendor negotiations. Lucas: Exactly. She also took a free online course in supply chain analytics from Rutgers — about forty hours total — and listed it on her LinkedIn profile. That helped signal to recruiters that she was serious about updating her skills. Luna: Online courses are a low-risk way to test if you actually enjoy the field. And even a simple certificate can be a conversation starter. Lucas: So the question is: how can someone find a returnship in supply chain or any other field? The first place to look is the iRelaunch return to work directory. They list over a hundred companies with active returnship programs, including names like Caterpillar, Accenture, and even some smaller regional firms. Luna: Do you need to be in a specific geographic area? Or are many of these remote now? Lucas: It varies. Maria's program was in-person at a single location in Ohio, but iRelaunch reports that about thirty percent of returnships are now fully remote, especially in tech-adjacent supply chain roles. So it's worth casting a wide net. Luna: And for people who might not have a returnship program nearby, what's the next best option? Lucas: I'd say target companies that have publicly stated a commitment to hiring returners. Some large employers like Amazon and IBM have formal re-entry programs. But even mid-size companies may be open if you approach them with a proposal. Maria actually cold-emailed the hiring manager at Midwest AutoParts before the returnship was even posted. Luna: So a proactive pitch can work. What did her email say? Lucas: She introduced herself as a former logistics professional returning after a family break, explained her background in inventory management, and asked if the company had considered offering a returnship. The hiring manager forwarded it to HR, and they built the program around her application. Luna: That's impressive. It shows that sometimes you have to create the opportunity rather than wait for it. Lucas: And that's a great lead-in to something we'd like to mention. We do this show every day without any ads — no sponsor breaks, no product placements. We think career advice should be freely available, especially for people navigating a return after a gap. If our episodes have helped you think through your own path, you can support that effort at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just an option. Luna: Yeah, we're really grateful for the listeners who do chip in. It lets us keep focusing on stories like Maria's without worrying about commercial advertisers. Lucas: Exactly. So back to the practical side — once you land a returnship or a direct hire, how do you succeed in those early months? Maria had a few tips. Luna: What was her number one piece of advice? Lucas: Over-communicate, especially with your manager. She scheduled a fifteen-minute check-in every Monday to review priorities for the week. That prevented any surprises and built trust quickly. Luna: That's solid — and it works regardless of whether you're returning from a gap or not. But for returners, it also shows you're proactive. Lucas: She also made a point to network within the company, even during the returnship. She scheduled coffee chats with people in procurement, warehousing, and distribution. By the end of twelve weeks, she had a pretty good mental map of how the whole supply chain operated. Luna: That internal networking probably helped when it came time to negotiate the full-time offer. Did she negotiate? Lucas: She did. She used salary data from Glassdoor and from a supply chain association survey. She asked for a five-thousand-dollar increase on the initial offer and got it, plus a commitment to tuition reimbursement for a certification in supply chain management. Luna: That's a great outcome. And it shows that even after a gap, you still have leverage if you've done your homework. Lucas: Right. So for anyone listening who's thinking about returning, Maria's story is a concrete example of how a returnship can be a bridge. It's not the only path, but it's one that's growing fast. Luna: And we'll link to the iRelaunch directory and a few returnship examples in our show notes. I think the key takeaway is that the job market is more open to returners than many people assume. Lucas: I'd add that the supply chain field specifically is desperate for talent. The American Society of Supply Chain Professionals estimates that there are more than one hundred thousand unfilled supply chain manager positions right now. So the timing might be perfect for someone considering this pivot. Luna: That's a powerful stat to end on. I'll be curious to hear from listeners who take a similar leap. Lucas: Absolutely. We'll be back tomorrow with another story from the comeback trail. Keep moving forward.