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 Benefits Consultant
Transcript
- Lucas: So we get a lot of questions from listeners who were teachers before their gap and worry that their skills won't translate into corporate roles. Today I want to look at one specific path that works surprisingly well: benefits consulting. Luna: That is a great one. I actually know a few former teachers who went that route. What's the story you found? Lucas: Let's call her Sarah. She taught high school English for eight years, then took five years off to raise her two kids. When she was ready to go back, she didn't want to return to the classroom. She wanted something with more flexibility and better pay. Luna: Right, and that's a common tension—loved teaching, but the hours and salary are tough to sustain long-term. Lucas: Exactly. So she started looking at roles where her communication skills and ability to explain complex topics would be valued. A friend mentioned that their insurance broker was always looking for people who could talk to employees about benefits in plain language. Luna: Which makes total sense. Benefits enrollment can be really confusing for most people. Having someone who can break down a high-deductible health plan versus a PPO is a huge asset. Lucas: Right. And here's the key: she didn't just apply cold. She got a certification first. The Certified Employee Benefit Specialist credential, or CEBS. It's offered through the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and takes about a year to complete if you're focused. Luna: Did she do it while still at home with the kids? Lucas: She did. She studied in the evenings and during nap times. The program covers health benefits, retirement plans, and regulatory stuff like COBRA and HIPAA. Nothing she couldn't handle as a teacher who was used to grading papers and lesson planning. Luna: So she essentially treated it like a new prep. That's smart. Lucas: Then she used informational interviews. She reached out to three local insurance brokers and asked for twenty minutes to learn about the industry. With two of them, she ended up talking for an hour because they were so impressed by her questions. Luna: And what kind of questions did she ask? Lucas: Things like: 'What's the biggest challenge your clients face during open enrollment?' and 'How has the shift to high-deductible plans changed your consulting work?' That showed she understood the landscape. One of those brokers eventually hired her as a benefits consultant. Luna: So she didn't start with a broker role? She went in as a consultant? Lucas: Yes. A mid-sized brokerage with about forty employees. She's now responsible for a book of about thirty client companies, helping them design their benefits packages and explaining options to their employees. And she works from home three days a week. Luna: That is a great outcome. And it's a growing field especially now. With the labor market as tight as it's been through mid-2026, employers are using benefits as a competitive differentiator. Lucas: Exactly. A good benefits consultant can help a company retain talent without just throwing more salary at it. And that's a skill set that teachers have in spades—listening, explaining, advocating. Luna: I want to dig into how she framed the gap on her resume. Did she just list it as 'career break'? Lucas: She actually framed it as a period of 'independent project management and client service' and listed specific volunteer roles she held. She was the treasurer for her kids' PTA, coordinated a school fundraiser, and managed her household's move to a new state. That's real project management. Luna: That's smart. It reframes the gap as active skill-building instead of a blank space. Lucas: Right. And in the interview, she was candid: 'I took time to be home with my kids, but I stayed engaged and I'm ready to commit fully now.' The broker told me that honesty actually helped them trust her more. Luna: One thing I think is worth mentioning here—the CEBS certification isn't free. It costs around two thousand dollars for the full program. But that's a fraction of what a degree would cost. Lucas: And many employers will reimburse it once you're hired. In Sarah's case, her new firm reimbursed her for the exam fees after she passed. But she fronted the cost herself initially. Luna: So the risk was real, but it paid off. And I think that's a good lesson: sometimes you have to invest a little to signal commitment. Lucas: Absolutely. And speaking of investment—this feels like a good moment for a quick real talk. You know, we make this show without any sponsors, and the only reason we can keep doing it is because a handful of listeners chip in a few bucks a month at Buy Me a Coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's genuinely just enough to cover hosting and a little of our time. If you've gotten something useful out of episodes like this one, that's where you can help keep it ad-free. Lucas: No pressure at all, but if it's made a difference in your career thinking, we'd love for you to toss in whatever feels right. Okay, back to the story. Luna: So after she got the job, what did the first six months look like? Lucas: She told me the learning curve was steep but manageable. She had to learn the specific software platforms that brokers use for enrollment and billing. And she had to get comfortable presenting to groups of employees during open enrollment. Luna: That's basically a classroom, just a different audience. Lucas: Exactly. She said the first time she stood in front of a room of factory workers explaining how a health savings account works, she felt right at home. She just swapped lesson plans for benefits booklets. Luna: I love that. So for a teacher listening right now who's thinking about this path, what's the one concrete step you'd recommend? Lucas: Go to the International Foundation website, look up the CEBS program, and sign up for one course. Just the first one. It's called 'Introduction to Employee Benefit Plans.' If you like it, you'll know. If not, you're out a few hundred bucks and a couple months, but you'll have learned something. Luna: And while you're studying, start doing informational interviews. Even just two or three can open doors. Lucas: Right. The combination of certification plus networking is really what worked here. She didn't just have the piece of paper; she had relationships who could vouch for her. Luna: And she was honest about her gap and framed it as a strength. That's a lesson for any parent re-entering. Lucas: Absolutely. If you've taken time away, you're not damaged goods. You're just someone with a different timeline. And the market is hungry for people who can communicate clearly and care about outcomes. Luna: That's the perfect note to end on. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. See you next time.