Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Career Gap Made Me a Better Problem Solver
Transcript
- Lucas: So you're in a job interview, and the hiring manager asks you to describe a time you solved a difficult problem. If you've been on a career gap — especially a long one — that question might feel like it belongs to your old life. But I'd argue the opposite. Luna: You're going to tell me that changing diapers or negotiating with insurance companies is a business skill. Lucas: Exactly. And I've got a case in point. Sarah Chen — former marketing manager at a midsize consumer goods company. She stepped away from work for eighteen months to care for her aging parents. No side projects, no consulting. Just caregiving. When she started interviewing again, she realised the problem-solving muscle she'd built was unlike anything she'd used in the office. Luna: What kind of problems are we talking about? Lucas: Daily improvisation. Her father had a complex medication schedule, and her mother was recovering from a hip replacement. She had to coordinate home health aides who sometimes didn't show up, manage a fixed budget, and navigate Medicare bureaucracy — all while keeping two fragile people stable. She told me that in a typical workday, you might face one or two novel problems. In a caregiving day, you face ten. Luna: And that's the kind of pressure that either breaks you or makes you incredibly resourceful. Lucas: Right. And what's interesting is how she framed that in interviews. She didn't just say 'I took care of my parents.' She developed a system. She used what's called the 'five-why framework' — a root-cause analysis tool from manufacturing — to dig into recurring issues. For example, her mom kept missing physical therapy appointments. Instead of just rescheduling, she asked why five times: Why did she miss it? Because she forgot. Why did she forget? Because the appointment time changed. Why did it change? Because the therapist's schedule shifted. Why did that happen? Because the clinic was understaffed. The real problem wasn't forgetfulness — it was a scheduling system that didn't communicate changes reliably. Luna: So she solved the root cause instead of patching the symptom. Lucas: She created a shared calendar that automatically sent text reminders to her mom's phone. Missed appointments dropped to zero. That's a process improvement story that any hiring manager would recognise as lean operations. Luna: I love that. And it's not just an anecdote. LinkedIn published a survey last year — 2025 — that found 67% of hiring managers for mid-career roles said they valued 'real-world problem solving' above domain expertise. They want to know you can think on your feet, not just that you know the right software. Lucas: That's a huge number. And it's a shift. For decades the assumption was that a gap meant your skills atrophied. But the data suggests the opposite — if you're actively solving complex, messy, real-world problems during that time, you're actually getting better at the meta-skill that matters most. Luna: Before we get into the how-to — and I want to get into it — I'm curious how Sarah actually structured her stories in interviews. Because most people stumble there. Lucas: Yeah. She used a simple before and after template. She'd start with the situation: 'My mom was missing physical therapy appointments, and it was delaying her recovery.' Then the old approach: 'I kept calling to reschedule, but the problem kept happening.' Then the five-why analysis: 'I realised the root cause was a lack of automated reminders.' Then the new solution: 'I set up a shared calendar with text alerts, and she never missed another appointment.' And finally, the result: 'Her recovery timeline shortened by about three weeks.' Luna: That's textbook STAR method — Situation, Task, Action, Result — but with a specific problem-solving lens. Lucas: Exactly. And she did that for multiple scenarios. Another one: managing the budget. Her parents had fixed retirement income, so she had to track every dollar. When a surprise medical bill came, she didn't just pay it — she called the hospital, negotiated a discount for upfront payment, and then set up a sinking fund for future surprises. That's financial analysis and vendor negotiation. Luna: Which is exactly what a marketing manager does — managing a budget and negotiating with agencies. Lucas: Right. And here's the thing — most people don't make these connections on their own. They think, 'I was just taking care of my parents.' But with a little framing, those experiences become powerful evidence of capability. Luna: Speaking of powerful framing — and this feels like the right moment — you know, one reason we can dive deep into topics like this is that we don't run ads on these episodes. It's a choice we made early on. If you find value in that approach, you can support it at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just if it's useful. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small way to keep the show exactly what we want it to be — focused on the content, not on selling you something. And honestly, every contribution helps us spend more time on episodes like this one. So thank you if you've already done that. Luna: Alright, back to Sarah. She also developed a framework for deciding which problems to solve first — triage, essentially. Lucas: Yes. She used a simple urgency-impact matrix. High urgency, high impact problems got solved immediately. Low urgency, low impact — she'd batch them or defer. That's exactly how product managers prioritise features. Luna: So she essentially ran her parents' household like a small business. Lucas: That's a great way to put it. And when she went back to work — she landed a role as a marketing operations manager at a health tech company — she told me the interviewers were most impressed by her ability to 'cut through the noise.' They said she asked better questions than most candidates with a continuous resume. Luna: Did she use any specific language in her resume or LinkedIn profile? Lucas: She listed it as 'Family Care Manager' — which some career experts recommend. But more importantly, she didn't just list duties. She bullet-pointed outcomes. 'Reduced missed medical appointments by 100% through implementation of automated reminder system.' 'Negotiated 15% reduction in out-of-pocket medical costs through vendor negotiation.' Those are concrete, measurable accomplishments. Luna: And that's the key. A gap isn't a blank space — it's a different kind of work. But you have to translate it into the language of the workplace. Lucas: Exactly. And the translation is a skill in itself. So if you're listening and you're in a gap right now, or you've just returned, start keeping a journal of the problems you solve each day. Write down the situation, what you did, and the result. You'll be amazed at the portfolio you're building. Luna: And if you've been back for a while, it's not too late to look back and reframe. Those stories are gold. Lucas: One more thing Sarah said that stuck with me. She noted that during her gap, she became much more comfortable with uncertainty. In a corporate job, you often have defined processes. In caregiving, you're constantly inventing solutions on the fly. That tolerance for ambiguity is something companies desperately need. Luna: Especially right now — June 2026 — when so many industries are in flux. Adaptability is the premium skill. Lucas: So the takeaway is simple: don't hide your gap. Mine it for the problem-solving stories it gave you. And if you need help structuring those stories, use the five-why framework and the before and after template. That's how you turn a career pause into a professional springboard. Luna: And if you know someone who's struggling to re-enter the workforce, send them this episode. It might change how they see their own experience. Lucas: Alright, that's all for today. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Thanks for listening.