The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry

In this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the rise of fractional executive roles as a re-entry path for parents after a career gap. They focus on the story of a former operations director who stepped away for six years, then returned as a fractional chief operating officer serving three startups. The hosts discuss how she rebuilt her network through a peer advisory gro...

Episode 81 of The Comeback Career Podcast explores how Melissa Chen, a former IT project manager, parlayed her six-year career gap into a federal contracting role with a mid-tier defense firm. Lucas and Luna break down the specific certification she earned (Security+), the networking strategy that got her foot in the door, and why the federal government's push for qualified candidates made her gap...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how a stay-at-home parent used a five-year career gap to transition into recruiting, a field that values empathy and people skills. They dive into the story of Megan Torres, who after a decade in marketing and a five-year gap, landed a role as a talent acquisition specialist at a mid-sized tech firm. Lucas explains how Megan reframed her gap as a strength—bu...

Episode 79 of The Comeback Career Podcast explores how a marketing manager turned stay-at-home parent rebuilt her career by freelancing on Upwork. Lucas and Luna break down the strategy of starting with low-paying gigs to build a profile, then gradually raising rates. They discuss how she landed her first client, the importance of a niche, and how she transitioned from $15 articles to $150/hour co...

In this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how a stay-at-home parent leveraged a career gap to transition into UX research. They focus on the story of Maria Chen, who after five years out of the workforce, completed a part-time UX research certificate through Google's Career Certificates program while volunteering as a user testing coordinator for a local nonprofit. Mar...

Episode 77 of The Comeback Career Podcast explores a less glamorous but effective re-entry path: temporary staffing. Lucas and Luna share the story of Maria, a former marketing director who returned to work through a temp agency after a six-year career break. They discuss how temp work rebuilt her confidence, updated her skills, and led to a permanent role within nine months. Listeners learn pract...

In this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how a career gap can become a launchpad for a leadership coaching practice. They focus on the story of Maya, a former marketing director who took a six-year break to raise her children and returned to start a coaching firm focused on helping mid-career professionals navigate internal promotions. The hosts unpack the specific st...

For parents returning after a career gap, project management is a surprisingly accessible field — it values transferable skills like scheduling, budgeting, and stakeholder communication over specific industry experience. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of Maya, a former marketing coordinator who spent six years at home before landing a project manager role at a mid-sized logistic...

Episode 74 of The Comeback Career Podcast. After six years as a stay-at-home parent, Jenna Kowalski was terrified of sales—cold calling, rejection, the whole stereotype. But when her husband's job relocated them to a new city, she needed income fast. She took a part-time role at a local specialty food store, selling artisan cheeses and charcuterie to customers. That small retail job rebuilt her co...

In this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how a career gap can actually strengthen your candidacy for a marketing management role. They dive into the story of Jenna, a former brand manager who took five years off to raise twins and returned as a marketing manager at a mid-sized consumer goods company. Lucas breaks down how Jenna framed her gap as a strategic advantage,...

Episode 72 of The Comeback Career Podcast explores the untold story of a former teacher who returned to the workforce as a cybersecurity analyst after a six-year career gap raising two kids. Lucas and Luna break down the specific certifications (CompTIA Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker), the free online resources used (Cybrary, TryHackMe), and the negotiation strategy that landed a fully remote...

In Episode 71 of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how professional fellowships can serve as a structured on-ramp for parents returning after a career gap. They focus on the specific example of the 'Path Forward Return to Work Fellowship,' a program launched by the nonprofit Path Forward in partnership with companies like Amazon, Walmart, and PayPal. Lucas explains how the fellow...

In this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how a stay-at-home parent leveraged free online courses, a portfolio project, and a returnship to land a data analyst role at a mid-size healthcare firm. They walk through the specific steps: choosing a learning path (Google Data Analytics Certificate), building a project using public hospital data, networking into a returnship...

After a six-year career gap, Sarah Chen, a former marketing director, launched her own consulting firm specializing in retail analytics. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how she used her gap to identify a niche, build a client base through volunteering, and structure a firm that accommodates her family life. They discuss the specific steps she took, from conducting informal market research...

Lucas and Luna explore how a career gap can be a strategic advantage in landing contract or project-based work. They break down the case of a former marketing manager who took a three-year break to care for her kids and returned through a six-month contract at a SaaS company, eventually converting to full-time. They discuss why companies are increasingly open to hiring returning parents on a contr...

In this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the power of returnships—structured re-entry programs for professionals after a career break. They focus on the case of Jennifer, a former marketing manager who took a five-year gap to raise twins and landed a returnship at JPMorgan Chase that led to a full-time role. The hosts break down what returnships are, why companies lik...

Episode 66 of The Comeback Career Podcast explores how parents returning after a career gap can systematically document and present their skills using a skills portfolio. Lucas and Luna walk through the story of Maria, a former marketing manager who spent six years at home and landed a senior role at a mid-sized tech firm by building a portfolio that connected her volunteer work, freelance project...

Lucas and Luna talk to Sarah Chen, a former marketing manager who took five years off to raise twins and returned by building FinLit, a financial literacy app now used in 200+ high schools. They dig into how a career gap can become a launchpad for entrepreneurship when you leverage the time for deep learning instead of worrying about resume gaps. Sarah shares how she taught herself to code using f...

Episode 64 of The Comeback Career Podcast: Lucas and Luna explore how parents returning after a career gap can leverage their unique experience to serve on nonprofit and corporate boards. They spotlight the story of a former marketing director who, after a five-year gap raising twins, landed a seat on a local arts council board and later a publicly traded company's ESG committee. The hosts break d...

In this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the story of Maria, a former marketing manager who took a five-year career gap to raise her children and returned as a corporate trainer at a Fortune 500 company. They break down exactly how she leveraged her gap experience—specifically her volunteer work teaching digital literacy at a community center—into a skills-based resum...

In this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how returning parents can use volunteer roles to fill resume gaps, build new skills, and land paid work. They break down the story of Maria Santos, a former marketing manager who spent three years as a stay-at-home parent, then volunteered as a social media coordinator for a local food bank. That role led to a paid part-time gi...

In this episode of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how a career gap can be the perfect time to turn a side hustle into a full-time role. They focus on the story of Maya Torres, a former marketing manager who took two years off to care for her elderly parents and used that time to grow a freelance social media consulting gig from $500 a month to $4,500 a month. Maya then parlaye...

When Maria Chen left her logistics role to care for her elderly mother, she assumed her next job would be full-time or nothing. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how a career gap can actually strengthen your negotiating position for flexible or part-time work. Maria's story — returning to a Fortune 500 supply chain team at 60% hours — reveals the specific tactics that turned her gap into a l...

In episode 59 of The Comeback Career Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how a career gap can become the foundation for a freelance copywriting business. They focus on the story of Jenna, a former marketing manager who took a three-year break to care for her twins and returned to work by building a copywriting practice from scratch. Lucas breaks down the three specific steps Jenna used to land her fir...

In Episode 58, Lucas and Luna explore how a career gap can become a strategic advantage in consulting re-entry. They examine the case of Sarah, a former management consultant at Deloitte who took a five-year gap to raise twins, then returned to a boutique firm by positioning her gap as a period of deep client empathy and cross-sector learning. The hosts discuss specific tactics: reframing the gap...