Had a few career gaps? Here’s how to explain them on your resume
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Your resume is the first professional document that helps recruiters, hiring managers, and potential employers create the first impression of you. Listing a few unexplained career gaps on your resume isn’t likely to impress any of these people. However, employers are more empathetic regarding career gaps on resumes post-pandemic. As many Americans found themselves out of work during those few years, career gaps are a common thing on resumes after the pandemic.
A career gap will not disqualify you as a competent candidate for a position. However, addressing your career gaps appropriately on your resume is a must for you to create a strong job application. Here’s how you can do that:
Show how you prepared to return to work
If you are currently unemployed, you must start preparing yourself to return to the workforce. This includes pursuing higher education, earning a certificate, taking professional development classes, or joining continuing education courses. This way, you can portray your career gap as an asset on your resume. When writing the career history section of your resume, list your career gap as another job. Then, use bullet points to describe the things you achieved during the gap.
Use your volunteer jobs and part-time work
If you had a career gap longer than a few months, you should use any volunteer jobs you took on to address them on your resume. List your volunteer jobs on your resume and highlight a few of your achievements under each position. If you were working part-time while you were searching for a full-time job, you can mention that on your resume too. Make job entries for each of your part-time jobs during the career gap.
Don’t include your career gap on the resume
This tip doesn’t apply to professionals with shorter careers. However, if you are an older professional with a few decades of experience, you may not need to include your career gap on your resume at all. We generally advise job seekers to mention only the past 10-15 years of work experience on their resumes. If you are an older professional and your career gap occurred outside of the 15-year window, you don’t need to mention it on your resume at all.
Omit months from the resume
If you have career gaps that are shorter than one year, you can avoid mentioning them on your resume by omitting the months of all your work experience. When listing each of your past jobs, use only the years to describe the timeframe. While this may help you get through the initial rounds of screening, there is a chance that you will still be asked about the specific dates of employment during an interview. So, be prepared to explain your career gaps positively to an interviewer.
Highlight entrepreneurial experience
If you took time away from the corporate world to focus your energy on your own business, your career gap is already an asset for your resume. Employers value individuals who have entrepreneurial experience. List the career gap on your resume and describe how you built or scaled your small business during that time. Highlight important skills such as management, innovation, and business acumen using bullet points. Adding entrepreneurial experience to your resume will help you catch the attention of more employers.
Do none of these tips seem to work for you? There’s no need to fret. Talk to a professional resume writer at Resume Mansion. Our resume writers have years of experience helping professionals like you find a job after a career break. Good luck with your job search!