317: Addressing Gaps in Employment in Resumes, LinkedIn, Job Interviews

Gaps in employment. I want to start with the big picture, then drill down to some specifics.

If it was several years ago, or more recently for only a few months, it probably isn’t the problem you think it is.

You can eliminate or minimize the appearance of an employment gap on your resume and LinkedIn, but you can’t do this on an application.

You CAN cover the employment gap with consulting work or other self-employment – but only if it is legitimate.

Be prepared to answer questions about how you spent that gap and what you learned during that time.

On Your Resume

I had a client who took an intentional sabbatical to travel the world – and she had measurable achievements from her travels. We included that on her resume.

I’ve got a client right now who spent 1 year building an Amazon business. This wasn’t on-brand for him — but does show his entrepreneurial spirit and ability to build a business from the ground up by himself. We included this on his resume.

Other clients have left their employer months before their actual end date due to accrued PTO or other reasons – we use the latest end date on the resume and LI profile. After all, they are still an employee of that company all that time, even though they no long show up every day.

You can take months of employment off your resume, but keep in mind that you will need to include them when you upload your resume to an ATS. I’ve started including months of employment on all resumes so my clients don’t have to have a separate “dates of employment” document they must refer to.

Sometimes, a gap in employment makes for a natural cut-off with older jobs. Why include a position from 17 years ago when it will show a two-year gap while you were having children?

Clients often ask me about consulting work or other gap entrepreneurial ventures – my question to them is, did you do something that was substantive during that time? I don’t ask them about whether they were paid or not, because that’s not what is important.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has a feature where you can “add a career break” as if you were adding a new job. If you choose to use this feature, it’s important that you provide some narrative – what did you do? Learn? Experience? How did you grow? If appropriate, why did you have a career break, e.g. was it intentional or were you part of a layoff that affected 75% of your company’s workforce?

I personally wouldn’t use this feature if I was simply job searching, although there may be situations where this makes sense.

In the Interview

Here are some ways to address your gap in employment:

-In your answer to the “tell me about yourself” question: You may choose to include something like this:

           “As you can see from my resume, I took an intentional sabbatical for six months last year to fulfill a lifelong goal of writing a book. It’s called BLANK and was published in February of this year by PUBLISHING COMPANY. “

           “In 2020, I was part of a massive layoff at ABC that affected more than half the total workforce. Rather than immediately attempting to find my next role, I opted to lean on my savings so I could improve my physical health after working 100-hour weeks for months at a time as we were trying to save the company. I did SOME SPECIFICS, and I’m proud to say I improved my health based on all available metrics.”

-If you are directly asked about a gap in employment, be prepared with an answer similar to the one above.

Here are some things to consider as you prepare your answer:

-Don’t sound defensive

-Don’t embellish

-No need to tell them you weren’t paid for consulting work unless they ask

-Be sure to tell them how the experience helped you grow professionally or personally

When it becomes a problem

As the saying goes, “Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.”

If you’ve had multiple gaps in employment, I strongly recommend working with someone like me on a) how to position this in your marketing materials (one size DOES NOT fit all), and b) how to talk about this in the interview.

The bottom line

Everyone has something they believe makes them a less-than-ideal candidate. If that something for you is a gap in employment, it isn’t a bigger deal than someone else’s something, which could be age, lack of education, or multiple terminations.

The important thing is to come up with a strategy to address, both on paper and in the interview, in a way that neutralizes it – or if possible – turns it into a positive.

Are you in the wrong job that chips away at you every day? The document and coaching programs offered by Exclusive Career Coaching will help you find a job that uses your zone of genius, recognizes your value, and pays you what you’re worth.

If you’re ready to take your job search to the next level by working with a highly experienced professional with a track record of client success, schedule a complimentary consult to learn more: 

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