Three Things to Do About Your Employment Gap

Three Things to Do About Your Employment Gap Three Things to Do About Your Employment Gap Im bringing up the survey today because one statistic in particular kind of bothers me when asked what is the best way for candidates to handle gaps in employment on a resum, 57 percent of the organizations surveyed replied that candidates should neither emphasize nor hide gapes in employment.Sure, indecision is a terrible bane for leaders, but when it comes to letting jobseekers know what youre looking for? Go ahead, be indecisive. Dont give anyone a straight answer. Better yet, give them a we-can-neither-confirm-nor-deny-style non-answer.What Im saying is this is a total cop-out, and as such it leaves jobseekers hanging. They know what they shouldnt do (dont hide, but also dont emphasize), but they dont know what they should do.Not content to accept this nonsense, I wanted to supplement the SHRM report with some information that jobseekers could actually use. I cant draw from personal experi ence - Im young enough that I havent really even had time for an employment gap yet - so I did some digging, and heres what I came up with1.) You did good things while you took time off, so share them Its bedrngnis mind-blowing, life-altering advice, and chances are that youve heard it already, but thats precisely why it merits revisiting its easy to let good counsel sink into the oblivion of clich. We have to rescue it from time to time.Oddly enough, I think this column from The Northwest Indiana and Illinois Times (of all places) puts it best But in many instances, there were several activities done during the gap that can provide relevant experience to the job target.Well, maybe its not syntactically the best, but its the best in terms of concise expression of the idea during your gap time, you likely did things that count as experience. Play that up. Did you volunteer somewhere? What sort of duties did you perform? What sort of responsibilities did you have? What sort of skill s did you learn or hone?Even more quotidian tasks can be spun into valuable experiences. To prozentanteil the Times again Negotiating with health insurance companies and Medicare can provide opportunities for skills that were previously missing.So, when you breach the subject of your gap time with a potential employer, focus on what you did, not on what you werent doing (i.e., working, in the strictest sense of the word).2.) but your resum isnt the place for explanations.Forbes staff writer Jacquelyn Smith wrote a pretty comprehensive article on the subject of red flags in resums. Smith quotes professional resum writer Ann Baehr as saying that bad news or red flags should never be addressed in a resum. Your resum is for documenting your skills and experiences, so stay focused on those.But its customary to include start and end dates on your resum, so how can you avoid addressing the gap? Some people recommend using years only, instead of the traditional month/year combination, when disclosing employment dates in order to minimize the appearance of gaps that lasted for a few months. But remember youre not looking to hide the gap youre just looking to make it subtler, so dont think this move gives you a free pass to lie to the interviewer.You should address the gap in your cover letter or during your interview. Of course, regardless of where and when you bring up your gap, you shouldnt linger over it - e.g., dont send the interviewer a lengthy email about it, and dont dedicate half your cover letter to the subject.3.) Its okay to practice the truth.Honesty is perhaps the single most pervasive idea in conversations about employment gaps no matter whom you ask, theyll tell you that you should absolutely, positively, never ever lie.But just because you should tell the truth, that doesnt mean you should sail unprepared into the interview. As recruiting firm WinterWyman points out, its a good idea to refine your story. Theyre not talking about engaging in revisioni st history or altering the details. They simply mean that you need to get comfortable telling your story.Practice delivering the story in a quick, direct, authoritative way. Whittle it down to the necessary details. Know the story like the back of your hand, so that you dont stumble or seem foolish when your interviewer (inevitably) asks you about the gap.Master the art of closing deals and making placements. Take our Recruiter Certification Program today. Were SHRM certified. Learn at your own pace during this 12-week program. Access over 20 courses. Great for those who want to break into recruiting, or recruiters who want to further their career. Like this article? We also offer tons of free eBooks on career and recruiting topics - check out Get a Better Job the Right Way and Why It Matters Who Does Your Recruiting. document.write(Read more ) in Resume Tips