Tips for Highlighting Skills in Employment Gaps

📲 I received this question over text: 𝘐'𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘱? When the school supplies hit store shelves, 'tis the season for paid work re-entry. When you sense your career break is at its end and paid work is the goal, look forward (not backward) when determining your career direction. And once you know the role(s) you're after, position yourself as THE must-have candidate. Remember: Your career break is an asset, not a liability. 4 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞: ❶ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 Use a “Related Experience” heading in your resume to list experiences that matter for your job target. This simple trick allows you to demonstrate skills, wins and roles that translate to your ideal role. Consider including volunteer experience, leadership positions and side hustle (or freelance work). ❷ 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 This tactic is a great way to create continuity from a collection of experiences. Group like experiences and roles together, delineating the experiences in a summary section. Then, focus on the successes in your bullet points. Share the data of your efforts as it relates to the work you want to do going forward. Think money raised, the number of committees led, results of new programs built, etc. ❸ 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 If you have a short gap as a mid-career professional, you can use an easy formatting fix: Delete the months on your resume to eliminate your short gap. For gaps longer than a year, use the date sandwich method. Instead of formatting dates to the right-hand side of your file, create a sandwich 🥪. The bread is the company name on one side and the location on the other, with the employment dates in the middle of the sandwich. This way the focus is being taken off the years out of the workforce and focusing more on your job title and the value you brought to the position. ❹ 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 These are one-line statements sharing the WHY behind your paid employment exit. Research shows applicants who disclose the reason behind their work gap were 60% more likely to receive a call back for an interview than those who didn't. Your exit line is a straightforward statement, not a novel. It can be placed in the line of the job title. For example: Product Manager | 2015 – 2022 | Left for a 2-year stint to care for children OR your exit line could read: Left position to get MBA If you have an extensive break consider a one-liner between roles in your work experience, like: Career sabbatical to care for family ❓What else?

One of the questions I get most frequently from job seekers is how to navigate a career gap on their resume… Personally, I say address it head-on. Lots of people, particularly over the last 4-5 years, have experienced unexpected breaks in employment. It’s understandable and perfectly acceptable! But if you don’t address it proactively, employers might begin to imagine unfounded and unfair red flags about you and your work history. So don’t give them the chance! I always recommend incorporating a “career break” entry into your resume. In this type of section, you have the opportunity to: 1️⃣ Tactfully and succinctly explain the reason for this break in your employment history while avoiding going into unnecessary details 2️⃣ Frame things in a positive light and showcase your resiliency, rather than just leaving a missing date range in your experience section 3️⃣ Explain relevant activities you may have engaged in during your break like volunteering, upskilling, or working in a part-time or freelance capacity 4️⃣ Highlight the alignment of skills you potentially gained or honed during this time to the job for which you are applying 5️⃣ Showcase your excitement for returning to a specific role or field, addressing baseless concerns about your commitment or work readiness This approach is strategically beneficial because it allows you to be honest and transparent, while also giving you the opportunity to control your own narrative! #careerbreak #careergap #resumewriting

Career Gaps: Navigating after a personal break and rejoining the workforce! I noticed several questions about career gaps in the recent December “Ask a Recruiter” event, so I wanted to share insights to help those navigating return to the workforce after a break. I can share my own example of rejoining the workforce after a 14-year gap, initially with a short course in HR and gaining experience in a small boutique recruiting agency for a couple of years, then moving to internal recruiting by securing contract openings with enterprise clients. I am now building my own brand within the recruiting space. IMO employers increasingly recognize the value of these gaps, and they are willing to give a chance to any candidate after a break who is willing to come back into the workforce.   Many large firms offer return ship programs, providing opportunities for individuals to return to the workforce. They are often open to welcoming individuals back into their organizations.   The next question is, would there be bias in the resume reviewing stage? Yes, there is bound to be one, but there is someone who will see your potential.   Be open about the gap, briefly mentioning the reason, such as caretaking, personal injury, layoff, or a sabbatical, on your resume. Focus on creating a resume that highlights your strengths and achievements. Emphasize relevant projects, courses, certifications, voluntary work, or skill enhancements during the break. Update your LinkedIn profile, optimize headlines and summary, and gather as many references and recommendations as possible from your ex-colleagues and managers. Your resume and LinkedIn profile both play pivotal roles in your job search journey. This will move you to the screening level after job applications. During interviews, discuss why you're an excellent fit for the role, showcasing how your experience aligns with the employer's expectations. Emphasize the value you bring and your genuine interest in the job and company. Networking is crucial; leverage connections for referrals by sending personalized messages to the companies you are applying to. Additionally, engage with people in the company you are targeting by interacting with their content. Please repost if you found this useful for fellow job seekers. Follow me for more tips on the job search on LinkedIn and my twitter handle, @dlaxmi16 #careergap #returntowork #resumetips #jobsearch #networking #AskARecruiter #careeradvice #startup #entrepreneur #bias #linkedinprofile #resume #LinkedInsummary

Don’t underestimate the power of stories. Whether you’re interviewing for a job or going up for a promotion or annual review, you want to offer a compelling narrative. It’s easy to rate yourself highly as a team player or to say you have great communications skills. But do you know what you really mean? Will the person across the table or on the Zoom screen have the same understanding? How do you prove those abilities? There is something that can help you manage all 3 of these questions. Clear, concrete examples. You need to create imagery for the person receiving information, whether in a document or a meeting. You want them to understand viscerally. Before you head into an interview or review, reflect back on your work—projects you led, initiatives you supported, operational activities you executed. How do they illustrate the qualities you and skills you want to convey? Say you want to demonstrate management potential, even though you’ve not had any direct reports yet. Maybe you oversaw the work of an intern or helped onboard a more junior colleague, or led a project with a team you didn’t have direct authority over. Don’t stop at listing the “what”. Also think about  the “how”. What was your approach? How well did it work? What were the results? What was difficult that you made look easy? Why were you effective? What would you change? Pick moments that stand out, talk or write about them, and then map them back to those key qualifications you want to highlight. Try to use common references or add context so that others can see your contribution. This process will help you gain clarity and provide useful stories for discussing your skills and style with others. The timeframe you pull depends on context. If you’re preparing for an annual review, your primary focus should be the past year. However, if you previously identified an area for improvement, you might look back further to compare your current level with your past performance. If you’re in the running for a new position or promotion, you will reach further back in history. Just make sure you have some recent examples to show your continued growth and development. How have you used storytelling in your professional life? What’s your approach to identifying and refining key examples? #JobSeekers #Interviewing #Promotion #AnnualReview #Storytelling