How to explain the gap in your résumé – 1

A gap in your résumé is the period you were not employed anywhere. This seems to be a formidable, nerve-racking prospect. Let’s look at it in some detail here.

First things first

• • • A gap in the résumé is not as rare as we think.
    • It isn’t a killer at all.
    • Employers understand that gaps are okay.
    • It’s how we deal with it that counts

How we deal with it – that’s in our hands, isn’t it?

Why did you have a gap?

There could be umpteen reasons for job gaps. And, they’re all justified, unless you decided to go on a drug spree!

You may have taken the time off to care for your family. Maybe you got a baby (for the ladies out there), or a sick parent. Or maybe you just decided to just chill out. Spend some time at a hill resort or by the beach, or in your own village. Something that took your mind off the numbing monotony of work-life.

What does a gap say about you?

You will be surprised at the kind of information a resume gap can reveal about you. Let’s look at some of them here.

You are not averse to taking risks.

When you took that break, you sallied forth into an unknown future and came back with valuable lessons or skills or both.

You have good communication skills.

You know how to share uncomfortable information with a degree of comfort that reflects your strength of integrity.

I dare say there could be people who would deem such veering away from the traditional concept of work culture as unprofessional and shoddy. If the interviewer expresses such an opinion, I would be better off not working in that company, never mind the otherwise attractive package they offer.

You have good interpersonal skills.

You are skilful at developing and maintaining new relationships and keeping your cool in strange environments. The associations you developed during that intervening period helped you strengthen your inter-personal skills.

You are a great learner.

If you learn a new skill, including a new language, you say you are a good learner, which is an attribute the prospective employer would like to have in their employee.

If you didn’t learn any new skill, you are still a great learner because you have developed your personality and become a more mature person. Therefore, you are an asset to the company.

You are tough and resilient.

By stepping away from the more structured work environment, you proved that you are tough, and can roll with the punches. Your resilience stems from the hurdles, hardships, or vicissitudes you faced during that break. Any right-thinking company will hire you just for this resilience.

And these are some of the things you have every reason to be proud of. You have developed your personality, are creative, and can use your potentials to the fullest extent. In other words, you have tried to actualise yourself, as Maslow would have put it.

So, capitalise on these lessons and re-enter the work zone with greater confidence and seize that opportunity that comes your way.

Continue reading to know:

• • • What can you do about the gap?
    • How do you respond at the interview?
    • A word of caution