What you can do if you have gaps in employment.

One thing that worries a lot of job seekers when they are re-entering the workforce are gaps in their employment on their resumes.  People wonder how can they make up for them and if anyone would want to hire someone who hasn’t worked in a few years?  The reality is that gaps don’t have to be a bad thing, if you can sell yourself properly.

Getting a job is difficult for everyone.  Not working for a few years may seem like it gives you a disadvantage but it is up to you to overcome it.  Here are some things you may want to think about.

Your resume and cover letter.

Your resume and cover letter are what are going to get you an interview.  It is important if you have a gap in employment that you use your cover letter to show that your skills are still up to date and in your resume you reinforce this.  You can also tailor the two to match the needs of the job you are applying to and not only show that your skills are up to date, but that you are a great fit for the role.  I don’t mean to exaggerate your skills, but talk about how you used them while you weren’t working. You can include volunteer work during the time you weren’t working and how you used your skills to show why they are still up to date.  Whats even better is if the volunteer work is relevant to the work you will be doing for the company you are applying to.

Your interview.

If you feel that a gap in your employment is a bad thing, find ways to fill in the gaps with relevant things that you were doing.  You want everything in your interview to be positive and focusing on the good.  Talk about using certain skills you used with different side projects while you were taking your time off and do your research before your interview so you can give relevant examples on how they will benefit the new company.

Just because you were unemployed or left the workforce for a few years doesn’t always mean your skills are no longer up to date.  Instead of focusing on the gap in employment, you may want to focus on how you fine tuned them with other organizations.  The most important thing to remember is to use your best judgment with how the interview is going and what you want to bring up.   Gaps in employment may just mean that your skills weren’t focused on one company, when in reality you were helping multiple companies, groups or organizations with them so they are up to date.  It is your job to sell yourself in the interview so find a way to show this.  Professional resume writers like the ones at Jobfox are more than happy to help you through this and find the best way to show your skills are up to date.  Feel free to visit our resume writing section and talk to our specialists to see how they can help with re-writing your resume to show how your skills are up to date with a new and more polished resume.

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HR, job, jobsearch, resume