Did you take a break from your career for personal reasons? Did you leave your job to raise your children or go back to school, you were ill or had to take care of a suffering loved one? You now want to relaunch your professional career. However, you hesitate about the justification to give to this “gap” in your CV. You must of course be prepared to discuss this with your next potential employer: if you evade the question, they may question themselves, or even exclude you from the recruitment process. So, How do you explain a gap in work experience?
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How do you explain a gap in work experience?
In today’s job market, it’s extremely common for executives, to have work gaps on their resumes, and the reasons can be endless. How do you explain this to your future employer?
Here are some ways to explain a gap in work experience –
The first thing to remember is to be honest, even if you have been unemployed for a year, face it. You can’t “make up” a job or reference during that time because sooner or later the employer will find out and so, your career will be worse.
Break from career for further education
Did you take a break from your career to further your education? Resuming studies is generally well regarded by employers. Explain how these trainings will benefit your future boss. Mention your courses, internships or tests carried out if they are related to the job for which you are applying.
Fired by your previous employer
You were fired by your former boss and have been looking for a job since? Avoid mentioning that you have been fired. Simply say that you have actively looked for a job, but the period of economic crisis or pandemic has complicated the search. If you are asked to talk about your former employer during the interview, always stay positive and polite, even if your layoff went badly. Explain that your professional vision differed from his, and that you agreed to stop collaborating.
Took break to care for a seriously ill loved one
Did you interrupt your career to care for a seriously ill loved one? It is absolutely your right. Report that the situation is now restored. If your “gap” is justified by the fact that you wanted to start a family and take care of your children, explain that they have now grown up. Keep in mind that you don’t have to go into the details at all, even if your potential employer might seem to want to.
Took a break because you were unwell
The subject is more delicate if you have been temporarily disabled or incarcerated. Never divulge too much information, keep it as brief as possible and focus the discussion on your strengths. If you have been unwell, mention that the illness is now cured. In the case of a chronic illness, it is not always necessary to report it to your boss from the start. If you insist on it, add that your illness will have no impact on the quality of your work.
How to justify a gap in the CV during a job interview?
What you need to know is that the recruiter interviewing you only has you, for an hour, and your resume, to form an opinion on your candidacy and suitability. with the post.
He will try to get to know you better, and above all to understand the choices and decisions that have guided your career.
He wants to make sure that you are motivated and that you intend to bring value to the company, that you are not there to make a quick passage, before disappearing again into thin air.
He wants to verify that you are someone the company can count on, that you are not a difficult personality who will have difficulty adapting to the position or the company culture.
A gap in the CV arouses, if not suspicion, at the very least curiosity.
And this is where your calm and your confidence will be decisive in reassuring the recruiter.
What you seek to avoid are misperceptions.
Indeed, in this kind of question in a job interview, beyond this professional break, the way you talk about it matters a lot.
Do you stumble over words and try to justify yourself by apologizing?
Don’t do that. Be a candidate who speaks with confidence and mastery of his experience, explaining how this period has been beneficial in his career.
The important thing is to be honest and explain those times when you prioritized other areas of your life in a transparent and assertive way.
If you talk about it in a natural and honest way, you will convince the recruiter that there is no doubt about your application.
By talking about it in a positive way, highlighting what you have learned, the lessons you have learned, you give the impression of a mature person who takes responsibility for his professional career.
- Communicate the energy with which you are applying.
- Talk about the projects you did during this time.
- Explain what you learned.
- Talk about the motivation and determination with which you approach this new stage of your journey.
- Go back to the experiences that are related to the position.
- Project yourself into the business.
Conclusion
A gap in the CV is not unacceptable, however everything will depend on how you accept this experience and how you justify it.
In summary, explain your “gap” as early as possible in the recruitment process, and in the most diplomatic way. Underline the positive aspects of this experience, with naturalness and confidence, then make the link with the rest of the interview by projecting yourself in the position and in the company.Then make it clear that now you are ready to invest all your strength in your work. And focus the discussion on your professional strengths.
Learn to build your self-confidence, your resilience and use all the resources at your disposal to bounce back.