So the question today is, “There is a gap in my career. What is your advice?”.
Firstly, there must be a reason why that gap exists. The idea of career management and explaining to the reader, who is the decision-maker, whether it be an executive recruiter or someone in corporate HR, is that you have to be open and honest. There is a reason — many people take a sabbatical halfway through their career. They might want to take a year off. So, explain on your resume that you took a personal sabbatical.
Many others take a sabbatical for academic qualifications. They go to university. There’s nothing wrong with that, but what is wrong is not explaining it. You need to explain why you took that year or two or even three off. Another reason is caregiving. Today so many people are required to look off to their elderly parents or even their children or spouses who have gone through health issues. But tell that reason, be honest, be open, put caregiver on your resume, or your CV.
Don’t leave a gap because one of the screening processes that executive recruiters or HR professionals use is, they go down the right-hand margin and they look for missing gaps. If there is a gap that is not covered, this is a question…red flags go off in their minds and they think, hmm, what did that person do? So you need to be honest as it’s fact of life. Maybe you were on parental leave. Perhaps you were functioning as a caregiver, or maybe you were on some personal sabbatical. Whatever the case, just be open and be honest and explain that reason why.
If you are in career transition, I’d be happy to help you. I am passionate about helping you reach your career goals and so I have an offer for you, a free resume critique, and a LinkedIn audit. I will give you 30 minutes of my time, no obligation, no sales pitch, to go through your LinkedIn and your resume from top to bottom. However I will tell you, I am tough. I say it as it is. I will tell you how to eliminate any red flags and have a bank of green flags. That means you will sail through your job search and through your career transition. Are you interested? If so, email me your resume on LinkedIn, or send it to me by clicking on the button below. I’d be happy to help you. Cheers!
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