Part 1: Handling the “GAP”

 Part 1 of the Flexforce article series:  Strategies for Stay-At-Home-Parents Re-entering the Worforce 

Our first topic in the “Re-entering the Workforce” series is handling the “gap” or the time period during which you left the professional workforce and the time at which you are ready to re-enter.  This may be one year or ten years.  You may have worked part-time during these years, dabbled in a new interest or occupation, volunteered your heart out, immersed yourself in family, or all or none of the above.  From our experience, the best way to deal with the gap is honestly, but smartly, emphasizing any parts of the gap that are valuable to the prospective employer while deemphasizing those that are irrelevant to the employer. 

Resume Strategies

Let’s start with how to do this in your resume.  As you assemble the parts of your resume, the general rule of thumb is to ask yourself, “Does this experience, job, training, other endeavor, improve my qualifications and readiness for the job I want?”  If the answer is, “yes,” highlight it but only relative to the importance of your other professional experience.  If the answer is, “no,” downplay or eliminate it.  The following article provides guidelines for how to do this in your resume.  Sample resumes and other tools can be found in the Resource section of this site.      

Start with a Summary Statement

Begin your resume with a summary statement highlighting your professional identify.  This will help a potential employer who is reviewing your resume to focus on your professional experience and not your recent gap.  This statement should include your primary field, level of experience, critical skills or expertise, and if desired, your job search objectives.  For example, “Registered Engineer with over twenty years of experience in management and planning of projects ranging from $200,000 to $13 million,” or, “Seasoned results-driven marketing professional with over 20 years of experience in corporate, government, and non-profit environments.” This section may or may not need a title.  It should be centered at the top of your resume just under your name and contact information so that it is the first thing the employer reads on your resume.  It should be no more than two or three sentences and may be followed with a brief bullet listing of your skills.

If your gap was three years or less, ignore it in the Experience section

We have not found employers to worry too much about a two or three year gap, especially in this economy.  Unless you have work experience during the gap that is relevant to the position you are pursuing, if the gap was less than three years, do not mention it.  Just start the Experience section of your resume with your last professional job experience.

Include paid jobs in the Experience section

If you worked a paid job during your gap, include it whether or not it is relevant to the current job or field you are pursuing.  If it is a job that is relevant to your current field, for example if you did some part-time or limited independent consulting work in your field, include it in the Experience section of your resume and take the opportunity to highlight some specifics about the clients you worked for and projects on which you worked.  These types of jobs can raise skepticism in employers who want to know, “How much did she really work, was the work consistent, and was the responsibility and scope of work worthwhile?”  So make sure you craft these work experiences in a way on your resume that highlights specific accomplishments, job titles, and client names so the employer can get a sense of the substance of the work you were doing.

If the paid job, however, was in an area different than your primary professional experience and different from the job or field you are pursuing, for example if you were a substitute teacher, real estate agent, or part-time business owner during your gap, include it chronologically in the Experience section of your resume, but keep the content brief, stating the position, years you held that position, and perhaps a brief bullet or two highlighting any significant accomplishments.  These jobs should never outweigh the content of the jobs you held that are directly relevant to the position or field you are pursuing.

Include only relevant, substantive volunteer jobs in the Experience section

If you held a significant volunteer position during your gap and it was relevant to the current job or field you are pursuing, include it in the Experience section of your resume, but do not make it the focal point.  Examples of this might be jobs you held for non-profit organizations that utilized your area of expertise (e.g., construction project manager, bookkeeper, legal counsel, etc.).  Highlight some of the specific accomplishments you achieved including any measurable results. 

Put other volunteer work or pursuits in Volunteer section at end of resume

You most likely held volunteer roles and pursued other unpaid endeavors during your gap that may not have been relevant to the current position or field you are pursuing, but kept you busy, engaged and productive and made significant contributions to a community or organization.  For example you may have chaired fundraising committees (a stay-at-home-parent staple), chaired a charity event, volunteered for the school library, served on the PTA, etc, etc.  Volunteer work may be important to an employer as evidence of character traits such as resourcefulness, initiative, creativity, leadership, flexibility etc.  Include any of these pursuits you feel exemplify your character, but put them in summary format near the end of your resume in a Volunteer section.

Include relevant training in the Education section

If during your gap, you took any courses that are relevant to the field you are pursuing, include them in the Education section of your resume.

What not to include…

Some of the biggest no-noes we have seen were entries in a resume that called attention to the gap in a way that tried to justify or embellish it.  Whatever you do, do not try to disguise the gap with a cutesy name like “Domestic Engineer” or “Head of Household” or a bullet list of your domestic accomplishments.  While this is important to you and your family, it has no relevance to the employer, except to distract him or her from getting to the meat of your resume which is your professional experience.  It may be read instead as a defense of your choice to stay at home, which may put the employer on the defensive.  Instead, if you feel compelled to share with a prospective employer the reasons for your gap and re-entry into the workforce, include the explanation in a cover letter, but again, try to be brief and focused on how your story is relevant to the job at hand.

 Interview Strategies

Once you are satisfied with how your resume positions your gap, you will need to prepare for how to address the gap during an interview.  Again, our advice is to be honest and forthcoming, but brief.  The prospective employer is going to want to understand your motivation for taking time off as well as your motivation and commitment to getting back in the workforce.  Look for a comfortable opportunity to share that with him or her during an interview in an efficient way.  Do not get too personal or devote too much time to it, but just succinctly explain that you needed to spend more time to home due to children’s needs, a spouse’s travel or schedule, a move, etc.  Do not share your personal views or opinions on working vs. staying home or workplace flexibility, etc.  This is not the right audience for that and it can only distract from the subject that is at hand, which is your qualifications for the job.

By all means, do not be apologetic about your gap either.  We have had some candidates that were so grateful to be given an opportunity to get back into the workforce that they made the mistake of “over-thanking” the employer interviewing them for the “chance” that they are being “given.”  Most employers do not view it this way; they would not have given you an interview if they did not think you had something significant to bring to the table.  So don’t be a charity case.  Be proud of what you have to offer, and show your gratitude to the employer by emphasizing the value you will bring to their organization.

One final mistake we have seen our candidates make, and about which we have received negative feedback from our clients, is dwelling too much on personal flexibility needs (hours, vacation time, etc.) early on in an interview.  Even if you are applying for a part-time job, start with your credentials and ability to fill the position before broaching the schedule question.  An employer will be a lot more open minded about potential flexibility needs once he or she has determined you are a strong candidate.  We have seen entire interviews derail before they even start due to a standoff about schedule.

Conclusion

Yes, it is true that the time you took off from your professional career track can be an obstacle in positioning yourself on a resume or in an interview with a prospective employer.  However, if you think of the gap from the prospective employer’s mindset and ask “How does the gap affect my ability to do this job?”, you may be surprised at how you can position certain experiences in your gap years as assets, while minimizing other aspects so as to not distract.  Check our website out for some of our favorite example resumes of stay-at-home-parents who have effectively dealt with their gap.