It is a common question I get, and one that I have personally juggled with many times in my own career. It comes up when someone wants to re-enter the workforce after a personal leave of some kind. “How do I deal with this gap on my resume?”
In my life, I have had to address this issue multiple times. First, in my twenties, I lived abroad for a significant period of time, both working and exploring, testing out the waters of what might be a fulfilling path in life. When I returned from traveling, I realized that if I was going to find a job, this gap could be a potential liability on my application. Sure, “Gap Years” are somewhat common for recent university graduates and are relatively easy to justify as a “meaningful life experience that helped clarify and consolidate career plans” after a degree. But the narrative still needed to be thought through.
Luckily for me, I wasn’t aiming at the time for a corporate position that required specific training and experience. My career trajectory was much less “linear”. But when I became pregnant and took another year off (and then some) to be a Mommy, things became a little more complicated. For me, being a “Stay-at-Home Mom” was never in the plan, so getting back to work in some regard was important to me. I wanted to work. I wanted to stay home. I wanted options and autonomy and a sense of value. So, I built my own business.
And then, eight years later, my daughter got sick. Stage four cancer, which meant I literally abandoned all professional endeavors overnight to be beside my child in a hospital room for almost 18 months.
Gap year. Mommy leave. Medical leave.
Now that I have been a Career Development Practitioner for over a decade, I know how common these themes are. While for me it was mostly trial and error to overcome these “objections” to my experience and abilities, and uncomfortable to address them at the time without a sense of insecurity, I now know better.
The value we bring to the world of work is a holistic, complex menagerie of training, personality traits, achievements, learning opportunities and life experience. The key is to know and own our value, and then craft our narrative and our marketing tools around that knowledge.
And there are tools, tricks and strategies that leverage that confidence on the page and in the interview.
I’ve read multiple articles that lean into the “cover up” process, mitigating gaps with tricky techniques to take the attention away from the gap. And I’m not opposed to them at all. After all, resume review usually lasts about eight seconds on that first glimpse by a recruiter, and if there are any red flags, it’s an easy “out” for your reader so they can minimize the overload of applications. You don’t want something that screams “I haven’t had a paying job in a long time, but I really hope you consider me anyway!”
But what if that gap is an advantage? What if highlighting your experience and achievements within an “unprofessional” context could give you a leg up? In personal marketing, we want to highlight your “differentiators” – the things that make you unique, rare and individualized to a particular role.
For example, I have been fortunate enough through my personal experience to be introduced to an incredible array of women that term themselves as “Medical Mamas”. These are the women I shared a very unique life experience with in the halls of the pediatric oncology ward. They are, to be forthright, superheroes. But those of them that have come through the battle and are now looking to reintegrate into the world of work have all been challenged with how to present this “time away” on their resume so it doesn’t look like a liability.
Having gone through it, I know what an experience like that does to build resilience, diplomacy, strength, determination, focus, prioritization, dedication, integrity, compassion, courage, creativity, patience, grace, responsibility, organization, and wisdom. These are traits that are sought after by every employer out there and could not be more relevant to contributing to an organization, solving problems, and reaching collective goals.
And when you know that, when you have confidence in that, it’s easy to communicate.
The skills and experience I developed throughout my life outside of the work world apply in a multitude of ways to the value I bring to my career. I may not list “expedient diaper changing” as an achievement in my Career History, but I would absolutely quote my time management skills developed while managing childcare, home care, personal finances, and household scheduling if asked in an interview.
Keeping in mind you always need to think about your audience, you can leverage your skills and experience to speak directly to the needs of a position you are targeting, using language and examples that address those requirements.
If you are wanting to apply for a position in Social Media Marketing, for example, but have been out of the game for a while, what can you say about your time away that enhances your brand?
- “Networked with local parents and built a Facebook Group of 300+ members to showcase parenting resources and support in the community.”
Here are some for the Medical Mamas out there:
- “Managed comprehensive documentation and organization of medical files for multifaceted treatment of patient with diverse care teams.”
- “Maintained composure and equanimity, building a sense of security and confidence of care amid family and friends during a significant medical crisis.”
- “Oversaw daily medication administration, nutrition, exercise, hygiene and social integration for patient with strict requirements and complex physical and socio-emotional needs.”
- “Ensured strict adherence to sanitation requirements to minimize allergens, addressing critical control touch points within the home (doorknobs, light switches, remotes, phones, etc.) and handled hazardous chemotherapy drugs with vigilance.”
The important thing about your presentation, whether your resume follows a linear professional progression or includes several “sabbatical” experiences in your timeline, is that it is unique, relevant to the needs of the role you are targeting, and representative of your abilities and achievements. Everyone has a house to maintain, so simply stating that might not ring any bells for an employer, but how you as an individual have handled these challenges in a unique and productive way can be something worth advertising.
And keep in mind, you can also use a cover letter to give additional context and depth to your narrative.
We all have a story, and each one is unique. Confidence, at the end of the day, is key when presenting yourself to an employer. Know your worth, in and out of a professional role, and weave that into your narrative of success.
