So hello, I'm Mona Husseiny.
At Indeed, we are guided by a strong mission
to help people get jobs.
I lead the office of our chief technology officer, where
we work every day to create technology and services that
connect people with employment opportunities.
Thank you so much for joining us.
So this brings us to our tip of the week.
If you have career gaps, confidently and positively
address them in your interview and on your resume.
So we'll break down how to do that for you piece by piece.
An employment gap can range in length
from a period of several months to a period of several years
and can occur voluntarily or involuntarily.
If you have a gap in your employment history,
the first thing you should know is that you're not alone.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 90% of people
have been unemployed at some point in their working lives.
Even though career gaps are a common occurrence,
it is still important to convey that you've
been active in keeping your skills sharp even
while not formally employed.
First, let's talk about how you can do this successfully
within your resume.
So addressing career gaps on your resume.
We'll cover a few ways in which you can format the career
gap on your resume to explain the reason for unemployment
and positively frame this period of time
by detailing the experience you've gained.
One thing to keep in mind is that employers
are most concerned with evaluating
your past three to five years of work experience.
So if the gap occurred more than six years ago,
you may not need to address it on your resume at all.
If you've experienced a recent gap in your employment,
here are a few tactics that can redirect
the focus on an employment gap to highlight your skills
and employability instead.
So here's the first tactic.
Consider a functional resume.
A functional resume format focuses on your skills
and achievements rather than presenting your experience
from most recent to older jobs.
You can include sections like a career summary statement
and key accomplishments by grouping competency themes
like customer service or project management experience.
This format makes your skills and ability
become the primary focus of your resume.
You can then include an employment section
towards the end of your resume.
Another suggestion is to list your gap within your work
experience section as you would list a professional role.
Include the dates of your unemployment and one
to two bullet points summarizing the reason for the gap
and what you accomplished during that time.
For example, if you took time off to be a full-time parent,
you can include full-time parent, Atlanta, Georgia,
2008 to 2011.
And you would have bullet point, took time
away from professional career to raise young children
and manage the household.
If you experienced a gap in employment
for personal reasons, you can include sabbatical,
Austin, Texas, 2009 to 2010.
With a bullet point, took time to travel, explore,
and be reinspired to be a successful project manager,
learned patience, creative ways to problem solve,
various communication styles, and how
to balance being a team player versus a leader.
And if you were able to complete any personal projects
or coursework during this time like building
a personal website to demonstrate your front end
or UX skills, create a personal project recertification
section on your resume that highlights this work,
and provide links to any examples of work when possible.
You can also highlight any volunteer work or personal work
done during this time.
For example, many parents will volunteer for the PTA
to support fundraising efforts.
If you're a caregiver for an elderly relative,
maybe you are responsible for ordering several medicines
or coordinating care providers along with therapy appointments
and making multiple calls to insurance to ensure coverage,
these are all life skills that are transferable to many roles.
They can be highlighted on your resume.
You bring a lot to the table.
So in addition to including a reference
to the gap in unemployment on your resume,
you should also be prepared to talk about it in a way that
conveys confidence and positivity without going
into a deep level of detail.
When ask to address a gap in employment,
focus on highlighting what you were able to accomplish
during this time.
Some examples of accomplishments you can include
are personal development, completed certifications,
or articles or books you read that helped
you stay on top of what's happening in your industry.
Here's a basic template that you can use
to share what you've learned.
Reason you were not employed, followed
by what you did during the gap, and ending
with a statement about how excited
you are to return to work.
Here's an example if you left the workforce
to be a caretaker.
I spent some time as a primary caretaker in my family.
During that time, I was able to be there for my family
but I always knew I wanted to return to work,
and I'm ready to do that now.
If you took time off for personal reasons, you can say,
I was able to take some time off to work on myself.
It was time that prepared me to take on new challenges.
I'm incredibly excited about the opportunities that lie
ahead such as this position.
Once you've answered the question,
steer the conversation back to your excitement
and your qualifications for the role as naturally as possible.
A great transition is to ask the interviewer what
qualities does a successful person in this role possess.
You can then share examples from your work experience of times
when you demonstrated these skills and characteristics.
There's a great article on the Indeed Career Guide called,
"How to explain employment gaps in an interview," that
includes more examples that will link to below."
Now, how do you explain a career gap due to COVID-19?
Here's an example statement you can
use if you were laid off due to COVID-19's
impact on your company.
My former employer underwent a downsizing
due to the impact of the coronavirus
pandemic that resulted in my position being eliminated.
To be honest, it was a difficult time,
but I left with confidence that I
had developed important skills and built strong relationships
with my managers and colleagues.
I look forward to the opportunity
to apply those experiences in my next job.
So in summary, here are things to remember
when addressing a career gap in your resume or in an interview.
Be prepared to address your career
gap without feeling like you have
to go into too much detail.
Consider using a functional resume
format that places the focus on your skills and ability,
not on years of continuous service.
When answering questions about your career
gap in an interview, focus on what you accomplished
during that time and convey your excitement to return to work.
A basic template for your answer that you can see
is starting with the reason you were not employed, followed
by what you did during a gap, and end
the statement about how excited you are to return to work.
Most importantly, remember, you're not alone.
With the widespread impact of COVID-19,
employers will be seeing an increase of career gaps
on resumes.
Many employers will likely be understanding
about employment gaps due to the pandemic
and will not hold this against you
in considering you for a position at their company.
Well, that's it for this live stream.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Join us next week for another update.