4 Ways to Make the Most of Employment Gaps!
Posted September 16, 2013 & filed under Interviewing, Job Search
Not everyone’s work history ends up being a tidy, uninterrupted chain. You may intend to smoothly transition from one position to the next but any number of situations can arise that force you into an unplanned hiatus from the workforce. Then, as you try to return to regular work, you fear that your employment gap may negatively mark you as an undesirable candidate. Are you completely out of luck or are there ways to mitigate the stigma of an employment gap?
The best way to approach any employment gap is to consider how you would justify to a hiring manager that your time away from traditional employment was well spent. So, whichever combination you end up choosing from the approaches below, your answer should be two-pronged, explaining how you maximized your time and gained new skills in the process.
1.) Continue Your Education
With a full workload monopolizing your time, it may be difficult to allocate even a fraction of your day to further expanding your industry acumen with new certifications. An employment gap can provide you with a surprising window of opportunity. Any competitive industry is constantly changing, so you may need to return to the basics with refresher courses or explore emerging techniques or technologies to keep yourself from becoming a relic.
You can go back to school full-time, register for night courses, attend seminars, or even explore the growing number of online tutorials available (both on a paid or strictly gratis basis). That way, when you finally end up sitting down with a hiring manager, you can confidently explain the ways you’ve kept your industry skills oiled and regularly augmented in spite of your employment gap.
2.) Remain Active in Your Field
Your active connection to the innovators and the happenings of the industry are just as important during an employment gap as they are when you’re employed. You want to maintain a high level of familiarity with the prevailing trends, cycles, and big name players within your industry. With that in mind, you need to push yourself to have an eminent presence in the minds & eyes of your peers.
There are a wide range of ways you can keep yourself active. Post frequently on online forum discussions or LinkedIn groups. Attend any publicized seminar or trade show. Contribute to a highly trafficked blog. Keep open the channels of communication with your peers. Do whatever it takes to remain relevant. If you prevent your name from fading away, you can even shorten the time it takes to line up your next interview.
3.) Volunteer
Do you have a social cause or civic organization that you’re earnest about supporting? Use the extra time afforded by an employment gap as a way to become more involved. You can volunteer your time and expertise to the organization of your choice, keeping your skills sharp and pursuing new networking avenues.
The more involved you become, the more you can catch the attention of prospective hiring managers. Plus, actively volunteering your time is a great way to further build your reference roster with people who will readily attest to your dedication, skills, and professionalism.
4.) Freelance and Be Your Own Boss
Try freelancing: it’s the red herring of the employment gap. You can give the impression that you’re continually employed even if there are small spaces between each contract. Come up with a company name, wedge it into your resume, and give details on all the freelance contracts you’ve completed during the interim of your employment gap. When an interview finally comes around, you will be able to make a trenchant argument to hiring managers about your resourceful nature and dedication to forwarding your career by any means necessary.
by James Walsh
