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Need to know how to conquer the employment gap on your career documents? There are many reasons why people may have employment gaps on their resume and LinkedIn profile. Some may be by choice and others based on circumstances.
Some reasons for an employment gap could include COVID, elder care, foster care, child care, raising a family, medical or health, mental health, relocation, natural disasters, education or training, downsized, termination, resignation, travel pursuits, starting a business, career pivot, personal project(s), and more.
No matter the reason, it’s best to be upfront and include the gap information concisely on the resume and LinkedIn. Depending on the cause, hopefully, the listed gap answers the question before it is asked.
You must position it as though it was a thing of the past and will not interfere with your future forward.
So what can you call it?
Family Sabbatical, Elder Care Sabbatical, Elder Care & Estate Sabbatical, Personal Sabbatical, or Education Sabbatical.
During an interview, you must also prepare how you will answer the question of “why did you leave your last job?” Here’s an article that answers the top ten interview questions and another for behavioral interview questions.
You may have heard that it is easier to get a job while you have a job. On LinkedIn, it is better to have a (date – present) job than to have a job that has an end date. Read this article and that article.
As a nonprofit leader, we always welcome volunteers to share their expertise and fill those employment gaps for a Win-Win! Let us know how we can help each other!
AUTHOR BIO
Lynne Williams is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Area Great Careers Group, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, that provides online career education and networking, running up to 50 events per month for anyone, anywhere.
We would be chuffed if you would explore the benefits of membership!
Lynne also writes for vista.today, montco.today, delco.today and bucksco.today. You can see other topics she writes about on this Google Doc.
