Absenteeism over your school and university time could easily be explained with a medical certificate or other valid reason. However, once you become a part of the competitive job market, a gap in your employment becomes a key factor that could affect your job search. The following blog post explains how to come out as a winner while addressing your employment gap, and still grabbing that job offer!
Here are four simple tips.
1. Be honest
This is the first and the most important thing to remember. An employment gap is never a strong reason to reject a job candidate. Rather, hiding the correct information or not at all mentioning it is a red flag. Be honest in mentioning the correct reason (even if you were laid off), as background verification processes will reveal this at the later stage of your job anyway. Being honest gives an impression to the employer that you are a reliable employee. At the time of applying for a job, mention the employment gap in your cover letter. If the interviewer wants to know the details, you can talk in more detail about the reason.
2. Have a positive answer ready
The interviewer wants to know what you did during the gap. Don’t stay mute: be ready to talk about it. Gaps in employment are considered reasonable for various genuine reasons such as continuing education, recovering from an illness, relocating to a different country, or taking care of a sick relative. Not having an answer will definitely make the employer have less certain ideas about you!
3. Give a right direction to your job selection
Mention anything commendable you did during this time. For instance, if you attended a class to obtain an additional degree in your field, had a part-time job, tried freelancing jobs, etc. It is vital to mention how your new skills or learning can help you do justice to the new role you are offered.
4. Remember interview preparation rules
The requirement of the competitive job market keeps changing with time. Hence, it is vital to brush up your skills, knowledge and prepare for the interview. Even if you had a gap of several years, the basic interview preparation rules remain the same. Study about the job role, company, and the skills required.
The more smartly you can convince the employer about how willing (and capable) you are to return to the corporate world, the more quickly you can get your dream job once again.
Have you ever had an employment gap? How did you deal with it? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo: Nattu / Flickr
Swati Srivastava is an avid writer with a keen interest on the extensive domain of job search and career counselling. Her articles are published on several reputed job search portals and online career magazines.
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