Interview Series Part 1
Many people worry that a career gap is a career death sentence. Sure, it may not be the ideal situation to be in when you’re getting asked about it at your interview- but there are ways to answer the question without bombing the interview. Rest assured that it is still possible to get hired after a gap in employment, even one that was several years long!
When your interviewer asks you to tell them about your employment gap, here is what they really want to know:
Knowing this information will help you formulate an answer that should please your interviewer. Always remember to be as straightforward and honest as possible. Your interviewer will be able to tell if you’re trying to fudge the truth.
If possible, always try to tie in what you achieved during that time, volunteer work or freelancing that you did, events in your field that you participated in or how you kept your skills up to date.
Your answer to this question will all depend on why exactly you have an employment gap. Here are several reasons:
These are all real situations that could have caused your employment gap, whether you chose to take time off from your career or because life just happened.
Make sure you follow these four steps when giving an answer to your interviewer:
Some example answers include:
“I took time off to raise my daughter. She started Kindergarten this year and I am excited to join the job market again working in a challenging role such as this one, that I know I’ll love.”
“My parents became ill and I moved here to help take care of them. It was nice being able to spend time with them since they’ve always been there for me. While I took care of them I was able to go to a networking event and spend some time taking courses online in which I acquired XYZ skills. My parents recently moved into assisted living so I’m able to get back into the workforce again.”
“I was given an amazing opportunity to take a year off to travel different areas around the world. During that time, I was able to learn several things about myself and develop traits such as communication, organization, and adaptability. I’m excited to put these traits to use in my next position.”
Things to remember
Giving a clear, honest answer that explains your time away from your career and redirects the conversation to skills you’ve picked up during your time off will be sure to ease your interviewer’s concerns.
Tip: If it works out in your favor, you can change your dates of employment on your resume to only show the year rather than both the month and year.