Before anything else, start thinking about what you have been doing during your employment gap. As you craft a resume and/or portfolio, you’ll likely want to refine your written and online presentations in order to address the gaps professionally.
Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself:
What have I been doing? Have you been doing volunteer jobs? Have you worked for other non-profit groups? These experiences will be important since you can use your skills to find work.
Which of the skills have I used during the gap that will translate well to a job? Analyze how your skills will match the requirements of the job you want to apply for. Perhaps you may have strong communication skills, management skills, volunteer coordination skills, or you have a background in human resources work.
How do I present this in a resume?
Start with the career summary. This is where you summarize your qualifications. (Make sure to use a few lines for this.)You can use bullet points if your list of qualifications is particularly long. Include your areas of expertise and avoid using clichéd resume phrases. It is best to use specific keywords that are related to your field.
For the resume body, use a functional resume format to help soften employment gaps. Use bullets to group your skills and create a headline for each. Don’t forget to include your jobs and volunteer positions together with job titles, organizations, locations and months and years the jobswere held.
How do I create my personal brand online? You can use LinkedIn as a platform to promote your profile. Fill in the headline, summary, and descriptions of your employment, together with your volunteer work. Make sure that your resume and LinkedIn profile are different.
How much do I share with an employer? There’s no need to give the full details of your years spent out of the workforce. However, be transparent so that the recruiter understands your employment gap. Explain briefly what you have been up to.
These tips should help you to best present yourself after having been unemployed for a long time. Demonstrate your value and what you’re capable of, and your job search will be successful.
