How can you explain a gap year on your CV?

Two days ago, I read a post by Brigette Hycinth (If you frequent LinkedIn, you'd know her) about the sad story of a lady who was qualified for a job but got turned down because of a gap on her CV.

It got me thinking? This definitely happens to a number of people out there, especially women. Some stay home after childbirth to take care of the baby and before they know it, a while would become 7years.

Explaining that gap can be difficult and could sometimes limit your chances of getting the job at all, as employers would barely take a chance on you. Some may be sceptical about employing you, as they’d believe there could be a reoccurrence of what kept you away in the first place.

It’s harsh, but it’s the sad truth. No one wants to employ someone who wouldn’t last on the job. The cost of recruitment increases daily.

Now the question is; What do you do about a gap year? Well, Here are some things you can do to improve your chances:

1. Use your career statement to tie your employment history together. This is where you should utilize your Career statement. Carefully bridge the gap between both periods, while telling your overall story. This is something that requires a little bit of copywriting knowledge.

2. You can use dates to cover the gaps or at least reduce the amount of attention they’d attract otherwise. For instance, instead of saying June 2014-December 2016, you could say 2014-2016. This will cover up the months of January to May, that you were out of job.

3. Include the experiences you gained while you were out of job. Did you take a course? Vacation? Did you Freelance?, Especially as a Writer? Well, group all of these little experiences together as a job, then highlight each one with a bullet point.

4. Try to present yourself as someone who is consistent. Employers, dread hiring people who wouldn’t last on the job. Having regular gaps may just present you as such a person. Use your career summary to highlight how you have demonstrated commitment to succeed in the corporate world.
Use your career statement to take care of any inconsistence the employer may notice.

5. Focus on the positives. Always explain your shifts and career gaps in a positive light.

Finally, whenever you are out of job, avoid being redundant. You can start up some online courses and they’d form part of your CV as well.

P.S A lot of HR managers review the activities of candidates on social media so, whatever you include on your CV, make sure you have a corresponding information on your social media pages.

1 I was in coma
2 I was finding my self
3 I was doing my own thang
4 i was taking classes on our to b awesome

many many things