It’s common for professionals to fear the employment gap — after all, they’ve been taught that it’s a killer on a resume.

There’s than the idea that you can’t come back from taking a break from an industry. Whether it’s six months or a year, or five years or more, whether you have a family, got laid off, or have some kind of personal emergency, the idea is that you are somehow damaged goods, and you won’t be able to compete in interviews.

But that’s changing. Now, some job experts are contending that if you have a job gap in your resume, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem. The work world is gradually changing from a system that primarily evaluates people’s personal lives and personalities, to a system that more fully evaluates their skills and experience. So in some cases, you can move forward with confidence, even if you haven’t worked for a while.

Frame It In a Positive Way

One of the first tips for explaining the job gap in interview is to simply be confident and positive. Don’t try to work around the issue or express embarrassment. Act like it’s completely natural, and you may have the right influence on the people who are evaluating your history. Be upfront and truthful without sounding like you’re apologizing.

Show Your Accomplishments

Once you’ve explained in a positive way why you didn’t work for a while, show what accomplishments you managed to achieve in that time. If you did take time off to raise a family, you can briefly talk about that — otherwise, talk about research that you did in your field while you were out of work. Talk about any events or conferences you went to, courses that you took, certifications that you gained, and generally how you kept your ear to the ground and stayed engaged in the field.

Hone Your Skills

This major tip takes place well before interview. If you are in an employment gap, and in between jobs, one of the best things that you can do is to learn a new skill set, especially one that’s related to technology.

With the job world changing so drastically, and shifting toward valuing technology expertise, a new technological skill set can make up for a lot of things, and a job gap is one of them. For example, companies are pounding the pavement looking for data scientists — people who can make sense out of big data sets and business analytics. Getting closer to that professional capability makes you a lot more valuable, regardless of how many years you actually spent working in an office over the past three or four decades. In fact, in a lot of ways, those earlier years just don’t matter as much any more, because they took place prior to all of these various new trailblazing technologies.

Don’t Talk Down

In conclusion, when you’re discussing employment gap, it’s important not to talk down or be negative. You don’t want to be negative about yourself, but you also don’t want to be negative about other people. You’re not going to get very far dissing the companies that you used to work for in front of a new prospective employer. Instead, go back to the tips mentioned above, and make the best of your journey to talk about what you can do, and what you bring to the table.

About Full Steam Staffing

Full Steam Staffing is a full-service employment agency focused on providing clerical and light industrial staffing solutions to manufacturers, distribution centers and other organizations that need qualified, reliable workers. If you are looking for a new job in Modesto, California, browse our available opportunities or contact our team today!