I am a firm believer that any relevant and relatively recent experience, whether paid or unpaid, is valuable. New skills were gained and existing qualifications were strengthened, with or without a paycheck.  If displayed accurately, unpaid work has a place on your resume and can work to your benefit. Volunteerism, internships, clinical rotations, etc. can help to cover employment gaps, show investment within the community, and/or demonstrate a commitment to professional development. A few things to keep in mind when including unpaid experience on your resume:

• Give these roles as much space on your resume they deserve, and no more. Are they highly relevant to your current objective? Consider including substantial details on the resume. Not highly relevant to your current objective? Perhaps just list these activities within a “Professional & Community Affiliations” or “Volunteerism” section, including organization name, your role, and a sentence or two summarizing your involvement.
• Be sure to label this experience accurately so it is clear to the reader that these were unpaid positions. Designate your roles appropriately. A few examples: Volunteer Project Manager, LPN Student, Finance Intern, Group Leader (Volunteer). When I include unpaid positions within the experience section, I label this section “Experience” or “Experience History,” not “Professional Experience” to avoid possible misinterpretation.
• It can also make sense to create a separate section for unpaid experience on your resume. For example, if you are a nursing student with 5+ rotations and your prior paid experience is not very relevant, using a separate “Clinical Rotations” section and placing it ahead of your “Professional Experience” would be advantageous.

Is this such a bad thing?

Sometimes, the job you have to get is the one that surprises you. For instance, a few years back when business was slow I got a job working the front desk at the local JCC every Sunday and Wednesday to supplement my income. I didn’t make much more than minimum wage, and the job wasn’t exactly challenging (swipe customer card, greet customer with a smile, hand them a towel, repeat), but I had a blast. I met lots of interesting people, moved around a lot, and enjoyed a free gym membership as well as tickets to events.

My walk to and from work gave me time to think. The job was never stressful. I left feeling refreshed and ready to challenge myself in other ways. Did I break any records? No. Did I add valuable skills to my experience? Not really. But I had fun, and had that extra $300 per month which made me feel safe enough to take more risks in my business and happily put energy into what I love to do, without guilt or worry.

There’s a ton of pressure, particularly in the Bay Area and other urban centers, to snag a high-profile (or at least high-tech) position where you work long hours and make a six-figure salary. There is very little focus on quality of life and too much on the quality of your resume. Yes, as a resume writer, I just said that.

Someone very wise once told me that if you don’t like the culture you live in, make your own. Our culture defines us by how much money we make and what we do to make it. Create your own culture where you aren’t defined by your work, but instead are defined by the way you treat others, what you give to the community, your passions, and your willingness to learn. The money, in time, will follow. And you may wind up on an adventure you never could have dreamed up if you had stuck to your original path.

The road to success isn’t a straight line. And the detours are often more fun and eye-opening than you might think. Love pizza? Go ahead, take that job at the local pizzeria. Do you like fashion? Apply for a sales position at a department store. If these aren’t aligned with your most lofty career goals, that’s okay – give yourself permission to take a break and re-focus while learning some new skills. Your new job might not have bells and whistles, but it might just change your life.

• Start your resume off with an objective statement summarizing your career goals and highlighting your qualifications and strengths.
• Volunteer activities, helping out with special projects, organizing events and continuing education can all be added in the experience section. If you have been out of work for a long period of time and haven’t done any of these activities start to look into these.  It will show the employers that you are still motivated.
• Provide a cover letter and include the reasoning behind large employment gaps within the letter.  Highlight how you kept up to date with your industry’s changes if you’ve been out of the field for a long period of time.
• In the cover letter or interview don’t feel like you have to apologize for your time off.  Stay confident and continue to promote your strengths.
• If you are having troubles coming up with strengths or qualifications look at the job qualifications for what you are applying for and highlight the ones that fit you.  Look through other job postings to get ideas as well.  
• Do not get discouraged.  Just because you weren’t chosen doesn’t mean that you were not appealing, many times there are many qualified applicants that apply. Keep trying and keep doing activities that will help to build your resume, skills, and appeal.

There are many resources available when writing your resume.  Use the internet, local job center or workforce development center to assist you in completing your resume and connecting you to resources. Visit their websites as well.  Use the internet.  If you do not have access to the internet the job centers should, also your local library should provide access to the internet for the public. Some of the job centers may even have programs to help you keep your skills up to date in your industry. 

In Northwest Wisconsin visit Northwest Wisconsin CEP http://www.nwcep.org/

There are critical mistakes you can avoid on your resume, however not all “red flags” are completely avoidable. Some of these stem from your career timeline – history that you cannot change. There are specific strategies you can use to help downplay these issues and emphasize what you have to offer – experience, expertise, and results.

Gaps in Employment

If there are significant gaps in your career history (2 years or more), the Functional or Hybrid resume format is the best strategy for you. By utilizing a “Career Highlights,” “Select Achievements,” or “Value Offered” section AHEAD of your career timeline, you are showcasing your experience before the reader reaches the facts of your background – where you worked and for how long.

Unrelated Recent Employment

In today’s market, many job seekers find themselves taking positions outside of their preferred area or accepting roles that are at a lower level than their previous job. Again the Functional or Hybrid resume strategy is key because it allows you to emphasize skills and achievements outside of the constraints of your career history. The reader will learn about your accomplishments from a position years ago before assessing your timeline. Remember – the first half of the first page of your resume is prime real estate. Preserve this area for the most exciting information.

“Job Hopping”

Some professionals have had numerous one- or two-year positions for a variety of reasons. To mitigate the negative impression of “job hopping,” be sure to label positions that were contract or temporary. Also, you do not have to include every role on your resume – a resume is not the same as a formal application – however be prepared to address your many positions following a background check. Your resume should only include the best of the best. For example, a two-week temporary assignment may not warrant space on your resume, unless you utilized a highly sought after skill or contributed to the company in a significant way. If you are able to eliminate a few positions from your timeline without showing a gap, this will help to present a more steady background.

Extended Hiatus

There are differing opinions on whether or not you should explain significant gaps in employment due to taking care of a family member, raising a family, personal health issues, etc., however in my opinion, it’s better to present a brief explanation for extended time away from your career within your timeline vs. leaving it to the imagination of the reader. You can address your hiatus in a professional manner without including personal details, and if you have been taking courses or participating in volunteer activities, this is a great place to mention it.

Missing Qualifications

Employers are in a position to be as selective as they want with so many applicants to choose from. If you don’t meet the job posting’s requirements 100%, there are a few tricks you can use to at least increase your chances of getting past the ATS and having your resume read by a human being. If you do not have the specific degree but are currently enrolled or took courses toward it in the past, list “BA in English Candidate,” “BA in English Coursework,” or “Coursework completed towards BA in English.” If you are transitioning into a sales role with no prior experience, incorporate the following sentence into your summary paragraph: “Enthusiastic professional eager to acquire and improve skills in consultative selling, account management, and marketing.”

Not usually.

How to address a break in your employment on your resume depends a lot on your unique situation. Just know that employment breaks are more common now than ever before, so you’re not alone.  Here are some tips to help you explain your break (well, actually, not):

1. Don’t Call Attention to it. When you format your resume, don’t make your dates huge and bold. Also, for smaller gaps (under a year), consider omitting the month entirely and only list the year(s) you worked at a company.

2). Consider a Functional Resume. Depending on your experience and your industry, a functional resume may be a good alternative to the traditional, chronological resume. A functional resume simply lists your areas of expertise and experience, while keeping your job history very short and at the end.

3). Highlight Your Greatest Accomplishments, Skills and Qualifications. At the top of your resume, include a Qualifications section that highlights your most marketable skills, as well as any personality traits that make you stand out from the crowd. Fill this area with keywords that will catch the eye of your audience.

And perhaps most importantly…

4). Include any professional experience you’ve done during your “break”. Think about how you spent your time between day-jobs. Did you volunteer for an organization? Include this just as you would a paid gig: include the position, company, and time worked as well as a description of your duties. Also, include any freelance projects (however small), or classes you took (in the education/professional development section).

5). Don’t lie. No matter what, do not lie on your resume and keep embellishments to a bare minimum. Employers can fact-check your resume and you could wind up in hot water if you get caught. It’s always better to be honest, and you’ll have a resume you’re truly proud of.

As always, good luck out there!

~Robin

Click image to read original article by Hello I’m Logistics

This was a well-written article with some valuable insight into how a resume is read by the recruiter and red flags that catch their eye such as numerous short-term positions, multiple unrelated positions, long gaps between positions, including dates or experience that is not current, and typographical errors.  The author also touches on recommended resume lengths and dispelling the myths associated with these.

NUMEROUS SHORT-TERM POSITIONS

Regarding “Numerous Short-Term Positions”, this can in fact be a resume killer if the job seeker is identified as a job hopper, which raises a lot of red flags for potential employers and recruiters. If in fact you are NOT a job hopper and worked with a temporary staffing firm to secure work with several clients, I would recommend reading up on recommendations on how to incorporate temporary work into a resume, demonstrating total time worked with the staffing firm versus dates working with each employer/client.

LONG GAPS BETWEEN POSITIONS

“Long Gaps Between Positions” is expected, especially in this tough economy, however, in addition to filling in gaps with education, an active, unemployed job seeker can take advantage of volunteer opportunities to not only fill in the gaps but keep professional skill sets up and/or learn new ones that can be directly applied toward paid employment. This experience will also add additional bullets to a resume! I can happily attribute my last contract position toward my two years of non-profit virtual volunteer work (all online) while living overseas.

TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS, MISSPELLINGS, AND INAPPROPRIATE GRAMMAR

When recruiting for a staffing firm, grammar and spelling errors were the number killer on professional candidate resumes. Why? It simply came across to the recruiters as lazy – someone who lacked attention to detail and wasn’t serious about the position or obtaining professional employment. “Manger” (instead of “manager”) was the #1 spelling error I found. Since this is in fact a correctly spelled word, spell check doesn’t identify it as an error which is why it is important to have a resume thoroughly proofread by at least two other trusted professionals. Even with the resumes I write, I proofread AND use an online spell checker as spelling/grammar bugs have already been found in some of the latter MS Word programs.  Another key tip in identifying spelling errors is reading your resume aloud AND having someone else read it aloud.

DISPELLING MYTHS ABOUT RESUME LENGTHS

The article reminds us that there are no set rules for resume lengths, however, most corporate recruiters prefer to see the following:

• Entry level/student candidates – With minimal or no experience, a one page resume is appropriate.
• Experienced, professional candidates – No more than a two-page resume.
• Executive and technical candidates – Two to three-page resume highlighting the last three positions OR last 10 years of employment.
• Contract or staffing firm candidates – Your entire work history, up to 10 years.  This allows recruiters to place for several open positions.
• Federal employment candidates – Your entire work history to include military service (whatever USAJobs Resume Builder will allow – follow their instructions to build your federal resume).  Most federal resumes range from 5-7 pages, but can be longer based on experience and qualifications.

All around, great article with valuable advice! The ultimate key in writing an effective resume is to TARGET your resume(s) toward the job(s) of interest, tailoring the content, formatting, and design for each specific position. Happy hunting!

There are a number of circumstances that can lead to gaps in your career timeline: taking care of a loved one, raising a family, going back to school, relocating, and of course an extremely competitive market. While the dates of your employment history are hard facts that cannot be changed, and leaving dates off of your resume entirely is never a good idea, there are 3 effective strategies you can implement (or use a combination of all 3) to take the focus away from periods of unemployment and draw attention to the unique skills and abilities you have to offer.

1)      Date “Tucking” Strategy

A common way career histories are displayed on a resume aligns the dates of employment to the right of the page:

If you have gaps in your employment (for example, if the above job seeker’s next position was between 2006 and 2008), aligning the dates to the right may work against you as the reader can simply skim down the side of the page and quickly assess your timeline. Instead, utilize a slightly modified format that tucks the dates in with your job title. Yes the gap is still there, but not as clearly displayed:

2)      Functional Resume Format

The functional resume format emphasizes skills, qualifications, and competencies ahead of the career timeline. This strategy utilizes the prime real estate of your resume – the top half of the first page – to highlight your qualifications and summarize your achievements. Again the dates and gaps are still present, however they are pushed further down the page as an afterthought to what you have to offer:

3)      Explaining the Gap

In some cases, what you have been doing during your hiatus might be relevant to your current objective and/or could be viewed positively by hiring managers. For example, if you took a year off to take care of an ailing family member, call yourself a Caregiver and your family member a Private Client, then provide details on how you effectively managed daily activities, medications, schedules, emergency situations, etc. Skills like these are transferable into a variety of roles. Incorporating student work or volunteerism (as long as you label the position as such) can cover the gap and show your involvement in the community and desire to stay active in your field:

Using any or all of these strategies won’t change history, however they can help you in overcoming the employment gap hurdle and getting you in the door for an interview.

Gaps.  Employment gaps.  We all have them.

What matters is how you treat them.  If you have an employment gap or a departure from your area of expertise, make sure you can back it up.  If your departure was an emergency that delayed re-entry, make note of the dates and if you can anticipate the break – get referrals from your immediate supervisors and managers.  You will need to reach out to them when you reintegrate to your former line of work.  Be specific.  If your departure was a personal desire to explore another field, inject the passion in your beliefs at that time, defending your decision.  But even more importantly, double your desire to return to your former line of work.  If you assume an air of someone who is wiser for the experience, you’ll do fine in the interview.

Let’s talk about anticipating the change.  When collecting letters of reference, make sure they do it – don’t let them cop out and have you write it for them and they will sign type of scenario doesn’t work.  Your writing voice will betray you more than anything else and your reference letter will inevitably look and feel disingenuous.  Collect contact information that you can, once a year, confirm to be valid.  This has an added benefit because they can alert you to changes in the industry that will arm you at the interview when they ask if you have been keeping tabs on the industry.  Keep your sword sharp.  Watch for the opportunities even if the timing hasn’t resolved itself.  When you’re ready to jump back in the water, you’ll be ready.

If you need help with your next career move, forward your resume to jobcompass@hotmail.com.  If you are in the retirement services industry, give me a call at (708) 531-8289 and send your resume to gpena@cps4jobs.com.  I will reach out to you within 48 hours.

So, Vanna, if you please . . .

Basic Information:

Regardless of format every resume needs your contact information. Make sure the address listed is where you can most easily pick up your mail in case any paperwork needs to be mailed to you. Your phone number and professional e-mail should also be listed. Even if you don’t have Internet at home you should still have an e-mail set up. More and more companies are contacting applicants online, and application confirmations are also being sent electronically. Another thing to remember is to make sure your outgoing ring and voicemail message are professional sounding. No hiring manager is going to want to hear Justin Bieber’s newest smash hit or you yelling, “LEAVE ME A MESSAGE, YO!!”

Whether you center your contact message or left justify it, each bit of information should get its own line and your name should be bolded and one to two font sizes bigger than the rest of your resume. Getting your name stuck in their heads’ is important.

Lindsay Haugen

XXX Awesome Street

Anywhere, MN 56549

Types of Resumes:

Chronological. Pretty self-explanatory but this format lists all of your work and leadership experience in the order of most recent until your very first position. This is the most common and most preferred. It’s the easiest way to scan through someone’s work history to see how long they’ve been at each position or if there are any employment gaps.

Functional. This focuses more on skills and experience rather than listing a chronological work history. This is usually used by job seekers who are doing a career change or have significant employment gaps due to such things as going back to school or staying at home to raise a family.

Targeted. This is where you list key skills and experience geared towards a specific job posting before listing a chronological work history. This can be time-consuming because you have to really have to take a close eye to what a job posting is asking for to pull out key components of your past that will fit the bill.

Format Side Note:

Regardless of what format you use any collegiate experience should be listed. If you’re just out of high school and need a resume for either college or a job you’re applying to, you should list that. Otherwise, even if that is your highest degree earned, your high school graduation is probably not needed. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I feel that most hiring managers are going to assume a person has a high school diploma or GED.  Either way that information can be explained on an application.

Long story longer: Education can be listed at the beginning or end of a resume. If you’re fairly new out of school, I would list it at the beginning of your resume. Once a person hits right around the five year mark of being out school, education can move towards the end of your resume. Your graduation date can come off as well. In all candor, graduation dates are simple math gateways to how old a person is.

If you are still in college and starting to apply to jobs to get a jump on starting your career or if you’re near the end of obtaining an advanced degree, simply put “Expected graduation date May 2012″. Never list a degree until you have it in your hand.

True story: At a former job there was a situation where a person listed a degree thinking they had everything needed to graduate done only to find out a credit wasn’t completed, which actually caused their diploma to be pending until the issue was resolved. Talk about an awkward conversation AFTER the resume was submitted with a degree listed.

Whew! That was a mouthful! Hang in there. Once you get your information laid out, polishing it up will be a piece of cake. German chocolate . . . with that weird coconut frosting.

Next time we’ll cover some basic do’s and don’ts of resume writing.

Positive Thought of the Day:
“It takes more than just a good looking body. You’ve got to have the heart and soul to go with it.” – Epictetus

There are innovative ways to present your resume that look great; however, they are not working for you if they lack key pieces of information.

Contact Information

What should you include?

First Last Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone (Cell/Home)
Email Address

Many of you may be skeptical about including your address in your resume, but you are making it harder for the recruiter to include you in their search. You may be willing to drive 30 miles one way to work, however that distance could be the deal breaker for the employer.

Degree v Skills

Education

What is the salary difference between a degree from XYZ prestigious university and a degree from ABC state college? According to Riviera Partners’ placement data, the difference is about $12,482. The difference is not as much as what most people assume it is; however, those that graduated from prestigious universities had to pay more tuition than those in state and jr colleges.

Skills

Resumes are parsed into a database that recruiters are able to access and browse by field. The recruiters browse through hundreds and thousands of resumes in search of a candidate with skills specific to a job order.

The skills and experience content in your resume will determine your qualifications for that specific position.

Experience

Recent graduates should read our post on the importance of internships.

Gaps in employment are not uncommon, but should be filled with relevant information such as volunteer work. Doing volunteer work is fulfilling and beneficial to your career. A cover letter may be used to explain employment gaps, but they are often not parsed.

Don’t forget to give examples!

The real issue is a potential employer has no way of knowing why there is a three and a half year gap in your experience (for example), and is left to their own assumptions which may not be positive. Perhaps you deleted a job where you did not perform well or left on bad terms. Did you skip over a job because it doesn’t meet your career objective? Or, they may assume that you didn’t work at all during this unaccounted time.

To avoid this, any gaps in your work history need to be explained in writing.

There are a few general rules about resumé gaps:

• Any unaccounted time that is shorter than three months doesn’t need to be explained. Having 60-90 days in between jobs is not too unusual, and will hardly be noticed . Gaps extending beyond three months should be addressed in your cover letter or e-mail.
• Always, always, always be honest! I cannot stress this enough. If you are honest with your potential employer, you will not have to worry about what they may find when checking your references, doing a background check, or surprising you with questions in an interview.
• If you have held jobs that are not applicable to your career objective, include them anyway. Experience is experience, after all. Focus on transferable skills. Highlight accomplishments. Try to use it as an opportunity to demonstrate success in a field that is outside your current expertise, and thus exhibit your resourcefulness and flexibility.
• Rather than create gaps in your resumé, explain why you held jobs outside of your field in your cover letter or in an email to your potential employer. Given the current state of the economy, employers are likely to be more understanding than in the past regarding gaps of employment. Again, just be honest.

There are often valid reasons for gaps in employment. Did you go back to school? Take time off to raise your children, or to care for a loved one? Whether you had personal or professional reasons for not working, the gaps in your employment history need to be explained as you don’t want to leave the employer to make their own assumptions.

Whatever the reasons for the gaps in your work history, it’s important to keep the tone of your cover letter and resumé positive. You do not need to be apologetic – life happens and you don’t need to be sorry for taking time off of work. Be positive, and show your potential employer that you never lost focus on your career.

This http://www.WorkTree.com career article by Nathan Newberger gives job seekers some important pointers on handle gaps in their work history.

Being unemployed is a difficult and stressful situation. To make matters even worse, the fact that you may not currently have a job can prevent you from finding a job. It is unfair, but true. Having gaps in your employment history are often an immediate turn off for recruiters and interviewers; however, with a little bit of creativity, you can make those gaps disappear.

This month’s newsletter explains the 4 steps to handling gaps in your employment history. Don’t let being out of work keep you out of work.

These following four methods will be covered:

1. Find Real Gaps
2. Fill In Gaps
3. Dodge Resume Gaps
4. Mention Major Gaps

4 TIPS TO HANDLE EMPLOYMENT GAPS!
1) FIND REAL GAPS
The first mistake many people make is to assume the worst when it comes to being out of work. Not having a job does not mean you have an employment gap. There are many legitimate reasons for not working. These reasons can be addressed directly without any worry.

The most common explanations of unemployment that should NOT be considered employment gaps are:

• Attending school
• Having/taking care of children
• Personal health problems
• Serious Illness in the Family
• Being between jobs for a short period of time (less than 6 months)

2) FILL IN GAPS
If your bout with unemployment does not fall into one of the categories listed above, you most likely have an official gap in your employment history. Even at this point, you do not necessarily have to let a potential employer know about this gap.

By keeping busy while you are between jobs, you can turn a would-be gap into a learning experience. Consider using the following tactics to fill those gaps:

• Take a class related to your profession. Being in school accounts for your time off, and employers like to see people bettering themselves through education.
• Look for freelance or consulting projects. These jobs are not permanent, but they do ensure that you keep up-to-date with your skills. You can put this type of work on your resume as if it were any other kind of job.
• Volunteer for an organization. Getting paid would be ideal, but future employers are concerned with your work experience. To a recruiter, a volunteering position can be just as good as a paying job.
• Read trade journals. Though this method may not be something you put on your resume, it will help you stay current with the industry. Conveying the newest information possible in an interview shows that you have not lost your knowledge of the business.

3) DODGE RESUME GAPS
Not everyone will be able to find a creative way to fill the gaps in their employment history. If you find yourself in this situation, it is no longer an issue of proving your time was occupied. Instead, you should focus on the fact that you are still skilled and qualified.

However, most resumes focus on time by addressing experiences chronologically. Consider using the following suggestions to draw attention away from your time between jobs:

• Don’t distinguish between paid and unpaid work on your resume. This way you can have a seemingly continuous string of jobs, even if you volunteered for the sake avoiding an employment gap.
• Use only years (not months) when listing work dates on your resume. This can discretely cover several months of unemployment.
• Summarize what you did while you did not have a job. It may seem awkward to put this kind of information directly on your resume, but it is more important to let recruiters know you used your time wisely.
• Use a functional resume. Unlike the traditional chronological resume, a functional resume puts less emphasis on the timing of work experiences. Instead, a functional resume emphasizes skills, which employers care more about.

4) MENTION MAJOR GAPS
The last important step in handling employment gaps is deciding when to discuss them. Unless you can completely hide the gap, a recruiter will eventually spot it. If you are prepared to address the issue, you can avoid a potential disaster.

There are basically 2 schools of thought on this issue: address an employment gap in your cover letter or address it in the interview. Neither approach is wrong; neither approach is right. It is a matter of personal taste. Just consider these points before deciding, which approach you use:

• In a cover letter, make your explanation very brief. A one or two-sentence long explanation is enough. Details are not important.
• If a gap occurred a long time ago, don’t bother mentioning it in a cover letter. Employers are concerned with your recent work, not something that happened 10 years ago.
• In an interview, still keep your explanation brief. The only reason to go into deeper detail is if you gained valuable experiences during your employment gap.
• No matter what, END ON A POSITIVE NOTE. Whether you address the gap in a cover letter or an interview, state that you are ready and excited to get back to work.

CONCLUSION
Hopefully, these steps will give you ideas on how to handle your own employment gaps. It’s a difficult task to do, but it is also one of the most valuable. Having employment gaps shouldn’t keep you from finding a job, but only you can stop the cycle from repeating itself. This article can be read online and shared with others directly at:

This article can be read online and shared with others directly at:
http://www.worktree.com/newsletter/tips-to-handle-employment-gaps.html

Sincerely,
Nathan Newberger,
Managing Editor
http://www.WorkTree.com
“Helping You Find More Jobs Faster”

Order The Elements of Resume Style: Essential Rules and Eye-Opening Advice for Writing Resumes and Cover Letters that Work from Amazon for $7.96

Other Kindle Books of Interest
201 Best Questions To Ask On Your Interview
How to Interview Like a Top MBA: Job-Winning Strategies From Headhunters, Fortune 100 Recruiters, and Career Counselors
Fearless Interviewing: How to Win the Job by Communicating with Confidence
Job Interviews For Dummies�
Winning the Interview Game: Everything You Need to Know to Land the Job

Those employment gaps on your resume can raise plenty of red flags for employers. Their imagination is running wild and they will think of anything and everything that you did in those unexplained 4 years away from work. Maybe she married rich and left the workforce. What if he won the lottery and went on an African safari? I bet she robbed a bank and was locked up for a few years. Yes, these answers can be absolutely absurd. But they are legitimate until you are able to explain yourself. No one can clarify the glaring gaps on your resume better than yourself. So Lucy, you got some ‘splainin to do!

First of all, don’t worry if you have employment gaps. Most people do. Whether it was a pregnancy or a sickness that kept you from work, you most likely need to explain this to prospective employers. What better way to do this then a cover letter. One of the great uses of a cover letter is to explain why gaps exist – hiring managers never like to guess! The more time you take to explain up front, the better chances you have at landing the interview and ultimately the job. Contrary to popular belief, most employers actually do have a soft side and they can understand your situation. Just because you were out of the workforce for a few years doesn’t mean you lost your talent or capabilities. Prove to them in your cover letter that you are still smart, qualified, enthusiastic, and driven in any position you are given.

This is why cover letters exist – to give details about your work history and clarify any bumps that you experienced along the way. Don’t let employers’ imaginations run wild. Give them a reason and they will respect you as a candidate.