Gaps In Your Resume....

Doesn't it just kill you, that you have worked since you were 16 and at middle age, they still look at gaps in your resume. 

You mean to tell me, if I, after 20 + years of solid work should take one year off to write a travel blog and ride my motorcycle ( which I don't have) to Alaska, then I would be punished?  Perhaps, depending on the hiring manager.

I was never one to fully take advantage of unemployment compensation.  Sure, if they offer and you need it, I advise you to take it, but I normally have a job within one to four months, long before it would have to be extended.

Recently, I went on an interview.  Mind you it was for a temporary job and the pay and expectations were much lower than what I am used to and one of the things that was commented on was this:

"You have no serious gaps in your resume.".

Which means, if he would have liked everything else, but I had serious gaps, I may have lost out on the job.

Employers love to see consecutive work.  They love to see how since they have been working, you too have been working too. 

I cannot say I totally go with that thinking, but I have advised my friends on what to do when they have a serious gap in employment.

One of my friends has a four year degree in social work and took off quite a few years for raising her child and helping her sick mother-in-law.

I encouraged her to come up with a title of home care and explain the duties she had.  She was working, but she just wasn't getting paid.  She landed a job and has been working ever since. It has been over four years now at the same place.

So, if you think gaps in your resume aren't important.  They are.  They are especially important if you work with the computer or in a technical field like engineering.  I know many employers did not want to hire let's say a Piping Designer if they haven't used programs in paid employment for two years, even one year.

Next time I plan to take significant time off, I hope it will be for traveling and writing a travel blog. I might hitch a ride on that gorgeous American Queen steamboat and cruise to the southern states.  It is funny to me THAT should count as work. It all depends on your field, who you interview with and how you market yourself.

I have fifteen years of experience in Human Resources if you have a topic you would like to talk about. Please feel free to ask a question or to start a conversation.