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I HAVE A gap in my work experience (I took time off to look after my sick mother). How should I handle this in my resume?

A single gap that can be legitimately explained should not cause too much of a problem.  Recruiters recognise that candidates have lives  outside of work. But you do need to explain your gap to prevent them  from jumping to conclusions and thinking the worst. Summarise your career history as usual, and  include a note at the bottom.  Here is an example:

Note: November 2002 to January 2003 - Provided home care for a sick relative.

If you  can demonstrate that you developed extra skills or knowledge during this time, or developed some personal qualities  relevant to  the job,  emphasise them as follows:

Note: November 2002 to January 2003 - Provided home care for a sick relative. Made use of spare time at home by completing online courses in advanced Excel and PowerPoint.

The same strategy could be applied to other gaps, such as periods spent travelling overseas.

A bigger problem arises if your employment gaps are less easily explained, if there are lots of them, or if the gaps suggest a risk for the employer. Perhaps you have job-hopped and you took a break between each new employer. Or perhaps you have a history of illness.

In these cases you should not try to mislead the recruiter.  But you can draw attention away from the  gaps, so  the recruiter focuses on what you will bring to the job, before considering the negatives.

The simplest technique for doing this is to  emphasise your job titles and duties rather than the dates. In many resumes, the work history is structured so that the dates  feature prominently on the left of the paper,  as in this example:

June 2000 to Sept 2003: XYZ Paper Products, account manager - Managed 50 key accounts with multinational corporations

Putting the dates in this position encourages readers to scan down the page and to notice the gaps.  You don't want this to happen. Instead, encourage the recruiter to read the job titles first before becoming aware of the gaps. Do this by placing the dates of employment in a less prominent position.  You can also use a small font:

XYZ Paper Products, account manager (June 2000 to Sept 2003) - Managed 50 key accounts with multinational corporations

Another useful technique is to prepare a functional resume rather than a chronological one where  work history and experience details  are presented in reverse order, starting with the most recent job and working back to the first. The problem with chronological resumes is  they make it obvious if you have lots of gaps. In contrast, a functional resume is structured on  your skills.  A functional resume presents each of your  skill sets, bringing in evidence from every job. A functional resume for a sales training consultant might include sections which look like this:

KEY SKILLS

Training:

Supervised the training and orientation of newly hired graduates while working with China Electric.

Prepared and delivered lectures to marketing undergraduates while working as a teaching assistant with the University of Hong Kong.

Studying for a training diploma with the HK IHRM.

Sales:

Handled a portfolio of corporate accounts for XYZ Sales, meeting all sales targets and increasing client base by 100 per cent over five years.

Awarded salesperson of the year in 2002.

You can still include a summary of your work history at the end, but by focusing on your skills first, you  will draw attention away from any gaps.  A word of warning: functional resumes only work when your skill sets   match  the job for which you are applying.

Article contributed by Drake International, a leading HR solutions provider and recruitment agency.

Send your questions to editor@classifiedpost.com



Focus on skills best way to tackle gaps in resume