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In this article we will look at two solid techniques for handling smoothly what otherwise might be a troublesome issue: inconsistent employment history on your resume.
Your resume is important. It is the absolute first impression that a prospective boss has of you as a professional and as a person. It must represent you well, clearly express your skills, talents and experience, your training and education, and your professional and career goals. It would be ideal, of course, to have a neat list of consecutive positions in one industry, each a little more advanced and responsible than the last, to present in your employment history. But life’s not neat. We have all hit a detour of one kind or another somewhere along the way. Whether it be a matter of personal health issues, raising a family, changing careers, or coming out of the military or out of retirement, you must address with your prospective employer the resulting gaps in your employment history right off the bat. You will not get the call for an interview if you do not adequately explain what might appear to be critical inconsistencies on your resume.
When you do explain your circumstances, it will not do at all to be vague. Addressing specific dates and periods of time, down to months and years, that it appears you were not minding your career. Outline the circumstances surrounding inconsistencies, periods of non-employment, interruption of schooling, or putting your career on hold to resume your education, in simple, factual, non-dramatic terms. This approach will indicate that you are forthcoming with all the information your prospective boss will need to make a fair decision about you, and that you are a professional, and not prone to treating life like a soap opera.
There are two basic ways for you to immediately clear up inconsistencies for your prospective employer: the cover letter, and the style of your resume.
Cover letters are a tradition, which some experts say is fading in the modern climate of instant, online communications. But there are many other experts who contend that, as a technique for ‘filling in the blanks’ that a resume leaves in the minds of hiring authorities, the cover letter will never be equaled. The resume, your single most powerful job search, or marketing, tool, is by nature very dry and impersonal. Which makes sense, as you are expected to present the sum total of your professional career in no more that a couple of sheets of paper. The cover letter, on the other hand, gives you a chance to present a more personal impression to the hiring agent. Here is the chance to broadly outline your major qualifications, the focus of your career, your availability for and interest in the position they are offering, and the opportunity to intelligently respond to issues raised by gaps in your resume. Even more than a resume, your cover letter is your first line of communication with someone that you want to work for.
An important point to bear in mind: when you present yourself in a cover letter, you should avoid raising issues in the employers’ minds. The whole purpose of the document is to lay issues to rest. Avoid making excuses, or criticizing former or present employers, as these practices will only lead to the impression that discord and dissatisfaction follow you wherever you go. Employers Concentrate instead on closing the gaps in your resume with clean, truthful explanations of fact and circumstance. If, for example, you have recently completed a degree or key certification in your career field, and that is the reason that you have a current gap in your work history, offer the positive information that you have added important knowledge and skills to your professional arsenal, mentioning in passing that this is the reason for the gap in your resume.
Your cover letter should contain only positive statements. In spite of gaps or inconsistencies, you want to stress the solid and valuable experience that you have in your field, and demonstrate that you have done your research by presenting attributes of the company you are applying to, and explaining why you have the desire to work for them.
The appropriate resume format for those who have gaps in their work history is called the ‘Functional Format,’ which has a distinct number of differences from the traditional ‘Reverse Chronological Format.’ At the top of the resume, for instance, the functional format calls for a ‘Summary of Qualifications,’ which is a single paragraph, some six to eight lines, that gives a basic outline of your skills and expertise. This is normally followed by a section called ‘Areas of Strength,’ which is a list of keywords and phrases, for use in a personnel database, that highlights specific skills by category. For example, if you have experience in Graphic Design, Office Management, and Automotive Mechanics, these three phrases would be used as headings, with three or four bullet items below each one, indicating specific facets of the heading over which you have achieved some mastery.
Then, instead of listing your work history in reverse chronological format, which is the traditional resume format, you may list your positions grouped according to industry or specialty, much the same as your section entitled ‘Areas of Strength.’ Remember to include your dates of employment as well, as omitting them raises unwanted issues in the employer’s mind.
If you have long periods on non-employment reflected in your resume, whether they are due to taking time off to raise a family, recovering from a health issue, dealing with a medical handicap, caring for a critically ill family member, or going back to school, the point is to keep the focus on the skills and experience that you do have. If you served in any civic or volunteer capacities during your unemployment, feel free to highlight those, including dates of service, under the heading ‘Additional Experience,’ which should follow your work experience.
The resume should conclude with both ‘Computer Skills’ and ‘Education’ sections.
In conclusion, you can certainly see how, combining a positive professional communication in your cover letter with a carefully designed resume using the ‘Functional Format’ can present your qualifications for any position in a much more positive light than an unexplained chronological resume with ominous gaps in career history that brings up questions, instead of answering them.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU IN YOUR JOB SEARCH
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