5 things to know when writing a resume after a career break

You took a year off from work to care for your family. Now, you are considering?joining the job market back again after your employment break . Would employers still be interested in hiring you when they see the huge gap on your resume? Well, they will be, if you write your resume right. Here’s what you need to do:

First of all, list your career gap

Hiring managers are experts at spotting career gaps in resumes. You wouldn’t get very far in the hiring process if your plan was to mask the career gap on your resume. It is better to be upfront about your career gap than try to hide it. Therefore, listing your?career gap ?in your resume’s work experience section is the best thing you can do.

Describe your career gap

Don’t simply list the dates and write “career gap” and leave it as it is. Expand your career gap a little. You don’t need to give lengthy descriptions of what you were doing during your career break. You can make your career gap an asset for your resume by highlighting the positives about it. Did you earn a new certification while you were out of the workforce? You can highlight any online classes you took while you were at home. If you took time off from work to?volunteer ?or travel, you can add those experiences to your resume as well.

Focus on your strengths

You have mastered a number of skills throughout your career. When you create your resume, you must highlight your biggest skills.?Simply adding your skills to the resume does not cut it in the modern job market . You must strategically use your work experience section to show how you have achieved tangible results by utilizing your skills. When you determine the skills to include in the key skills section of your resume, pay attention to the job description. Which skills has the employer demanded? Which additional skills would go with them?

Consider rearranging your resume

If your career gap was particularly long or if you are worried about an employer getting turned off after seeing your career gap on your resume, you can rearrange your resume sections. Traditionally, the work experience section of a resume goes just after the resume summary, towards the top of the document. If you think that the career gap will affect the way the employer perceives your talents, you can add your career history after the education and?key skills sections . This way, the employer will be impressed by your academic achievements before they move on to your work history.

Go for a functional resume format

The chronological resume format emphasizes the work experience of a job seeker and brings the employer's attention straight to the career history. In your case, this could be a disadvantage. You can choose a functional resume format to avoid this.?A functional resume ?also goes by the name skills-based resume. It emphasizes your professional skills more than your work experience. The work experience you have is listed towards the end of the resume, while your skills and skills-based achievements take a more prominent spot. Since this resume format does not focus on the chronological work history of an applicant, it is great for someone who has had a career gap.