Career Breaks: Explain Your Gap & Land Job Offers

LinkedIn Members Can Now Spotlight Career Breaks on Their Profiles

LinkedIn recently introduced Career Breaks with 13 options to add to your profile's Experience section.??

The pandemic upended the traditional workplace and has created many career gaps. Millions of people were forced to leave their jobs; others chose to take a career break to better manage life outside of work. Women were significantly impacted, with over 50 million women out of jobs worldwide during the first year of the pandemic.?

Yet even with career breaks becoming more common, some hiring managers are still hesitant to pursue those who have taken a break. LinkedIn recently shared that one in five hiring managers say they outright reject such candidates.

LinkedIn is helping to normalize breaks and providing a way to positively represent their career breaks by highlighting skills learned and experiences they had during a work pause.?Talent professionals will now see these career breaks in the Recruiter system when searching for candidates.??Knowing the context of why a candidate took a career break increases the likelihood of recruiters taking the next step.?

Demo of the new LinkedIn Career Break options:

Unexplained resume gaps are suspicious to recruiters and are often the reason they pass on candidates.??

They may wonder if there is something they should know about you and if there is a reason that others are not hiring you.?Explaining a gap helps clarify the break you took from the workforce and lowers recruiters' concerns.??Lead with honesty and integrity. Don't try to hide it.??

Sometimes candidates receive advice to use a functional resume format, emphasizing achievement rather than dates. This can be a red flag for recruiters as they prefer a chronological format. It may lead them to wonder what the candidate is trying to hide.

If the gap was voluntary, emphasize the focus of the career break and briefly share information that eliminates concern.??If your career break was involuntary, briefly describe the gap without seeming defensive or sharing too many details. Honesty and brevity are best.??

Do your best to make the gap a non-issue. When speaking to a recruiter or hiring manager, you need to have brief and truthful answers that convey that the gap doesn't negatively impact your ability to succeed at the job they're looking to fill.

Highlight relevant activities during the gap that conveys how you improved your skills, brand, and ability to perform well in the role you are pursuing. Remember that both paid and unpaid work/pursuits count.??

If you have a more challenging situation, such as incarceration, you must be prepared to address it in interviews. You may also want to focus your job search efforts in industries and for roles that are more likely to be understanding and open to moving forward.??

Prepare an explanation that is short and as sweet as possible, and practice communicating it honestly and confidently. Put yourself in your potential employer's position and consider how your gap might concern them, and address those concerns directly.

Direct the focus on what you bring to the table and how you are prepared and excited to contribute to the organization and well suited to the role. Focus on your skills, readiness for the job, and fit for the company.??

For an in-depth discussion about explaining your gap and landing job offers, join us for Lorien Live (or watch the replay).??