Luís has been out of work for one year while recovering from a major medical incident.
Zainab spent the past three months abroad visiting their extended family.
For the last five years, Ernest has been the primary daytime caregiver to their children.
Effie left a C-suite position to care for their elderly parent.
Kyle graduated from college six months ago and is hoping to land their first full-time job.
Career gaps are periods of time when people experience voluntary or involuntary unemployment. These breaks occur for various reasons and are more common than you might expect — a 2022 LinkedIn survey found that 62 percent of the 23,000 global workers surveyed had taken a break at some point in their career. If you’re currently on a break or anticipating one, these five tips will help you reenter the workforce with confidence.
Make Sure You’re Ready
Depending on the reasons for your gap, you may need to prepare yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally so you can start your job search fresh.
Affirm Yourself and Be Positive
A job search can shake anyone’s confidence, especially after extended unemployment. The time spent caring for yourself or others can be periods of learning and growth, so embrace your story and maintain a hopeful outlook.
Fill the Gap
Don’t shy away from your gap, define it! On your resume, exchange a job title for something that best describes the time period — personal development, sabbatical, medical leave, caregiver, student — and outline what you learned and accomplished. If you prefer for employers to focus on your skills and expertise instead of your employment timeline, consider using a functional resume.
Any relevant experience that you can market effectively is fair game, including coursework, micro-credentials, personal projects, travel, directed learning, and volunteering. If you can’t make time for professional development, focus on the skills required of your current responsibilities. For example, someone who is a full-time caregiver might include skills like adaptability, attention to detail, communication, organization, and schedule management.
Address the Gap
In an interview, address your gap directly and honestly, but keep your explanation brief, only share what you feel comfortable sharing, then demonstrate your readiness to return to work. According to Indeed, you can address the gap by following these three steps:
- Define the reason for the gap: “When my mother fell ill, I decided to dedicate myself to her care full-time.”
- Describe what you did during the gap: “In addition to managing my mother’s health care and finances, I built upon my management expertise by earning my project management certification.”
- Close by explaining why you want to get back into the workforce: “I was honored to have the opportunity to devote myself to my mother in her final days, and now that I’ve grieved and redefined my career goals, I am excited to put my project management knowledge to work for your organization.”
Practice, Practice, Practice
Practice articulating your story and responding to common interview questions. Record yourself or recruit assistance from people working in your field.
Bonus: Use Your Resources!
Your Alumni Association offers courses, certifications, volunteer opportunities, and on-demand resources that you can use at any point of your career break. Want help navigating your options? Email us at aaumcareer@umich.edu.
Kierra Trotter is the director of alumni career and education at the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan.
