Resume revamp (after a long break)?

8 Comments

1. AnonymousApril 7,2023 at 5:57PM UTC

   List your volunteer work

2. Wendy ScottApril 7,2023 at 9:16PM UTC

   You are going to have to put something to explain the career break so think of how you can give it a positive slant.

   If you don’t like sabbatical you could use ‘career break’ instead, list your volunteer work and say you were re-thinking the sort of work you want to do.

   Regardless you will have to come up with something to say to HR/recruiters that shows you are ready to commit to a role in the future without taking another break. Maybe use google to get some suggestions?

3. AnonymousApril 9,2023 at 12:36PM UTC

   Shortly after my daughter was born, I suffered a traumatic brain injury. This was not a career pause I wanted to take, but with such a high level, managerial job in software engineering, I was forced to take a career break.

   with the help of cognitive rehabilitation, I volunteered at my daughter’s school and at church so I could be productive and learn how to be social again. After fourteen years, I’m back in the workforce working in cybersecurity.

   Go ahead and take a career break, but the important thing is to do something with it. I chose to give back to my community as soon as I was able.

4. AnonymousApril 9,2023 at 2:00PM UTC

   I took a year off also but worked some time remotely. Perhaps you could find a title that works around what you did at home, or explain you resigned for personal reasons.

5. AyianApril 9,2023 at 2:04PM UTC

   Have you done any volunteer work? Would you like to? You can put that on your resume where the gap otherwise would have been. If you need ideas, Idealist.org is a job, internship, and volunteer position website for nonprofits across the world.

6. AnonymousApril 9,2023 at 2:29PM UTC

   Advice on this kind of thing is always all over the map but I personally would not say anything on the resume (though I might figure out a way to make the volunteering look more prominent) but I would have some answers prepared to explain the gap in interviews. And talk about it in cover letters as relevant.

   Especially if you are looking in a new field, I think we are still in a place where, “I needed some time to evaluate what I really wanted to be doing, and used that break to learn/volunteer/explore new skills. And now I know that work with [your company] is what I want, and I can tell you more about why and how.”

7. Lisa MarieApril 9,2023 at 5:04PM UTC

   FIRST: Please do not use the word "sabbatical" - unless the meaning below is *true*

   "you were either (A) a university professor/faculty, or (B) were still employed and was still being paid. This time provides employees with the opportunity to travel and study outside of their regular job roles to advance their career"

   SECOND: You don't *have to* list anything regarding the break. Aside from some very specific career fields - *most of the world* was not working since 2020. However, that being said, recognize that *some* hiring managers/recruiters are not "as aware" as they pretend to be, and would exclude you from even being short-listed because they see a breaking in employement during a time in the world when *most people* were unemployed.

   THIRD: If the volunteer work you did was substantive widely nationally or internationally cause, you may choose to include it - along with 3 to 6 major/key accomplishments *you* actualized or influenced during your time volunteering.

   FOURTH and MOST IMPORTANT: take time to formulate a script (much like an elevator pitch) *highlighting exactly what you did* during your break. This is so if/when you are asked about the break in employment, you will be able to *speak fluently* and not seem to be "making up an answer."

   Best of luck in your job search and interviews.

8. AnonymousApril 20,2023 at 11:05PM UTC

   Look up irelaunch. Its meant for people with gaps in their career.