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I cannot seem to land a job.

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Anonymous

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I cannot seem to land a job. Have a long break in work history, how can I explain this? Was working remote, then had to leave my job to take care of my Mom two years ago.

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  1. Sarah Bojorquez Lopez

    I am a recruiter and I honestly wouldn't bring it up. Thanks to covid most people have gaps on their resumes and I would never ask anyone at this point. If a recruiter asks about it I would simply comment you were taking care of the family member. You really don't even have to give that much information if you don't want to. If you've taken any classes or anything in the meantime you could talk about those.

  2. Anonymous

    As a recruiter, I don't align with the other recruiter's response. NOTHING sounds like a red flag that you took time off to take care of a parent. Be honest, I've hired EXCELLENT people who put their parents first and it really translates into their work place with patience, agility, not coming in as a bulldozer but through the lens of empathy and have been very coachable.

  3. Euner chelangat

    Can you employ me too am a nurse looking for a job..I left where was working due to missuse by management and burnout of having work without leave for 5 yrs

  4. Anonymous

    Good luck, I'm not in the healthcare field.

  5. Balanced372207

    You are one in a million

  6. Anonymous

    I suggest adding dates to your work experience, such as 'Caregiver:' or 'House Manager:' and specifying the time period, for example, 1/2020-6/2022. You may have done more than you realize, including tasks like money management, scheduling, transportation, and bookkeeping, which are all part of being an Executive Assistant. I came across a helpful website with tips on how to present your work experience, which you may find useful https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/caregiver-resume-tips. (I am unaffiliated to the website) While most recruiters claim they don't consider gaps in employment, the truth is that 90% of them do. Therefore, it's better to list something, even if you don't get personal about it. You can mention any courses you took or any contract/temporary jobs you worked at during that time. Personally, I don't hold a gap in employment against anyone. But hiring managers usually do, especially if there's nothing listed 99.9999999% of the time.

  7. JJ

    Job hunting is soul crushing and it takes a long time to land a job. It is not just you. Chin up and good luck.

  8. Anonymous

    I haven’t even had a break ( taking care of my kids, etc)and it is taking me longer to land a job since my last position was eliminated. It is so frustrating. It’s not only you.

  9. Anonymous

    Are you only looking for FT remote jobs or are you willing to work in person? What industry/field are you in?

    I think it's fine to say that your break in work history was due to family obligations, but those have since resolved.

  10. Jen B Mays

    I think this is a problem throughout the system. I had a post on LinkedIn about it, in fact. The only response I see would be to make it clear what you can bring to an organization and back it up well, and then when the gap conversation comes up, note the family responsibility where you rose to the occasion to meet a challenge, and turn the conversation back to how you can help their organization today. a SMART company will note what you bring to the table, your flexibility, and your loyalty.

  11. Balanced372207

    Most HR people aren't that smart, and cannot "connect the dots", so to speak.

  12. Anonymous

    Rude and unprofessional reply. Not necessary.

  13. Anonymous

    Add your care giving role to your resume. This was a suggestion by a recruiter I was working with. This takes care of the gap in employment.

  14. Anonymous

    Absolutely this! I added this to my fiancé’s resume for him and it allowed employers to see that he did skills that transferred from personal to work experience while caring for 2 ill parents at the same time. Caregiving IS a full time job, whether a company pays you for your time or not. You’re a personal assistant, a personal nurse’s aid, a scheduling multi-tasker (MD appts, medication dispensing, following up on an assortment of tasks, duties and responsibilities), you tackle confidential information and process the planning of various events and procedures, you’re responsible for ensuring needed supplies and resources are available all hours of the day while being on call at all hours… because it’s a 24/7 job. Anyone who takes time off to be a caretaker for an ill parent or both ill parents is entitled to call that a job on a resume. Hands down!

  15. Anonymous

    Exactly how you just did. You took time off to be caregiver for a family member. If there is any job that is going to balk at that, especially considering the last few years, it's not a job you want.

  16. Anonymous

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

    I went through the same thing, 2 yrs taking care of family and during the interview I told them that and I mean NO ONE cared. they were all very understanding and didn't question it one bit.

    In fact, they were actually very impressed and looked at it as a positive, admirable thing I did.

  17. Anonymous

    Speak directly to being the sole caregiver for your mother and taking salary to do that while continuing to look for a role. If questioned about it use the pandemic as the reasoning for not wanting to have another person in your home to look after her given the prospect of her getting ill from folks coming in and out of the home.

  18. Janet Parkhurst

    That's great (the pandemic), but there's also the matter of cost. It is unGodly expensive to hire in-home care.

  19. Sarah Bojorquez Lopez

    I think that's a great answer. I think a lot of companies are advising their recruiters and hiring managers to really not ask about gaps anymore, At least in the technology field where I work. After covid almost everyone has some kind of gap.

  20. Aimee Robles

    I’m an open book so I would say just that. Not too detailed but family comes first in my opinion.

  21. Balanced372207

    I agree, but I also that potential employers and employers punish people who have the "family first" attitude. I have seen it done to my own daughter who was taking care of her ill father before he passed from Covid.

  22. Aimee Robles

    Yeah that’s crazy to me. I used to handle interviews for the City i worked for and if it was a family I would never fault a person for that. A lot of businesses aren’t great, I couldn’t imagine behaving that way. But unfortunately it is everywhere.

  23. Kirsten Bunch

    Be honest. Talk about what you learned during that period of your life.

  24. Evelyn Cruz

    I agree with Kirsten. I experienced the same, I comminicate this and go further to say I have no regrets. It is a commendable act. Good luck.

  25. Rocky Mills

    I have almost the exact same issue. I still haven't found work either after a break but I just changed resume using zety.com for ideas. **I listed "Caregiver" on my resume. you should do the same!

    I also listed a summary at the top, here's kind of the jist of it, "Experienced, and engaging communications specialist with background in video post-production seeking a career opportunity with an innovative employer after a brief hiatus to serve as a caregiver while focusing on freelance endeavors during interim.

  26. Anonymous

    Resumes should not have any gaps in years. So the resume and your messaging in interviews need to sync. Leaving the workforce for caregiving is an acceptable reason for the 'break'.

    Even LinkedIn offers 'Career Break' as an option in the Experience section, with a dropdown of all the possibilities one might use a career break for.

    Don't be defensive when you explain this. No drama, no pity. A simple explanation was that you were needed to provide caregiving for your mother. Especially during the pandemic years, this affected many people, who needed to take these types of breaks.

    Depending on the role you are looking for, you might want to come up with a list of the skills you used/learned in the caretaking - which can translate to a job. For example time management, calendar coordination (doc appt's, PT/OT schedule, etc.), billing, med management, etc.

    Just be yourself - no defensiveness or pity in the picture. You were a working professional doing a good job (can you provide a reference from that job), then your family needed you, and now you are back in the workforce. It happens. Good Luck!

  27. Balanced372207

    Agreed

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