6 Ways to Explain Employment Gaps in Job Interviews
Imagine this; you have successfully landed an interview with a company you had dreamed of working with. You aced the interview and are on your way for the first day. During the lunch break, the team lead asks about your resume gap. The problem is you lied in the interview. Now you are in a puddle and wishing you had been upfront about it. That way, you would not have to worry about the truth springing out constantly.
Focus on the positive
Every story gone wrong has a positive side too. Find that positive spin when you take a break from being on a 9-5 job. You can talk about the skills you honed during and before the gap period. Talk about how you utilized the time upskilling personally or professionally. You can discuss how you devised a business plan to become self-employed. Regardless, do not dwell on the negative aspects and events that terminated you. Most importantly, refrain from speaking negatively about your former boss, teammates, and organization.
Demonstrate your growth
Reliability is one of the criteria hiring managers use to filter employees during the initial interviews. You can demonstrate your capability by emphasizing everything you learned from your failures and setbacks. It does not have to be a star-studded lesson. The assurance that you have grown from it and ensure that you don’t slip down the same path is enough to back the claim you are a reliable employee.
Talk about skills and achievements
Although there are chances that your interviewer might bring questions about your employment gaps, don’t let it faze you. While you don’t have to dodge the questions, you don’t have to let them steer you either. Nor do you need to spend half your allotted interview on the story of your unemployment. Once you have addressed their queries, move to the skills you acquired and how they helped you in your role.
Address with honesty
Being forthcoming with relevant information is always an excellent way to start. Mistakes are a part of being human and if you were fired from your previous job, you have nothing to be ashamed of. It might take some time to accept the termination. Still when interviewing for future jobs, it is better to address the issues on your own, especially if there are chances that the termination might come into light during the reference check. It is also okay to have breaks in your resume. It is okay to take a step back to recuperate and reevaluate. You don’t have to elaborate if the reason for your gap is personal. You just need to be honest about it.
Change of mind
If the extended gap in your resume is because the company that hired you changed its mind, it is okay. It is also okay if you were the one who had a change of mind. Either way, no one is at fault. All you have to do is be open to a conversation about that and prove to your interviewer that you are serious about the opportunity.
Be brief but clear
One mistake candidates often make is going into the details about their resume gap. What recruiters expect to hear is whether or not you are willing to take responsibility if at fault. Going off tangent about the sequence of events and the chain reaction might cost you the opportunity you were aiming for. So, it is essential to be clear about the termination or another reason that caused the gap. It is wise to put your story under the rug without shaming, bad-mouthing, or placing blames on someone.