A frequent question from folks preparing to apply for jobs is how to get a new job after a gap in employment. The answer varies depending on the precise reason for leaving the workforce, but there are some steps anyone returning to the workforce after a gap in employment can use to increase the probability of obtaining a job.
The ability of individuals to return to the workforce after a gap in employment is getting easier due to increased acceptance of the gig economy and unconventional work. That said, many employers still perceive a gap in employment as a negative for applicants, unless applicants provide a “compelling” justification for their unemployment.
“Compelling” for an employer does not mean what it should here. For example, raising children is still undervalued in the United States, and having a gap in employment for parenthood is still regularly viewed as a negative quality in the eyes of employers—one of many factors leading to sexist hiring practices. However, there are ways in despite these prejudices. Even if the reason for your gap in employment is raising a family, there are ways to shape your story to be “compelling” to employers. (In my opinion, raising the next generation in the best way possible is one of the best ways for anyone to spend their time, but I am not deciding whether or not you should be hired.)
Regardless of why you left the workforce and why you are coming back to it, these five steps can help you navigate the hiring process to have the best probability to land the job you want:
1. Beat the Software: ATS-Proof Your Resume
If you are rejoining the workforce after some time away, you will need to dust off and adjust your resume. Whatever version of your resume you used prior to the employment gap should be updated to include ATS keywords in your resume. “ATS” stands for “Applicant Tracking Systems,” the software used by companies to narrow applicant pools instantly.
Employers use ATS to make sure that everyone applying for a job has certain qualities that they are seeking. However, sometimes using a slightly different phrase can prevent your resume from meeting the ATS standard for a job posting. To make sure you have the relevant ATS Keywords for your desired job or field, just search “ATS keywords *your ideal job/industry*” to see what should be included in your resume. For more specifics on including ATS keywords as well as identifying which words to include in your resume to tailor your resume to a particular job posting or industry, follow these guidelines. If you are including information about your LinkedIn page or personal website in your job application, also include these ATS keywords there.
2. Include Other Experience on Your Resume
There are a number of hardliners that think once you have worked for a couple of years, you should absolutely only include “real jobs” and education that resulted in degrees on your resume. I strongly disagree, and I have the testimonials from folks who have sought my resume writing services and my individual job and salary to prove it. Even for individuals who have an employment history without gaps, including something other than your jobs provides a more complete picture of you as a human.
Other experience means something a bit different to each resume. I recently worked on a resume where the client did not have large gaps in employment because she worked various part-time jobs. I sorted her experience into “Relevant Experience” and “Other Experience” in which the “Relevant Experience” category included bullet points written in ideal resume experience format while the “Other Experience” section only included job titles. This is the most intuitive way to include other experience.
Including an “Other Experience” portion of your resume is not the only way to include these jobs or experiences. Frequent categories I include on resumes to capture the many obligations that consume our time but are not necessarily “jobs” include “Leadership Positions,” “Other Activities,” “Leadership Activities,” “Community Positions,” and “Community Activities.” Pick a phrasing that you like, or invent one that works for you to best capture your experiences. You may need to sift through the possible experiences to include to decide what title to use best, which brings us to the next point:
3. Include Side Hustles and Volunteer Work
A colleague recently told me the two words he most associates with me are “rugby” and “data.” In that order. “Data” relates to my job qualifications. “Rugby” is simply the activity that consumes more of my time and brain space than my job or any other sources of income. The time I have given to the rugby community is important to me, so I put my rugby leadership positions on my resume to show that I am involved in growing a community.
Particularly if you have been out of work for a longer period of time, I bet you have dabbled in some community activities or found some other side hustles to make money. Either (or both) should be included on your resume and job application!
Side hustles are easier to identify and include. If you have a side hustle, part-time work, or a gig economy job that you held at any point in your “unemployment” period, you were not as unemployed as you originally thought. These are jobs. Include them in your experience! Describe these experiences exactly as you would any “regular” 9-to-5 job. Before assuming you do not have any of these, really reflect. If you regularly walk dogs, water plants, do yard work, provide haircuts, or do housework for someone in exchange for money or the other individual’s specialized skills, this is a job.
Before you shrug small jobs off because your future employer will find no value in your ability to walk multiple dogs a day, reflect on what other skills are involved. As a dog walker, you may actually “coordinate schedules of 20 clients to provide prompt dog walking services,” a valuable skill for the scheduling assistant job that requires juggling meetings. You may also “communicate with clients to ensure that walks meet their needs for duration, speed, and timing,” skills that show your ability to meet with new people and discuss their requirements as the office receptionist. Qualifications are all about the framing.
Volunteer work is another overlooked field of value. If you are a member of the Parent Teacher Association, helped organize your local Relay for Life walk, or you lead another local organization, your volunteer work is probably easy to pinpoint. If you are not, you still probably do volunteer work. Maybe you participated in a long bike ride to raise money for something important to you or organized the five-year-old soccer pickup schedule. It sounds like you were a “Bike Ride for X Member” or the “Youth Sports Schedule Coordinator” to me. Describe the skills that you used to make these important volunteer contributions happen!
4. Tell Your Unique Story
Tell your story both in your application and in the interview once you get one. In job applications, this means submitting a cover letter. I hate cover letters. I think everyone does. However, if you have a gap in employment, they are a useful tool if you feel your resume does not speak for itself or leaves questions to the reader. Your resume has to be good enough to get past the software and to the table of a real person, but once it does, you can let a cover letter tell your unique story.
Here is the harsh part of this (I do not make these rules, I am just here to tell you how to get a job.): I wanted to travel the world, I became a parent, I cared for a sick loved one, or I decided to go back to school to enter a new industry are not unique stories. If any of these are the main framing of your story (and cover letter), you probably will not get the job unless the employer is pretty desperate. I personally do not think I could continue my jobs while doing any of those four extremely time-consuming things, but securing employment is not fair. Do not make these four themes the main framing of your cover letter or eventual interview.
Why do I keep emphasizing main framing? Because you can tell stories about these themes. You just need to tell them under a unique framing that makes your story stand out from the others with similar natural themes.
You traveled the world for a year? Not just that. You explored the history of communist influence in the states that composed the former Yugoslavia to learn how ethno-nationalism shaped the region and how these ethno-nationalist ideologies still exist in modern politics throughout the region. You hiked *however many* miles through France and Spain on the Camino de Santiago to improve your French and Spanish while exploring the rich religious history through a physically challenging achievement. You traveled around Southeast Asia to familiarize yourself with the different types of Buddhism through a number of homestays and religious site visits to better understand how these religious branches impacted local communities and cultures.
You became a parent? Yes, but more. You advocated for more inclusive curriculum choices at the local elementary school to better accommodate the learning of neurodiverse children. You communicated with the local recreation center to create a swim lesson schedule that enabled parents with different schedules to more easily identify times to bring their children to the local pool.
You get the idea. I do not know what you fiercely advocated for over your employment gap, but you cared about something. Whatever it is matters. Tell your future employer about it, tell them how the skills you gained pursuing this objective will apply to your future job, and show them your unique passion. If they are telling a story about you (“that applicant that changed the schedule at the local pool!”), what do you want it to be? Write it, then tell it unapologetically.
5. Interview with Confidence in Your Experience
That final word—unapologetically— is the last and most essential aspect of securing a job with a gap in employment. Before you interview with a potential employer, you need to convince yourself that your gap in employment is an asset. It is not a weakness.
Your time outside the traditional workforce is an asset.
You have to believe this. It is not a lie: Most traditional jobs stunt creativity. You just experienced time unstructured by an employer. That means you had to structure your own take, prioritize without guidance, and take responsibility for your own learning. You learned something over that time. You grew as a person. The other job applicants (your competition) did not have that same personal growth. Let your potential employer know that you know your non-employment experiences are an asset.
Having this confidence stems from telling your story in a way that resonates with you and highlights your best qualities. Reflect on what it is about your story that makes you uniquely qualified for employment at the position. Write down all the amazing skills you learned from your experiences outside the workforce. Review with yourself what qualities you have perfected that many others have not.
Then tell your employer why you are the best candidate for the job, and include why your time outside the traditional workforce made you the best.
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