Interview Tips: How To Explain A Gap In Your Employment History

So, you've had career counselling, done your training and started looking for opportunities for recruitment online. But wait… you've got gaps in your CV's employment history. What are you going to do? Deciding to address the gaps in your employment history is often met with slight anxiety.

The thing is, a sabbatical isn't unheard of, as anyone can decide to take a gap year and go exploring the world, so why do we feel so uneasy talking about it? That's what we look at here.

Why Do Employers Care About Gaps In Career History?:

Before a hiring manager has had a chance to get to know you properly, they're going to base most of what they think about you on your CV. Naturally, if there's an employment gap in your resume, it raises suspicion of what you were doing during this time, as you could have been doing anything.

However, the reasons for taking a break from the workplace can be varied and completely explainable. It could have been because of redundancy from a niche position, personal illness or the need to care for a family member. Hiring managers know this, but they do expect you to be able to give reasons for it.

“What Were You Doing During This Time?":

Even if you have a perfectly legitimate reason for an extended absence from employment, it can still be a little awkward when the interviewer asks, "So, what were you doing during this time?". This is particularly the case if you don't have a prepared answer.

Even when you have a valid reason behind your absence, stumbling will make you appear either dishonest or unprepared - neither of which you want. Don't prepare a novel, just a brief explanation of why you weren't able to work during that time.

Be Sure To Answer Honestly:

When faced with this question, it's understandable if someone decides to tell a white, but it's better to be honest to the best of your ability. Honesty is a positive trait that employers look for, and coming clean about something as important as this will put you in a good light.

Fill in the dates of when you started and finished your break, followed by the general reason. For example, ravelling around America, relocation to another country, parental leave or medical problems. Should it be the latter, don't worry, as you shouldn't be asked to go into too much detail if you want to.

Turn It Into A Positive:

You could try putting a spin on things by mentioning any personal skills that you picked up during your time away from the workplace. Perhaps talk about any short online courses you might have taken to boost your knowledge or that you've enhanced your organisational skills while looking after a loved one. Whatever you develop during your break can be used to your advantage.

You have to remember that gaps in a resume aren't uncommon, and while answering questions about any period of unemployment can be nerve-wracking, you're not alone. Being prepared to chat openly and professionally about the gaps in your CV can go a long way in securing the job of your dreams, so don't worry - with the right approach, you should be fine.

Enhance Your Employability With An OCA Online Course!

So, as we can see, employment gaps don't necessarily have to hinder your chances of finding recruitment online. Something else that can improve your employment hopes is a CPD Endorsed online course that gives you 1 CPD point for every hour completed. With the right training and accumulated CPD points, your employment opportunities can soar!

Learning with OCA is far removed from traditional text-based training, as it's video-based for easy digestion and modular, meaning it can fit easily around your current obligations. As such, it's much easier to learn new skills in this way, as can be seen in our student study demo.

The online course options we offer are also wide-ranging, covering, as they do, more than 20 different professional sectors - something you can see by visiting us online today at www.onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au. There you'll also see that we offer flexible payment options that make our already cheap courses even more affordable.

Every single student is extremely well supported on their learning journey, as 1-to-1 mentoring is offered on every course, as is 24/7 tutorial support. A common fear when talking about online training is not knowing what to do if they get stuck, but with us, that's never a problem.