How Do I Explain An Employment Gap In Interviews?

Q. I have a gap on my resume that causes me quite a bit of stress.  The good news is that I have been able to get a few interviews despite it.  The bad news is that I find it really difficult to explain the gap during interviews, even though I have nothing to hide (I just couldn’t find work).  A. With the job market as challenging as it has been for the last four years, a lot of people have gaps on their resumes.  This means that employers are a little better about looking past these gaps.

Speaking to employment gaps during an interview is much like speaking to weaknesses – be honest, succinct and shift the conversation back to your qualifications. If you have been developing yourself professionally during your time out of the workforce, great.  Speak to how what you have learned makes you a more attractive candidate.

Listing Awards and Honors on Your Resume

Q. I am proud to say that I have earned several awards over the course of my career.  Do you suggest I create an Awards section on my resume or should I list them with my experience? A.  Congratulations on your successes!  Generally speaking, I recommend listing awards and honors within your professional experience section.  For one, this should challenge you to only speak to a few of the most impressive honors or those that you are most proud of.  This also provides greater context for the reader, as opposed to the fairly common “laundry list” of awards toward the end of the resume.

Regardless of where you list awards on your resume, it is critical that you focus on what you did to achieve that award and the impact you had on the organization, not on the award itself.  It is much more important to highlight WHY you were recognized than that you were recognized.

People Hire People They Want To Work With

Creating an accomplishment-focused resume is a real challenge for most people. Writing an accomplishment-focused resume that also makes you sound likeable and approachable can be even more difficult. This is why a Branding Statement is such a key part of an outstanding resume.

A Branding Statement not only creates a frame through which readers will see your qualifications and achievements, it can help to humanize the document. A well-written Branding Statement should strike just the right balance between professionalism with approachability. Of course, this varies from industry to industry. Someone in finance is likely going to lean much more heavily toward strictly professional than, say, someone in a creative role, who might take a more “familiar” tone.

When all is said and done, people want to work with people they like (who are qualified). In almost all cases, a really effective resume will need to subtly communicate like-ability. A Branding Statement can be an excellent way to make just the right first impression in order to communicate that.

Tell Me A Little About Yourself

The question, “Tell me a little about yourself...” seems to leave a lot of interviewees completely stumped and can derail an interview practically before it has started.  The irony is that this simple question is actually meant to be a fairly casual icebreaker – a way to put the interviewee at ease before the onslaught of behavioral questions.  So how do you respond to this common interview question, “Tell me a little about yourself?”  Here are two rules to follow: keep it short and be enthusiastic.

Short: The interviewer is not interested in hearing your life story.  What they are likely looking for is a brief overview of what brought you to this point.  So keep your answer concise and focused.  Perhaps you can quickly speak to your career path, highlight ways in which you determined your niche or share a little bit about your genuine passion for what you do.

Enthusiastic: One of the reasons this question tends to trip people up is because their minds go directly to things that diminish their confidence.  They think about their non-linear career path or the job they hated.  You are setting the tone for the interview with your answer, so try to stay focused on the aspects of your history that lift you up.

Since this question is so common, practice it ahead of time.  Ask a friend to listen to you and share their thoughts.  This way you can feel confident when this tricky little “icebreaker” comes up in your next interview.

Designed Resumes - Know Your Audience

A few days ago, I provided resume tips for designers and creatives where I suggested that these professionals can have two versions of their resumes – a standard resume and a “designed” resume. This post sparked an interesting conversation over social media about when it would be appropriate to use the designed version and when one should apply with the standard version. As I have shared in posts about infographic resumes and other “cutting edge” approaches, it is critical to know your audience. A few more thoughts...

• If you are applying via standard channels (i.e. you are not handing your resume to a the head of the creative team) to a non-design focused organization – like a corporation with an in-house design / creative team – then a more standard resume would be a smart move. This will ensure your that your resume “plays nice” with resume screening systems and, beyond that, that it appeals to readers in HR.

• You never know when a company is going to be using automated resume screening software, so using your standard resume is always a safe bet (sometimes you can find "clues" on the organization's website). Having said that, I think it is okay to provide a designed resume right up front if you are applying to a small, design focused company. In a smaller organization, it is more likely that all members of the team share a similar vision and will appreciate a more unique approach.

• The beauty of having two versions is that you can always provide the "designed" resume during the interview process.

• And one more thing: regardless of which resume you choose to use, make sure that you are driving readers to your on-line portfolio, which should be a natural extension of your resume.