Taking a break from work might last from months to years, which is the case for many employees. Unfortunately, many of them lose their jobs due to this extended absence. The upcoming professional problem is how to explain this career gap to your employers, where some of them may not have the "gap year" culture. But don't panic; mentalities are changing. Taking a gap year and having an interview invitation can occur in professional life. It all depends on how you can explain your career gap. Fratres will show you the best tips for explaining your absence in a job interview.

Where to Place a Career Gap in your CV?

It is essential to place your gap years in the work experience on your CV. In many cases, employers can notice the period in your professional dates, such as the starting date and the ending one. If you have obtained an educational license between the gap years, you can put the date of the academic license so that employers can notice that the gap was consumed for an educational purpose. A trip to another country can also be dated in a section of your CV. You can put it in your interests, and if you have worked there, you mention that you have participated in work as an expat.

You can also provide more details about your career gap in your cover letter. You can, for example, mention your reasons, be it a medical leave, paternal leave, a migration experience, etc.. then explain what this gap taught you in return, any new skills, learning an extra language, obtaining another degree. Focus also on your gains personally, what qualities or aptitudes you have developed during your unemployment.

How to Explain Unemployment in an Interview?

An experienced applicant differs from an entry-level candidate. Although most employers prefer an experienced professional over a new one, they also look for a progressive career history without prolonged breaks. Every gap year in your CV can be a differentiator in the eyes of employers. There is no point in hiding them as if they were a small vacation. Employers care for the time you have spent outside the professional sphere. On what this time was spent? Are you still aware of the latest technologies and trends? Do you still master some of the hard skills, or is your memory making efforts to recall the last tasks you have done? Of course, you should know how to answer these challenging questions to show that you are still eligible for the position. Let's imagine the most demanding professional scenarios; you are ten years out of practice; how would you explain a career gap of 10 years?

How to Explain a Lengthy Employment Gap?

So, where have you been all these years? This is the most common question for all the absent professionals. Being back from the dead can be a miraculous happening to get invited for an interview after years of rupture. Even a single-year gap that didn't go as well as you hoped might have taught you something. But, in case of successive too many years, the reasons should be more justified. Here are some sample answers:

1.Academic fulfillment and Traveling overseas:

During your interview, you can explain your gap by being occupied abroad or going back to college. Of course, studying in college does not take 10 years. So, it's better to add another reason such as traveling abroad. It can be interesting to talk about your challenges there, especially with the work culture abroad. This experience can strengthen your employability, even though you gave-up working there. It can be an excellent initiative to come back with a new professional perception. Here an example:

I was away from the professional field due to some happenings in my life. After years of educational gap, I spent the 5 previous years at college trying to get my Master's degree. Obtaining this degree was one of my major ambitions. When I got back to college, I faced major troubles in getting acquainted with studies and exams. I decided to sacrifice my previous job and focus on my college studies. After that, I made the most challenging decision of traveling to South Korea. I was looking for better professional stability there. I was also in a distant relationship. So, I was planning to settle there for good. But, things didn't go the way I had planned. I couldn't prove myself in that new country. I met cultural barriers, prohibitive living costs, and I couldn't get adapted to their technologies and customs. So, I decided to come back home after spending technically 10 years away from employment.

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2. Launching a Project:

Here is another excuse for justifying 10 years of employment gap; trying to launch a project. After all, many professionals thought of making their independent career path and becoming self-employed. It can be your case as well. Whatever is this project, you should seek to explain to the employer that you have tried to manage a project but it turned out to you that getting a regular job was the safest option for you. Sharing a personal project attempt shows your capacity for making initiatives in the business field.

Regarding the project itself and your self-employment experience, define it clearly; you can mention your position. For example, if you have worked in an association, you can explain your position's interest and determine each of your tasks. The goal is to show your potential employer that you are a multi-tasked person. You can also highlight the difficulties and the obstacles you have faced in running this project, such as this pandemic disease, and I couldn't bring a large-scale project into existence. It was complicated to pursue my work on a minimal budget or find the best team to bring my project to the next level. I ended up selling my project and coming back to the professional world after ten years of gap.

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These were two detailed examples of being away from the professional world for an extensive period of 10 years. You can structure your answer according to your own experience. But, always focus on 3 tenets:

-The result of your gap: any obtained achievement such as a new degree, life experience, language, etc.

-The acquired skills: especially if the job you have applied for is a skills-based position

-Dedication to comeback: do you know that daring to apply for a job after 10 years of unemployment is already a big step? Looking for an opportunity after 10 years is already an appreciated effort. So be confident and trust your abilities.