Concerned about gaps in your resume? When was the last time you fret over the time between your favorite recording artist’s gap between albums? You were probably more excited about what had changed and listening to the new songs. Many musicians have had long spans of time between the release dates of consecutive studio albums. Here are just a few:
· Bob Seger: 10+ years between It’s a Mystery (1995) and Face the Promise (2006)
· The Rolling Stones: 11+ years between A Bigger Bang (2005) and Blue & Lonesome (2016)
· The Who: 13+ years between Endless Wire (2006) and Who (2019)
· The Band: 16+ years between Islands (1977) and Jericho (1993)
· Steve Miller Band: 17+ years between Wide River (1993) and Bingo! (2010)
· Pink Floyd: 20+ years between The Division Bell (1994) and The Endless River (2014)
· The Who: 24+ years between It’s Hard (1982) and Endless Wire (2006)
· The Yardbirds: 35+ years between Little Games (1967) and Birdland (2003)
· Bob Weir: 38+ years between Heaven Help the Fool (1978) and Blue Mountain (2016)
While gaps in professional resumes have usually been a red flag for all the wrong reasons, an experienced professional returning to work today after a gap means far less than it once did; especially during Covid when many workers have productively used this time (like recording artists) to hone and diversify their skills and explore new opportunities.
As much as you might worry about gaps in your resume, employers are much more focused on The Great Resignation and things like flex/hybrid work arrangements and retention. Resumes that would have once been rejected because of gaps have now become the norm. Because of the pandemic, employers are not surprised to see gaps during that period or consider them negatives. They are the new normal. And for older workers concerned about the triple whammy of Covid, job gaps, and ageism, with younger employees far more likely to quit their jobs, seasoned professionals are becoming all the rage. Loyalty and dependability are the new career currency.
Cover letters and interviews are ideal communication vehicles for explaining job gaps, so long as the explanations are direct, honest, and speak to how you used the time, such as documenting new skills you’ve learned, volunteer work you’ve engaged in, or how you used the time to raise a new family AND earned micro-certifications while being a new parent. Fuel your reasons by explaining how what you did reflects a strong desire to get back to work or pivot to a new field. Think of your transferable skills as your “best of.”
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