By Peter Newfield – Career-Resumes.com®
A resume is required for virtually every job opening
in every field of endeavor. A professional resume that presents
a candidate’s work history and accomplishments where the climb
up the proverbial corporate ladder is quite evident, would be the
best case scenario. But there are many job candidates who do not
have a smooth career history, or worse still, have missing years
which may cause prospective employers to wonder. As a job applicant
returning to the workforce after a period of time, how do you handle
these missing years on your resume?
Common Reasons for Employment Gaps
Some of the most common reasons for individuals
who have been out of the employment game and are now ready to return
may include: taking time off to have a baby/raise a family, enrollment
in the military, recovering from a traumatic accident or illness,
caring for an elderly parent or sick child for an extended period
of time, residence in a rehabilitation facility, or incarceration.
While some of these reasons may not be looked
upon as favorably as others, none of these reasons should be listed
on the resume document. Gaps in employment history may be addressed
briefly in your cover letter if you feel that it would be important
for a prospective employer to know this information.
Which Resume Format Works Best?
The best resume format to use for individuals
returning to the workforce and/or with gaps in employment history,
is the Functional Format. Unlike a Reverse Chronological resume
which words best for those individuals who have consistently climbed
up the ranks in one particular industry, a Functional Format can
present the applicant’s work experience, strengths, and talents
without focusing on changes in fields of interest, missing years,
or lack of experience.
Put Your Best Foot Forward
For an individual who has been out of the work
force for a number of years and is now looking for a job, the resume
should start out with a brief Summary of Qualifications. This 3-8
sentence overview of skills and areas of experience can include
such information as “more than ten years of sales and marketing
experience”, “ability to train and motivate sales teams”,
or “bi-lingual in Spanish and English.”
The next section of the resume should be entitled
Areas of Strength. The Areas of Strength section can be a bulleted
listing or several sub-headings depending on the distinct areas
of experience you possess. For example, the Areas of Strength section
may include Sales, Public Relations, Community Relations, and Office
Administration. You can make each one a separate category and bullet
2 or 3 items under each heading to indicate your experience and
skills in these areas throughout your career.
Tips for Re-Entering the Same Field
If a returning professional had a number of years
of experience in one particular field but then took time off for
several years to raise a family, the next section on the resume
should list that related experience under Professional Experience.
All related jobs, titles, responsibilities, achievements, and dates
should be included in reverse chronological order. If a teacher
is returning to teaching or a nurse is returning to the medical
field, all of the previously held positions in these fields should
be listed on the resume. Do not omit the dates of employment --
leaving off dates on a resume will raise more questions that listing
dates from the 1970’s or 1980’s.
What Else Can Be Added to the Resume?
In the time that you were not formally employed
in your field, you may have still gained additional experience which
could be included on your resume. Were you the Treasurer of a civic
organization for the past three years? Did you teach a Sunday school
class for the past five years? Were you a sports coach or Scoutmaster
on the weekends or during the evenings? List any relevant experience,
dates, and responsibilities under a section on the resume entitled
Additional Experience. This will show the prospective employer that
you were involved in outside pursuits to some degree in the recent
few years. You can then end your Functional Format resume with an
Education and/or Computer Skills section.
For those job seekers with gaps of employment
due to physical or mental disabilities, long-term illness, or family-related
issues, the Functional Format resume is still appropriate. If you
were able to take any classes or technical training or worked part-time
or served as a volunteer while caring for an elderly parent or residing
in a rehabilitation facility these can and should be included on
the resume under Additional Experience.
Remain Professional, Not Personal
The advice for all job applicants returning to
the work force is not to include any mention of your particular
reason, handicap, disability, or medical history in the resume.
It is against the law regarding equal opportunity employment rules
and it is not how resumes are written. If you feel that the prospective
employer should really be made aware of your particular situation
and the reason for the gaps in employment/missing years on your
resume before possibly being called in for an interview, then briefly
mention this in your cover letter.
Take the time to objectively and professionally
prepare your resume to accurately present your skills, accomplishments,
and work experience to your best advantage.
For a free critique/price quote, email Career
Resumes® at Peter@career-resumes.com.
Peter Newfield is President of Career-Resumes.com®,
one of the premier resume writing services in the United States.
He is The Resume Expert for BlueSteps.com, ExecutiveRegistry.com,
NETSHARE.com, DirectEmployer.com and the former Resume Expert for
Monster.com, Spencer Stuart Talent Network and the Career Center on AOL. View samples at: www.career-resumes.com
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