Almost no one makes it through their career without at least a small gap in their employment, whether it be a voluntary quit, a firing, a layoff or taking care of your kids. Or, if you're like me, you’ve been laid off four times in seven years. As they say, it’s not what happens to you that matters, it's what you do about it. Whatever the reason for separation, there are plenty of ways to overcome it when you do get back in the game.First, consider volunteering. Yes, your primary task is to apply for new jobs but anyone who's been there knows that after filling out 45 minute applications online (yes, they take that long sometimes), you start to get a bit nauseated. Volunteering will get you out of the house, meeting people and likely you’ll garner a reference from someone who you worked with. This is an excellent item to put on your resume to show you were active and engaged instead of staying home and surfing Reddit or YouTube. That’s what weekends are for.Another strategy is to consider a functional resume, rather than the traditional, chronological style. This type of resume is organized in such a fashion that the essential job duties and accomplishments you have are at the top and the actual companies you worked at with date, title, etc. are at the bottom, typically in smaller print. This style of resume can also be helpful if you have changed jobs frequently and want to downplay that fact. Just be sure to actually add the chronological information somewhere. A list of accomplishments with no job history is useless. Did I really have to mention that? Yes, because I’ve seen it.Finally, this one might be surprising. Just be honest. When you do get an interview or a phone screen and the employer asks you head on about the employment gap-tell them the truth. Don’t fluff it up or gloss it over with fancy words and excuses. I can assure you that keeping it real is always the best policy. At a previous job, I conducted background checks on nearly a hundred candidates and I can assure you that those who volunteered information about their termination, lay off, etc. were looked upon far more favorably than those we had to squeeze it out of like the last drop of toothpaste in the tube.The bottom line: Employment gaps are not great, but life happens. It’s not the end of the world and it’s nothing to lie about on your resume. Not to mention, the hiring manager or recruiter has almost certainly been there themselves at some point.
