80. Resume Gap Refresher
Show Notes | October 8, 2020 | Episode 80 Today, we're going to take a personal dive into what having resume gaps can feel like, how to get out of your own head, and how to stop holding yourself back. There are many reasons why you might have gaps in your resume. A career pivotConstant PCSingTime off to have kidsGoing back to school Just graduated Lost a job Health issuesNeeded time to explore We have all been in one of these situations at one time or another in our careers. You are not alone. You are not the only military spouse, veteran or mom/dad to have this issue and you can overcome. You've got this. The fact is, resume gaps are not a big deal, so stop stressing. Before you pick the strategy that works best for you ask yourself these two questions: Are you trying to overcome lack of experience?Are you trying to overcome time gaps? Whatever your scenario, there are four simple strategies to overcome resume gaps: 1. If you have not worked in six or more months, create an activity for the next 8-12 weeks that you can put on your resume and talk about in your job interview. Example: Get a certification, launch a project, volunteer or pick up an unpaid internship. The goal is to flex your work muscles again. 2. Close the door on scrutiny. Example: If you have a resume with specific dates next to every job, you are inviting scrutiny in. Eliminate some of your time gaps by just including years. Nix the months. 3. Switch to a functional resume and ditch the dates altogether. Example: If a job description says, "We are looking for a marketing manager who has great leadership, marketing and customer service skills," you can take your resume, get rid of the chronological order and simply list your top three skills with a header for leadership, marketing and customer service where you discuss multiple jobs and experiences that demonstrate those skills. 4. Keep it short and tailored like a great pair of shorts. Example: When VirtForce CEO Kimber Hill was searching for a job, she had a resume crafted for each type of job she was looking for - either a film or marketing position or a communications position. She had two distinct resumes for those two distinct opportunities. The goal is to hook the viewer. Give them just enough information to get them on the line. Make your resume look like you were personally crafted for this job. If you are a new listener to VirtForce podcast, we would love to hear from you. Please email support@virtforce.us and let us know how we can help you today. Links and Resources Kimber Hill LinkedIn MilSpouse CoffeeHouse Podcast In this episode, we mentioned the following resources: Resume Boot CampFreemium Course (Episodes 47-60): https://bit.ly/RBCEp47Premium: http://bit.ly/vf-bc Join the Conversation Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live chat, on social media, and in our comments section. VirtForce on Facebook VirtForce on LinkedIn VirtForce on Instagram Check Out Recent Podcast Episodes: VirtForce Podcast on Apple Podcasts VirtForce Podcast on Spotify VirtForce Linktree