Every person who steps foot in a job interview has a career story to tell, weaving together the strands of where they’ve worked, what they’re doing now, and where they’re looking to go next. If you’re applying for a job or returnship after a career break, your story is probably going to be a bit different from a traditional candidate’s story. You might think that puts you at a disadvantage,…
You’ve got 30 seconds to sum up who you are professionally, what you’ve accomplished, and why you are a great – make that outstanding – candidate. Oh, and somewhere in that 30 seconds mention your career gap without it sounding like a negative. Gulp. Welcome to the elevator pitch. As daunting as it may seem to introduce yourself, engage the listener, and include an “ask” in such a short amount…
Short answer: Maybe. In April I wrote about LinkedIn’s new feature allowing people to include career breaks, for caregiving and other reasons, to their profiles. I applauded the move — LinkedIn’s profile had been overly rigid and made accounting for time out of the paid workforce very difficult. Making our profiles more customizable to fit our actual lives is an important step in recognizing that not every career follows a…
As you start attending job interviews after your break, you’re probably wondering how to bring up your career gap. How do you explain your reasoning for taking a career break? How much detail should you go into about the circumstances of your break? It can be nerve-wracking to put yourself out there and hope employers will understand and respect your decisions – both to step out of the paid workforce,…
