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Explain an Employment Gap in a Job Interview

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Explain an Employment Gap in a Job Interview

Jeff Su 07.10.2020 38 229 просмотров 1 148 лайков обн. 18.02.2026

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🎯 My free Job Search Toolkit: https://academy.jeffsu.org/job-search-toolkit?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=019 My Premium Resume Package: https://jeffsu.gumroad.com/l/premium-resume-package If you have an employment gap of longer than 6 months, you will most likely need to explain that employment gap in a job interview. This video shows you the best way to reframe that question so you’re able to craft a strong, well thought-out answer when faced with skeptical interviewers who are curious about your career and job gaps. There are plenty of valid reasons for gaps in employment; school, taking care of loved ones, market factors outside of your control. So when interviewers are asking about your employment gaps on the resume, you want to be upfront, but also focus on the skills you learned during that break in employment. There’s no need to focus too much on the employment gap reasons, but rather on your learnings and takeaways from the unemployed period. Once you shift your own mindset away from the employment gaps on the resume, you’ll see the skills you learned, the character traits you’ve built, are all very applicable to the role you’re interviewing for. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 00:38 Why Employment Gaps Matter 01:04 The Strategy 02:05 Personal Reason Example 03:43 Professional Scenario Example 04:14 Sample Answer 05:09 Last Few Pointers 06:05 Ending 💪 Support this channel by becoming a member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwAnu01qlnVg1Ai2AbtTMaA/join RESOURCES I MENTION IN THE VIDEO 🙋👦🏻 Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1190183907995020/ Common Interview Questions Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es7XtrloDIQ&list=PLo-kPya_Ww2wLc0USlqpuN_OAtJjc6qoP&ab_channel=JeffSu Why Do You Want to Work Here video - https://youtu.be/x-4MewJpaso MY FAVORITE GEAR 🎥 My YouTube Gear - https://geni.us/youtube-gear 🎒 What's In My Bag - https://geni.us/mybag 💻 What's On My Desk - https://geni.us/mydesk 🛩 What I Travel With - https://geni.us/mytravel MY FAVORITE SOFTWARE ✍️ Skillshare - https://geni.us/skillshare-jeff 🐂 WeBull (Get 2 Free Stocks) - https://geni.us/free-stocks BE MY FRIEND: 📧 Subscribe to my Productivity newsletter - https://www.jeffsu.org/productivity-ping/ 📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/j.sushie 🤝 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsu05/ 👋🏻 Clubhouse - https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@jsushie 👨🏻‍💻 WHO AM I: I'm Jeff, a full time Product Marketer. In my spare time I like to tinker with tools and create systems that help me get things done faster - or as one of my friends puts it: "Get better at being lazy" 😏 If you'd like to talk, I'd love to hear from you. Messaging me on Instagram (@j.sushie) directly will be the quickest way to get a response! PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links I get a kickback from 😇 Disclaimer: My opinions are my own and may not reflect that of my employer #EmploymentGap #ResumeGaps #CareerAndInterviewTips

Оглавление (8 сегментов)

0:00 Intro 129 сл.
0:38 Why Employment Gaps Matter 89 сл.
1:04 The Strategy 215 сл.
2:05 Personal Reason Example 302 сл.
3:43 Professional Scenario Example 100 сл.
4:14 Sample Answer 177 сл.
5:09 Last Few Pointers 178 сл.
6:05 Ending 97 сл.

Intro

- So the good news first. Short employment gaps of six months or fewer and gaps that occurred a number of years ago usually require no explanation during the interview. So if you're one of those lucky folks who just wanna be sure and hear me say it, feel free to click away and check out another one of my videos. However, if you are someone who experienced long or recent periods of unemployment, you will need a strong, well-thought-out answer when asked about it during the job interview. In this video, I share the one key strategy that will turn this drawback of yours into an advantage and share concrete examples of what to say regardless of whether your career gap was because of personal or professional reasons.

Why Employment Gaps Matter

So let's get started. Hi, everyone, it's Jeff from Google. If you're new here, this channel is a one-stop shop for all things interview and career-related. So if you're a current student, a young professional, consider subscribing for more actionable content. The key to understanding the strategy I'm about to share is to know that gaps in employment raise concerns in the minds of potential employers even if everything else about you looks great on paper. Specifically, they might be worried about how reliable you are as an employee

The Strategy

your capabilities on the job, and your commitment to the team and company. So while there are a variety of good reasons as to why there's a gap in your employment, the best thing to do in this situation, the one tried-and-true strategy, is to quickly reframe the question to what are the relevant skills I've picked up on during this break from work that's applicable to the role that I'm applying for? Put another way, you should focus on the experiences and learnings you took away from the employment gap rather than focusing on the specific situation too much and trying to justify why it shouldn't affect your eligibility. Doing this will allow you to go from being on the defense, "Oh, crap. They're asking me about my employment gap," to playing offense, "Okay. My achievements during this time actually positions me very well for this role, and here's why. " Your answer will shift the interviewer's mindset from being inquisitive, and perhaps a little skeptical, to focusing on the positive attributes you just brought up. If you found this tip helpful, be sure to give this video a Like, and let me know your experiences down in the comments below. To show how this strategy works in practice, let's explore two hypothetical scenarios

Personal Reason Example

one where you chose not to work because of personal reasons and another where there's a more business-oriented, professional rationale. One of the more common, personal reasons is taking time off to take care of a loved one, or in many cases, yourself, something that's unfortunately more relevant than ever in 2020. In this situation, think about all the skills that you've used, multi-tasking and juggling different priorities, making decisions that end up making a huge impact on someone's life, and operating under extreme stress to name but a few examples. And just like preparing for any old behavioral interview questions, start off by identifying the skills that will be applicable to the role that you're interviewing for and share specific examples. Let's say you're navigating the public healthcare system in your country for medical treatment. That would inevitably include a lot of paperwork and communication with different government agencies and departments. In that case, you can mention how you created a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheets to keep track of all the action items you had to take by certain deadlines, to get a free appointment, for example, and mention how that allowed you to continue honing your project management skills. In addition, you might wanna call at how in order to get the best treatment and healthcare possible, you did research on different hospitals, clinics, and doctors, and again, consolidated your findings in an organized, easy-to-understand way that helped you make better decisions. These two examples, something as simple as creating Excel spreadsheet or doing online research can easily convey to the interviewer how you are detail-oriented and how you have a proactive personality. The employer's focus, therefore, shifts from the employment gap and onto these positives attributes and how you might apply them to the job at hand.

Professional Scenario Example

By the way, I have a Facebook group where I exclusive weekly tips. Consider joining if you haven't already. I'll link it down below. Moving on to a more professional scenario. Let's say, for whatever reason, you were furloughed, downsized, or had your offer rescinded, leading to a lengthy or recent employment gap. First and foremost, you wanna highlight how you're looking for a long-term prospect and not just a paycheck. Then mention how you wanna be sure that the job is right, and go on to describe why you feel this is a suitable position and company for you.

Sample Answer

For the more astute viewers out there, you might realize this is where you can smooth the transition to your answer for the why do you wanna work here interview question. An acquaintance of mine, who had been out of work for eight months, recently accepted a job offer at a midsize marketing agency. He was actually asked about his eight-month employment gap during initial phone screen by an HR representative. After explaining how he was downsized due to broader market factors and how his savings allowed him to spend a bit more time choosing his next role, he talked about how he admired the marketing agency's decision not to let anyone go even when the entire industry was downsizing, and instead, they chose to cut pay across the board. He also mentioned how he took free and paid courses on platforms such as Skillshare, Coursera, and Udacity to stay up to date on the latest digital marketing strategies, something he can put at work immediately in the new role. As you can see, his upfront explanation

Last Few Pointers

of his eight-month hiatus combined with his desire to continue refining his abilities even when unemployed conveyed a sense of strong work ethic. Our last few pointers you should use in conjunction with the strategy I just mentioned on explaining employment gaps. Number one, and I can't stress this enough, be honest. A quick reference check will quickly determine the dates of employment, so do not misrepresent those facts in either your resume or during the job interview. It's not worth it. Number two, avoid sounding defensive if you get asked this question. Stay calm. Be confident. You want to acknowledge the interviewer's concern, then refocus their attention on your positive attributes. You can start off your answer by saying something like, "I fully understand you need to know what I was up to during that time, and I definitely like to discuss that with you. " Appearing composed and unapologetic will reassure the interviewer that you are comfortable with your answer and that they should be as well. Finally, if you wanna come up as extra prepared

Ending

you can briefly explain your employment gap in a cover letter accompanying your application. I have a whole nother video on that topic, so I'll link that down below as well. All right, there you have it. The one tried-and-true strategy to use when explaining a lengthy or recent gap in employment. Please give this video a Like if you find it helpful, and let me know down the comments below if you have any questions. Subscribe if you haven't already. See you on the next video. And in the meantime, (clicks tongue) have a great one.

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