Whilst reviewing a clients CV last week, I noticed that she had left a few gaps throughout the chronology of her CV. The latest gap being her current break, or gardening leave to be exact.
I brought this up during the consult and I asked Helen what she was doing with her time out… other than the obvious!
It turns out she was studying for a couple of qualifications including Prince II.
Helen didn’t know whether to mention this, and if so, where to mention it as she hadn’t completed the qualification.
My view is that gaps in your CV raise more questions and can lead to doubts – to omit this information does her a disservice and raises questions as to what she’s hiding.
Don’t be frightened to say you had a career break. Even the most narrow minded of recruiters won’t begrudge you some downtime from the daily grind and if you’ve done something constructive with your time, even better.
My best advice would be to look at ways to develop your skills further, and we’ll touch on this more next week.
Studying for another qualification also helps to break up the monotony of the jobsearch and exhibits proactivity. Helen was making the most of her time off by developing her skillsets further. This can only be seen as a positive.
So if you are completing or have completed a course, you should include it in your most recent experience. It shows you are positive about your career and improving your skills.
And if you’re not, then perhaps look into adding to your skillsets – this will also help focus your time and add some variety to your day.
I hope you have a productive week…