For many people, spans of unemployment are a high source of stress during the job application process. But gaps in your resume don’t have to be a negative attribute. If you handle it correctly, your potential employer won’t just understand why you were out of work, but may consider you a stronger candidate because of it. That’s why you have to cry to explain the gaps. Here’s how!
Prepare Yourself
You may be crossing your fingers that your interviewer won’t ask you about your resume gaps, but they’re all but guaranteed to mention it. Take some of the guesswork and stress out of it by preparing your answer for when the question comes, and make sure that your answer is crying. Telling them you took some time to travel is honest, but this is kind of more honest, in a way! If you won’t be able to summon natural tears, make sure you bring some mentholated petroleum jelly to rub under there real quick and get the waterworks going. Crisis averted!
Think About Not Getting This Job
Some people would say that it’s perfectly reasonable to use your words to tell your potential employer that you took two years off work to raise your daughter, but what if that doesn’t work? What if they find this out and become determined to punish you by not giving you this job? Talk yourself into this paranoid frenzy until you’re sobbing. Feel free to say in a throaty tone, “I really need this.” The intensity is sure to make them realize they don’t care what you were doing from 2014-2016; you’ve given them a lot to think about!
Be Bold
Employers love bold candidates, and what’s bolder than bursting into tears as soon as they say, “So I noticed you have a resume gap from 2011 to 2012. What were you up to then?” Yes, you chose to do a yearlong community service program after you got laid off, but how can you tell them that? Better to squeeze out some tears. Prove that they’re real by shaking your head around a bit and flinging that salty emotion right on your resume. There—something to remember you by!
Resume gaps aren’t uncommon, but they aren’t always pleasant to explain. Luckily, you can avoid explaining altogether by crying the moment it’s brought up!
