It’s terrific if you’ve had one job of increasing responsibility after another since you left school. But more often that’s not the case. Things happen and sometimes you need to take a break from your work to ensure your life stays on track. If at all possible, fill in the gaps with the truth. Instead of having one job end in 1999 and the next one beginning in 2002, you might write in something charming for those gap years. I’ve seen candidates write “baby-making years,” or “finally paid back the most terrific parents by taking care of them during an extended illness,” or “backpacked through India trying to find inner peace. Instead, I found I prefer hotels”

Those, of course, would be the best scenarios. But for other reasons that may be harder to accept easily, be ready to face the music. Have one job end in 1999 and the next begin in 2002. Wait for the question and be ready for it with an answer you’ve honed down to a sound bite: “I had one of those personal situations that needed all my attention and it would have been tough on my employer for me to keep working during that time. I stopped everything, took care of it, and now I’m back up and running.” Then, have a question ready to ask that requires a shift in the conversation. “Tell me, how will you judge if someone is successful in this role?” Keep your tone light and cheerful -- interviewers respond much more to a candidate’s tone and demeanor, more than their words. Does it seem like this is all in your past? Hopefully, you’ll never have to explain if it was a physical or mental health issue, a divorce, or an ailing family member. But if you make a big deal of it, they will too. Many candidates assume that honesty is the best policy here, but the last thing anyone wants is to hire someone knowingly with a recent history of alcohol or drug abuse, or a condition which will skyrocket their health insurance costs, especially when they’re flooded with other candidate options.

Think about it. If you had a choice between a candidate who told you she spent 2 years in rehab after overdosing repeatedly, or a candidate who took that same time off to take care of elderly parents, which would you hire?

A resume serves as an introduction to an employer. Who are you? What have you done? And most importantly, are you going to be a fit for a role in my company? Most candidates are great about incorporating the first two questions into their resumes – name, contact detail, education, work history and a few personal interests cover the “who are you” and “what have you done” questions. The “fit” question is trickier and this is THE most important point of a resume. What is your next job going to be? What have accomplished in your past that shows unerringly and without question, that you’re a great fit for the role that’s open?

The Black Hole

One of my larger clients has an HR department that I refer to as “the black hole.” Candidates send in resumes, usually through the company web site, get an automatic “thank you, we’ll call you if…” response. And then they hear absolutely nothing. Ever.

I’ve been pretty successful getting candidates into that company, though. I’ve connected with the hiring managers (not the HR folks) in one particular department – let’s say it’s the Accounting Department. 

Before I bring them a candidate, I have that person completely re-write their resume. Their Objective now highlights their interest in "developing and leading the Accounting practices, with a careful eye to best practices, regulations and accuracy." Their Experience or Background section highlights all the Accounting functions of their previous job and “lowlights” anything else they may have done. If they’ve served on the Office Party Planning Committee, I don’t want to know about it. If they’ve proofread sales force presentations to ensure the numerical accuracy, it’s buried in the last bullet point. That resume page is a laser pointing toward a job in Accounting. Every previous position should stress detailed experience in the Accounting realm – prepares monthly and annual P&L reports, interprets statistical and financial data, oversees bookkeepers and monthly billing cycles.  EVEN IF their previous role used also included Human Resources, THIS resume highlights their experience in Accounting. THIS hiring manager doesn’t care about your success in negotiating exit packages with disgruntled employees – it’s wonderful, but completely irrelevant to the job she’s got open. She reads this resume, quickly identifies all the connections, and my candidates, the very same ones who are floating around in the HR department’s black hole with resumes that are way too general, immediately get called in for interviews.

What does that tell you?