How to Talk About a Long Unemployment Gap During a Job Interview

How to Talk About a Long Unemployment Gap During a Job InterviewHow to Talk About a Long Unemployment Gap During a Job InterviewWhether they were laid off during an economic downturn, took time away to raise a child, or spent years caring for a sick family member, many people have at least one significant unemployment gemeinsame agrarpolitik on their resume.They might not think about it much while theyre out of the workforce, but when it comes time to resume their careers, theyre likely to be in the uncomfortable position of explaining their temporary unemployment during a job einstellungsgesprch.If youre in that situation, remember first that it is fairly common, so your interviewer is likely to have some sympathy for you. However, you should still be prepared to talk about the gap in your resume in a way that will help you get back to work.Tell the truth.The first and most important thing to do is to be honest about your time away. Prepare to talk about why you were out of work, gi ving enough information to adequately explain, but not going overboard to the point that you make the interviewer either uncomfortable or suspicious.If you have been caught in mergers and layoffs, simply explain that, suggests an article from Job-Hunt.org. A gap of a few months is nothing to worry about. You explain the gap as time spent getting your resume and job hunt up to speed, painting the house, and taking an unscheduled, but welcome sabbatical after X years on the job (smile).Talk about how you filled your time.For longer gaps, you should still offer a straightforward explanation. But in those cases, youll also want to talk about things you did to keep your skills sharp during your time away from the workforce. In other words, make sure youre doing something productive while youre unemployed, whether its volunteering, freelancing, taking courses online, or learning a different language.More importantly, come prepared with a story that emphasizes the skills you used or learne d, says an article from The Muse. Even something like helping at your childs school or volunteering for a dem gemeinwohl verpflichtet can seem relevant if you can say, I raised X amount of money for three events, or, I grew the number of sponsors from 10 to 15 in one year.Stay positive.Make sure your comments are positive- definitely dont say bad things about a previous employer. Focus on the future and how you will succeed in the role for which you are applying.In all instances where you need to account for a gap, you should share asmuch concrete evidence of your success in the jobs prior to the gap andafter you resumed employment, says an article from The Balance Careers. Itemize your accomplishments by referring tosituations where you intervened, specific actions you took, and the resultsyou generated. Emphasize how your company benefited from your role. Ifpossible, secure recommendations from supervisors to support the explanation you plan to give during the interview.Decide wha t to say if youre pushed for more info.Sometimes, despite your best efforts to address the gap and move on with the interview, the hiring manager may be determined to wheedle more details out of you. At that point, you have a decision to make. First, you can try again to guide the discussion back to your qualifications for the position for which you applied.If the conversation continues in a direction you are not comfortable with, you have the vorkaufsrecht of saying Id prefer not to go into more detail. I am very interested in sharing details of my work experience, however, says an article from Indeed. From there, you can supply another anecdote from your work history that makes you qualified for the position.You may consider ending the interview at any time by saying, Im not comfortable with where our conversation is headed so this may not be the right fit. Thank you for your time.Questions about your temporary unemployment are unlikely to get to that point. In most cases, once yo u have adequately explained any employment gap, the interviewer will be as eager as you are to talk about the future instead of dwelling on the past. Thats all the more reason to be prepared for this difficult, but inevitable, part of the interview process.Looking for a job with flexibility?Browse Open Flexible PositionsSara Sutton contributed to this article.