Gap in work history
November 18, 2009 8:27 AM Subscribe
How would an employer view a 2-3 year gap of lack of employment? (Details inside)
I am a 24 year old guy who messed up in college early on. Since messing up, I have held a an inside sales job in the IT industry. I have been doing well, with a 60% increase in salary since my first year. I consider myself to be very lucky.
However, lately business has slowed down and things are not looking good. Also, I see no room for moving up in this company ( in terms of position, not salary.) I also have been aspiring to get my degree and I see this as a good opportunity. I'd like to quit my job and go back to school full-time w/ a partime job to support myself.
My quesiton is: Would an employer view the years of my schooling as a negative since it is a gap in work history?
Would the schooling actually be worth it?
Will the experience I have gained in the past 4 years at my job still be applicable to another employer once I have graduated?
Any advice as how to go about this in a better way?
I am a 24 year old guy who messed up in college early on. Since messing up, I have held a an inside sales job in the IT industry. I have been doing well, with a 60% increase in salary since my first year. I consider myself to be very lucky.
However, lately business has slowed down and things are not looking good. Also, I see no room for moving up in this company ( in terms of position, not salary.) I also have been aspiring to get my degree and I see this as a good opportunity. I'd like to quit my job and go back to school full-time w/ a partime job to support myself.
My quesiton is: Would an employer view the years of my schooling as a negative since it is a gap in work history?
Would the schooling actually be worth it?
Will the experience I have gained in the past 4 years at my job still be applicable to another employer once I have graduated?
Any advice as how to go about this in a better way?
Taking time off for school is NOT unemployment, in any way shape or form. Anyone who treats it as such is an idiot.
posted by deadmessenger at 8:31 AM on November 18, 2009
posted by deadmessenger at 8:31 AM on November 18, 2009
Are you saying that you never finished your undergraduate degree, went straight into a career, and are now thinking of going back and finishing up a Bachelor's?
I don't see how that could hurt you. In fact I'd think it could only help.
Hell, I landed a job despite a five year gap that I spent writing screenplays and doing story editing for indie producers. Getting your degree could only make you more marketable, and compared to all the other freshly minted graduates coming out when you're done, you'll have real work experience. Sounds like a great plan to me.
posted by Naberius at 8:31 AM on November 18, 2009
I don't see how that could hurt you. In fact I'd think it could only help.
Hell, I landed a job despite a five year gap that I spent writing screenplays and doing story editing for indie producers. Getting your degree could only make you more marketable, and compared to all the other freshly minted graduates coming out when you're done, you'll have real work experience. Sounds like a great plan to me.
posted by Naberius at 8:31 AM on November 18, 2009
When I saw this question I thought you were going to say you just had a 2-3 year gap where you did nothing (for whatever reason - depression or personal stuff), and needed to know how to present that to potential employers. I don't see how taking time off to go to school could be a bad thing.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:31 AM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:31 AM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
Your experience will definitely be applicable. While you may feel old you are definitely not too old for college. And I think you'll find that your new maturity will make school feel REALLY easy, as you'll be able to prioritize in a way that you haven't before.
I think your plan is sound -- it's an investment that will pay off. While you may be able to continue in your current job, not having a college degree will be a hindrance to anything you'll want to move up to later in life. So biting the bullet now is worth it! (ESPECIALLY if you can work part time in a related field - NO GAP on resume then.)
posted by mtstover at 8:31 AM on November 18, 2009
I think your plan is sound -- it's an investment that will pay off. While you may be able to continue in your current job, not having a college degree will be a hindrance to anything you'll want to move up to later in life. So biting the bullet now is worth it! (ESPECIALLY if you can work part time in a related field - NO GAP on resume then.)
posted by mtstover at 8:31 AM on November 18, 2009
As best I can tell, a gap in employment on a resume is not inherently a negative. It is, however, something that will get brought up every time in an interview. They will ask what you did during that time, and judge your answer.
Things like, "I was pursuing a Masters Degree," "I was helping starving orphans" or "I was battling cancer," all reflect positively or at least neutrally. Most people won't cop to something like, "I was lazy," but not having a clear explanation will let them assume that you're a liability as an employee, whether it's unresolved mental illness, a drug problem, or just sheer laziness/inability to apply oneself.
Going to school isn't really a gap. Your degree will be there with the span of time, and anyone who reads the resume will see it there. They might ask you about your educational experience, and you should prepare answers, but few interviewers would think, "Going to school? How lazy!"
posted by explosion at 8:44 AM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
Things like, "I was pursuing a Masters Degree," "I was helping starving orphans" or "I was battling cancer," all reflect positively or at least neutrally. Most people won't cop to something like, "I was lazy," but not having a clear explanation will let them assume that you're a liability as an employee, whether it's unresolved mental illness, a drug problem, or just sheer laziness/inability to apply oneself.
Going to school isn't really a gap. Your degree will be there with the span of time, and anyone who reads the resume will see it there. They might ask you about your educational experience, and you should prepare answers, but few interviewers would think, "Going to school? How lazy!"
posted by explosion at 8:44 AM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
My quesiton is: Would an employer view the years of my schooling as a negative since it is a gap in work history? Probably not, and you'd usually be given the opportunity to explain it. There's plenty of people out there looking for work who don't have any reasons for their gaps, and if you're equally qualified, I'm sure your reason would be theres.
Will the experience I have gained in the past 4 years at my job still be applicable to another employer once I have graduated? Probably. My boyfriend went back to school after working about the same amount of time you are talking about, and his employers were far more interested in the work he had done before than what he'd learned in school the second time around. But him getting the degree opened more doors to him to begin with
Any advice as how to go about this in a better way? This may seem obvious, but by including the dates you were in school on an Education portion of your resume will make clear what you were doing in the gap, and like I said, if this is something a potential employer is concerned about, they will probably ask about it anyway.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:45 AM on November 18, 2009
Will the experience I have gained in the past 4 years at my job still be applicable to another employer once I have graduated? Probably. My boyfriend went back to school after working about the same amount of time you are talking about, and his employers were far more interested in the work he had done before than what he'd learned in school the second time around. But him getting the degree opened more doors to him to begin with
Any advice as how to go about this in a better way? This may seem obvious, but by including the dates you were in school on an Education portion of your resume will make clear what you were doing in the gap, and like I said, if this is something a potential employer is concerned about, they will probably ask about it anyway.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:45 AM on November 18, 2009
1st paragraph should end. sorry "your reason would BEAT there's"
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:46 AM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:46 AM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I heard some good advice on this exact subject on WAMC's Vox Pop - I think it was this episode just last week.
In that particular case it was a stay at home mom wanting to re-enter the work force after a number of years, but I think the response is just as applicable: While you're working on your degree, do some volunteer work in your community. If you get involved with a community group and can itemize projects you helped with (food drives, fundraisers, etc.) you demonstrate 1) That you've got some initiative and 2) You haven't just been sitting on your ass* during the gap in your resume.
But yeah, in your case I agree with everyone else, I can't see how any employer you'd want to work for would equate earning a degree with sitting on your ass.
* I do not in any way mean that I think stay at home moms/dads just sit on their asses! I'm just responding to the common assumption that that's what employers think when they see a gap.
posted by usonian at 8:50 AM on November 18, 2009
In that particular case it was a stay at home mom wanting to re-enter the work force after a number of years, but I think the response is just as applicable: While you're working on your degree, do some volunteer work in your community. If you get involved with a community group and can itemize projects you helped with (food drives, fundraisers, etc.) you demonstrate 1) That you've got some initiative and 2) You haven't just been sitting on your ass* during the gap in your resume.
But yeah, in your case I agree with everyone else, I can't see how any employer you'd want to work for would equate earning a degree with sitting on your ass.
* I do not in any way mean that I think stay at home moms/dads just sit on their asses! I'm just responding to the common assumption that that's what employers think when they see a gap.
posted by usonian at 8:50 AM on November 18, 2009
I've taken part in hiring 4 variously educated people at a crucial time in a small company. Based on that experience: A candidate having gone to back school would impress me. It takes discipline to do it.
I think I would in some instances even prefer someone who had dropped out and gone back.
posted by krilli at 8:52 AM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I think I would in some instances even prefer someone who had dropped out and gone back.
posted by krilli at 8:52 AM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
This may seem obvious, but by including the dates you were in school on an Education portion of your resume will make clear what you were doing in the gap, and like I said, if this is something a potential employer is concerned about, they will probably ask about it anyway.
To piggyback on this idea, you may want to structure your resume someway such that this is clear.
As long as there is a clear timeframe, you were enrolled and persuing a degree, and you finished I don't think there would be any issues. Whatever happens though you need to complete the goal. A 2-3 year absence and then back to work with nothing clearly achieved would look bad to me.
posted by Big_B at 8:55 AM on November 18, 2009
To piggyback on this idea, you may want to structure your resume someway such that this is clear.
As long as there is a clear timeframe, you were enrolled and persuing a degree, and you finished I don't think there would be any issues. Whatever happens though you need to complete the goal. A 2-3 year absence and then back to work with nothing clearly achieved would look bad to me.
posted by Big_B at 8:55 AM on November 18, 2009
You should always include educational endeavors in a resume. Not only are they important credential-wise, but they help to fill in exactly the kind of gap you're worried about. Time spent not working but taking classes does not constitute an employment gap.
posted by valkyryn at 9:56 AM on November 18, 2009
posted by valkyryn at 9:56 AM on November 18, 2009
This may seem obvious, but by including the dates you were in school on an Education portion of your resume will make clear what you were doing in the gap, and like I said, if this is something a potential employer is concerned about, they will probably ask about it anyway.
To piggyback on this idea, you may want to structure your resume someway such that this is clear.
What I would do here would be to not have an Education portion of your resume at all. Once you finish school and for a few years afterward, I would use a strictly chronological resume. Think something like this:
ABC Inc
2012-2013
Senior widget salesman
University of Foobar
2009-2012
Bachelor of Widgetry, cum laude
DFE Inc
2008-2009
Widget salesman
posted by deadmessenger at 10:28 AM on November 18, 2009
I quit one job to go to grad school and got a similar (although more senior) job afterward with a marked increase in pay because of my education. So to nth what everyone else is saying this will not be a problem.
posted by Kimberly at 10:43 AM on November 18, 2009
posted by Kimberly at 10:43 AM on November 18, 2009
Hiring consultant guy here. Applicants worry far too much about gaps in their resume. Don't worry about them.
Some book in the 1960's, the end of the era of lifetime career employment, advised "never include gaps, they're suspicious!", and it's sort of been passed down through the ages since. It's not important, especially today when people have dozens of jobs, not a single employer for 40 years.
I expect resumes to only contain experience relative to the position you're applying for, or very interesting unrelated experience. Gaps don't even register unless they're long, like over a decade, and even then that's just an opening for an interesting conversation, not a black mark. You don't need to account for your life, here.
If an interviewer asks about a gap, it's because it's something interesting to ask about. I would love to know that you took two years off to climb the Himalayas or take care of your sick mother. But I'm not holding a gap against you by default.
The fact your "gap" was for education just makes this into an extra-nothing to worry about. At best, it's a positive (continued development) and at worst it's a non-issue.
posted by rokusan at 1:03 PM on November 18, 2009 [3 favorites]
Some book in the 1960's, the end of the era of lifetime career employment, advised "never include gaps, they're suspicious!", and it's sort of been passed down through the ages since. It's not important, especially today when people have dozens of jobs, not a single employer for 40 years.
I expect resumes to only contain experience relative to the position you're applying for, or very interesting unrelated experience. Gaps don't even register unless they're long, like over a decade, and even then that's just an opening for an interesting conversation, not a black mark. You don't need to account for your life, here.
If an interviewer asks about a gap, it's because it's something interesting to ask about. I would love to know that you took two years off to climb the Himalayas or take care of your sick mother. But I'm not holding a gap against you by default.
The fact your "gap" was for education just makes this into an extra-nothing to worry about. At best, it's a positive (continued development) and at worst it's a non-issue.
posted by rokusan at 1:03 PM on November 18, 2009 [3 favorites]
When you're fresh out of college, put your education at the top of your resume so it's clear that's what you were doing lately.
Try to get some sort of "work," even if it's an unpaid internship or volunteer position for just a few hours a week, related to your long-term career goals. Even better is if you can do that for all or most of the years you are in school. You can list that as your most recent experience.
Since you're changing careers, I think your reference from your job, and the fact that you held it for several years, will end up being more important than the specific experience/skills. So make sure you get contact information from several people at your current job who can vouch for you and stay in touch. Future employers will want to talk with them.
posted by Jacqueline at 10:21 AM on November 19, 2009
Try to get some sort of "work," even if it's an unpaid internship or volunteer position for just a few hours a week, related to your long-term career goals. Even better is if you can do that for all or most of the years you are in school. You can list that as your most recent experience.
Since you're changing careers, I think your reference from your job, and the fact that you held it for several years, will end up being more important than the specific experience/skills. So make sure you get contact information from several people at your current job who can vouch for you and stay in touch. Future employers will want to talk with them.
posted by Jacqueline at 10:21 AM on November 19, 2009
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Any employer who would fault you for taking time off to get a degree is not an employer for whom you want to work.
posted by dfriedman at 8:29 AM on November 18, 2009 [8 favorites]