What to do about a nine-year resume gap?

April 17, 2023 1:31 PM

I've been looking for a work from home job with no luck for the past several months. I've got a ton of experience in troubleshooting and in call centers, I stayed at my last job for seven years while getting promoted twice, but it's all overshadowed by the fact that I haven't held a job since 2014.

I've been dealing with a chronic disease which was complicated by several factors, and it took forever to get it diagnosed and treated, but I'm in better health now than back when I was working. And I haven't spent the past few years idle; I've been creating a new type of musical instrument which makes learning music easier and more accessible. To do that, I had to learn Fusion 360, electronics, C++, and 3D printing, so it's not like I'm technologically behind.

But I never turned it into a business, so I don't know how to represent that experience on a resume. Or what I should do about the gap in general. Most advice I see online is about a few months' worth of gap, and doesn't really apply here.

As to what I'm looking for, it has to be remote (I'm moderately immunocompromised), has to offer health insurance, and I'm hoping it will be intellectually challenging; I really like mastering new skills.

I'd appreciate any advice on how to go about getting myself employed.

posted by MrVisible to Work & Money (5 answers total)

This seems easy:

Inventor. Musical Instrument name, Link to Instrument website. 20014-2023.
Description of musical instrument, including technologies involved/skills learned.

Then, if asked about the project's current status, just say that you decided there wasn't a clear commercialization path forward for the instrument, so you've decided to move on to whatever's next.
posted by kickingtheground at 2:27 PM on April 17, 2023 [21 favorites]

Do you have folks you've worked with before who can keep an eye out for job openings in your industry? I've been out since 2016 and I genuinely feel like I'm coming back from the dead, professionally, but I've gotten some good leads from former colleagues and helpful support from others.

Resumes seem to matter less if you have a personal recommendation.
posted by mochapickle at 2:34 PM on April 17, 2023 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: I messed up the link in the post; it's supposed to go here:

https://projects.metafilter.com/5865/A-new-type-of-musical-instrument-thats-ridiculously-easy-to-play, which leads to this video.
posted by MrVisible at 3:09 PM on April 17, 2023

That video (and instrument) is awesome. I second kickingtheground's recommendation, although I wouldn't represent that you've fully moved on from the instrument. I would simply say that its development has ceased being what you'd like to be your primary work, and that you've decided that it's time to dedicate your energy to (the field you're entering). Be prepared for questions about how much time you intend to devote to your instrument and whether it will interfere with work, since it is/was clearly a passion project (and your potential employer will want to see how your replicate that passion for the work you're applying to do).

Job descriptions might resonate better than "inventor," depending on factors you'll know about better than I will. Product developer? Prototype engineer? CEO of instrument interface company?

You'll probably be sending out a lot of applications, that's just the nature of hiring these days. SO hone and revise your CV/resume routinely. A common approach I've taken is "never send the exact same resume""—customize it to each new application process. You might have good luck starting with city/state/regional government hiring websites. Depending on your location, those applications commonly have you take a set of standardized tests (for, like, Office/Word/Outlook competency, typing speed, etc.) and then you wait and wait and wait. It's not a process oriented toward people who need a job today, so it ends up rewarding applicants that can be a bit more patient.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 7:21 AM on April 18, 2023

I'd like to recommend you watch some of the LinkedIn learning videos on modern resume formats and how to structure them. I thought I was an old hand at that (and used to work in an organization with an employment centre and did the training to work there) but I learned a lot.

My library offers free access to the whole LinkedIn learning platform. I think there's also a free one month trial. The class in particular that was great for me (lots about AI screening - it's not just keywords any more) was this one: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/resume-makeover
posted by warriorqueen at 11:26 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]