17th June 2022
At the very beginning let’s come to term with the fact that having a gap year in your career is not a demeaning fact. We all live in a world filled with different opportunities and circumstances which invariably makes our life unpredictable. Therefore, when it comes to explaining gap years in your career you must, at the very outset, be truthful about the reason why you had a gap year. The recruiter will certainly look forward to knowing your reasons for the same. Your honesty will portray the right image of yours in front of the recruiter and will pave the way forward for further process.
The relevant documents
Your gap year can be due to multiple reasons. It can vary from pursuing a higher degree; preparation for competitive exams; medical reasons; taking care of parents; health issues; personal reasons etc. Your reasons when backed by relevant documents can help you get an upper hand. Make sure you present your degree certificate if your reason for gap year was higher education; or the medical papers if it was a health issue; or even the results of your competitive exam which you aspired to crack. It must be kept into perspective that every document counts and become when it comes to articulating your views about the gap year.
The positive lens
What kind of perspective you hold for your gap year is certainly of great importance. Only if you can look at your gap year in a positive and constructive manner you will be able to portray the same to your recruiter or in your CV. Share your experience of what you did in your gap year. Share the challenges which you faced, the skills you developed and all the constructive activities in which you participated. If you volunteered in a program, worked in some NGO’s, or the relevant skills which you developed during your gap year must be shared in the right perspective to your recruiter.
What you acquired
If we broadly categorize, you must have acquired three key aspects during your gap year. They are Skills, Knowledge & Experience. If you were working as a volunteer in certain programs or NGO’s you must have certainly acquired the skill of cooperation, creativity, teamwork, perseverance. Or if you were preparing for some competitive exam which must have acquired a vast amount of knowledge like general awareness, aptitude skills, reading and writing skills etc. These are highly valued skills when it comes to selecting the right candidate for a job by a recruiter. Therefore, you must share these skills, knowledge and experience and all that you acquired during your gap year.
Stability now
Gap year at times can portray a picture of instability whereas on the contrary working in a formal structure requires a continutinty for an extended span of time. The recruiter might, at times, get an impression that you might not have perseverance in the long run due to the information which s(he) has about you at presence. In this regard, you must, with all conviction and assurance at your command, make the recruiter belief that you are the right candidate for the job and you will certainly pursue your work with continuity and perseverance. Let bygones be bygones.