Explaining the Gaps in Your Resume
Sara and Alex both finished their RT programs in May of 2007 and went to work for a large medical center in a major metropolitan area in the Midwest right after graduation. No one was surprised. They were standout students during clinicals at the facility and hospitals in their part of the country were still begging for entry level therapists.
Seven short months later the “Great Recession” hit and their hospital, like many others, began to experience a worsening financial position. Their RT department started feeling the pressure in mid-2008 and by the end of the year layoffs were being discussed. Sara and Alex both escaped round number one in the summer of 2009, but got caught in the trap during round two in late 2011.
With no jobs to be found in their area, they both eventually went to work at what they hoped would be temporary jobs while they waited for things to turn around. Lately, that’s been happening and last week they were both called in to interview at a community hospital about 30 minutes outside of town.
They don’t know it yet, but Sara’s going to get the job. Alex isn’t. What did Sara do to land the position? For the hiring manager, it came down to how each of these young RTs spent the last two and a half years – and how they explained their gap in professional experience during the interview.
Alex’s Interview
Hiring manager: I see you’ve been out of the profession since late 2011. Can you explain that gap to me?
Alex: I was laid off after my department had to reduce staff by seven FTEs. I think they chose me to lay off mainly because I was one of the last people to be hired into the department and only had a few years of experience. I looked for another job in RT for several months but ultimately had to take the Home Depot job you see there on my resume to keep my apartment and my car. I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do, right? I started out as a sales associate at Home Depot, but they made me an evening shift supervisor about six months ago.
All in all it hasn’t been a bad gig, but of course what I really want to do is get back into the job I went to school for.
Sara’s Interview
Hiring manager: I see you’ve been out of the profession since late 2011. Can you explain that gap to me?
Sara: I lost my job in a second round layoff at the end of that year. I moved back home so I could devote all my energy to finding another RT job, but after about three months I realized there just wasn’t anything available for someone with my level of experience. So I decided to go back to work part time at the restaurant where I worked in high school while I pursued my bachelor’s degree at the university. I’m majoring in health care administration, with an eye towards getting into the management side of respiratory care once I’ve gotten my feet back on the ground in the profession.
I’ve also been volunteering with our local Asthma Coalition and have regularly gone into elementary schools in the area to help school faculty better understand how to care for kids with asthma during the school day. And of course I’ve maintained my membership in the AARC, where I’ve taken advantage of several of their online courses to improve my clinical skills in the profession. In addition to attending a number of their webcasts, I’ve completed the Asthma Educator and COPD Educator courses, and I’m planning to take the AE-C exam next month.
Hiring managers who are confronted with large gaps in employment that can’t be explained away with the typical answers (such as leaving the profession for a time to raise children or care for a loved one who is ill) want to see how you’ve maintained your relationship with respiratory care in the interim. As Sara’s example shows, going back to school to earn a higher degree in a related area, volunteering to assist with RT-related community activities, and taking advantage of continuing education opportunities available in the profession can be the ticket to a job offer when the employment situation improves.
