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I worked for seven years at a Fortune 500 company. I left in 2007, while holding the position of Supply Chain Manager (Project Manager), via a voluntary buyout (the entire logistics division was sold to a third-party vendor.) I enrolled in an Ivy League law school and completed two of the three years. After completing my second year, I was involved in a motor-vehicle accident. The subsequent recovery and rehab left me unable to work for almost a year. Sadly, the wrangling over hospital bills with my insurance carrier and compensation for my injuries left me less than pleased with the entire legal system. I have no desire to resume my schooling. Also, with medical expenses, my financial situation does not allow me the luxury to become a full-time student again.
In general, I understand it is not a good idea to list incomplete schooling on a resume. If I don’t list something, I have a resume gap stretching to 2007. What to do?
In a perfect world, I could indicate I spent the second half of 2009 and first half of 2010 in the hospital and physical therapy. However, writing anything about the accident on my resume strikes me as unprofessional and a bit desperate.
How do I explain three years? I suppose I can include this information in a cover letter, but many online sites have no place for a cover letter and I’ve been told that more than one page of an resume does not work well (engineers and CVs excluded.) Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
2 comments on this topic
20. February - 7:24 am
I’m sorry to hear about your accident and hope you’re doing well.
I also have an extended absence from the workforce in my career history. I’m sure some companies immediately wrote me off upon learning that, but many were empathetic about taking time off for personal reasons.
I focused on three main points:
1 – I quit my job for a ‘good’ reason
2 – I was ready and excited to get back to work
3 – I still had recent relevant experience
I had a one line item in my career history section for the time off. (for me, it was ‘illness in the family’ or ‘caretaker’).
In my cover letters, I would give a brief explanation (‘quit my job to focus on my family during an illness’). I would then say something about how I was excited to get back to work. And then what I had been doing during that time off that was relevant (volunteering, attending industry events, etc.)
I also created an active online persona so that anyone who searched for me online (or clicked from my email footer) could learn more about me and see what I was doing during my time off. My blog, Twitter,etc was professionally focused, with an entries on the industry events I’d attended, relevant books I’d read, my thoughts on industry news, etc. I connected to other people in my industry who had an online presence.
I would also be prepared to give a quick explanation during an interview. Mine was basically what I’d said in the cover letter. ‘A family member became ill, I quit my job to be with her through her illness. She is doing really well and I am excited to return to the workforce.’ All my references to the time-off period were matter-of-fact. I wasn’t asking for pity or sympathy or a favor. It was merely to explain the gap.
Some companies will see the gap and put you in the reject pile automatically. But many companies will give you a chance. In spite of a two year gap in my work history, I got plenty of interest and offers when I was ready to return to work.
Best of luck!
20. February - 7:24 am
Sorry about the accident – hope you’ve recovered fully.
What kind of work did you pursue while you were a full time student? Did you do volunteer work or consulting? Consulting is always a safe answer to explain career gaps on resumes. You are wise to not drag on about the accident but be aware that an employer may question your decision to "quit" law school and not return. Given your experience with the legal system, one would expect you would be even more passionate about returning to finish your law degree so you can change things. An employer make the assumption that you are not a visionary – who believes you can make a difference.
When I left a Fortune 500 company after 11 years, I immediately set up a Consulting LLC to cover however long my "sabbatical" would be. I also had volunteer work/served on boards to bridge my time out of the workforce. If neither of those options work for you – just simply state you took a sabbatical. There’s nothing wrong with that, just make sure you can talk to it and make it sound convincing as to how the absence helped you focus on your goals/brought inspiration to what you want to do in the future.