A career gap on your resume should not be a roadblock in your career. Nowadays, it is quite common for students to have a gap after B.Tech in their careers. Students usually take a gap of a few years after graduation to prepare for government entrance exams or further studies. Although career gaps in resume might not give a good impression to your hiring manager, there are various effective ways to justify your career gap.
This article talks all about explaining a career gap after completing B.Tech.
If you took a career break of over 3 years, potential employers generally raise an eyebrow or consider it as a red flag. However, employers today are also becoming more considerate and accepting of employee needs. Hence, it is not tough to explain a gap in your employment if you have valid reasons and can explain them well.
Remember, it is not a good practice to mention any career gaps in your objective statement. When explaining your career gap in the body of your resume, make sure you provide some context and explain why it happened.
For example:
“I was preparing for [exam name/ job profile] after completing my graduation. During this time, I used my free time to attend several classes at [school name], gaining valuable skills in [skill].”
This shows potential employers that you were able to keep up with your education and still have something relevant to contribute at work.
“In the past 3 years, I have spent my time on a family/ personal emergency. I have now taken measures so that such situations don’t arise in the future. Having made sure that significant time was spent on improving my skill set, I am now ready to start working full-time with complete dedication”
Explaining an employment gap after B.Tech isn’t a huge task if you plan in advance and utilize your time doing something productive.
Here are some tips about answering about a career gap after B.Tech during an interview.
Explain the true scenario and what led you to take a career gap. It will make you come across as a reliable and trustworthy person and make you stand out. There is no point in making excuses. Be honest with your recruiter to maintain a healthy relationship with them even in the future.
If your reason for a career gap after graduation was personal (family problems or any illnesses), you can assure the interviewer that you have dealt with the problem and are ready to get back to work. This is important as it helps develop trust.
Own yourself and look at this scenario with a positive outlook—stand firm with your decision of taking a gap and explain your reasons well. Your confidence and your firmness will do the work for you. Talk about how this experience helped you evolve into becoming more adaptable and independent.
If you’re confident about your career choices, it is not difficult for you to find a job and explain your reasons for taking a career gap. So don’t be nervous if you’re embarking on a job search after a career break. A break from work is a normal and acceptable part of our careers.
Make sure that you make good use of your time during an employment gap. Say, you take a career gap of 3 years. This can lead to your skillset becoming obsolete if you don’t upgrade your skills during your break.
This is the primary reason why recruiters ask you to explain career gaps as they want to know if your skillset is still relevant. But don’t worry, enrolling in professional certifications can give you the edge.
Many institutes and online platforms offer training in programming languages and software technologies like C/C++, Java, Python, Oracle, .NET, etc. This will help you gain more knowledge in your domain and help in making your resume stronger.
Internships are a great way to gain some practical knowledge of your subject. Various top firms offer internships and apprenticeships for fresh B.Tech. Graduates. This will also give you some clarity about your career choices.
Some companies even consider internships as a part of your overall work experience. This adds to your credibility and increases your market value.
This can also turn out to be a great networking opportunity and help you build new connections that can prove to be fruitful career-wise. You can look for paid internships that can help you earn some money as well.
Spending 4 years completing a degree can give you plenty of exposure in terms of knowledge. You can use this experience to become a subject matter expert during your career gap. This is a great opportunity to showcase your knowledge and skills to potential recruiters.
Chegg India provides this opportunity to students and graduates to become subject matter experts in subjects like engineering, business, health care, mathematics, sciences, etc.
During job interviews, make sure you are being concise when talking about the gap years. Don’t go into too much detail as it might bring up several other questions that you might not want to answer. Focus on the positive aspect. Explain how that wasn’t an easy decision and how it has changed you for good and made you job-ready
If you get nervous and fidgety, it can affect your image negatively even if you are abreast with the technical concepts. Hence, it is imperative to stay confident. You may be worried about the employer’s perception of you.
A career gap may have helped you delve deeply into yourself. It may have helped you pursue your interests and hence, broadened your mind. It may have also helped you gain some perspective on your future career path. It is imperative for you to not only mean what you say but also prove it through actions.
For example, if you mention that you were trying to gain more knowledge in your domain, you should have supported evidence like online certifications and courses.
It means that now, finally, you are on the right track and are invested only in things that excite you. You are finally interviewing for a job that you are qualified for and fits well with your lifestyle choices.
Embrace this period of uncertainty, for it made you who you are. Be confident and believe in yourself. It may also help you to prepare your answers in advance so that nervousness doesn’t get the better of you.
Do not worry!
Recruiters today are changing their perspectives on work gaps. All you need to do is add genuine achievements during your gap period to your resume. Remember to not lie or make up stories. Be genuine and precise.
If you face an interview question regarding career gaps, you need to specify how you utilized your time in your gap years, the skills you developed, and how this can be beneficial to their firm; especially what qualities and attributes you gained that pertain to the job profile and what makes you the most suitable applicant for the position.
Read about more resume and interview tips for your next gig.
Ans. A career gap is break-period people take after a specific level of education or employment for the purpose of preparing for personal or professional development. Students usually take a career gap to prepare themselves for various competitive exams. Many students take a break period of 3-years after B.Tech for preparing themselves to level up their achievements.
Ans. There are some effective ways of presenting the career gap to the Hiring Manager. You may explain the gaps in the following ways:
Ans. A career gap can be a voluntary decision or may be a result of other external factors influencing it. Generally, an employment gap of fewer than 9 months is more acceptable. You can get a job after 3 years of career gap by focusing on skill development and gaining part-time work experience.
Ans. Your resume may contain gaps in your career but don’t be worried as recruiters are nowadays more lenient in evaluating your cv. These gaps depict the period when you went out of employment. Avoid hiding the gaps in your resume, be honest and briefly explain them. State the core facts behind your decision for a career gap and reassure that it would not persist anymore.
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