How Can a Teacher Deal With Gaps in Their Resume?

Gaps in your resume are one of the most common obstacles teachers face when writing their own resumes and cover letters. There are several ways to handle these gaps in your resume. Gaps are spans of unemployment that typically come about as a result of a planned leave of absence or an unexpected resignation or sudden termination. Of course, there are many reasons why gaps occur—short-term substitute assignments, a move due to a spouse’s job transfer, a stay-at-home-mother returning to the workforce, a mutual ‘parting of the ways’ between employer/employee, etc.—and so it’s not necessary to assume a gap will automatically raise a red flag with the prospective school district.

There are several techniques available in addressing gaps in the employment history. If the gap is less than a year and the remaining employment history is steady, use a YYYY to YYYY format to express your dates. For example, if the employment PRIOR to the gap is March 1997 to November 1999 and the employment AFTER the gap is December 2000 to June 2003, you would format each: 1997 to 1999 and 2000 to 2003.

If the gap is lengthy or occurs as a result of a planned leave of absence, address this in your cover letter. It is not necessary that you spend more than a few lines on this issue; simply indicate: “In 2003, I took a leave of absence to care for an ailing parent. With my mother’s estate now settled, I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue my teaching career” or “Following the birth of my son in 2002, I spent the next several years caring for him full-time before returning to the education industry in a special education teaching role.”

In a situation where there are numerous gaps of employment throughout teaching career that cannot easily be “camouflaged” or explained in the cover letter, consider using a functional resume instead of the traditional reverse-chronological or combination formats. A functional resume format focuses most of the reader’s attention on the talents, qualifications, and credentials the job seeker offers rather than the time frames and other employer specifics during which the skills was acquired.

If you’re confused about how to address gaps in your teaching employment history, leave it to A+ Resumes for Teachers.

Review their prices and available packages at the link below:

http://resumes-for-teachers.com/prices/teacher-package-pricing.aspx

You can see more of their samples on the following page:

http://resumes-for-teachers.com/teacher-resume-examples.htm

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