Explaining gaps in job history in interviews

Last October I had to leave an Automation Engineering job because it became extremely harmful for my bad back. I've been unemployed since, but have been actively studying for and renewing my IT certifications. Before the Automation job I was a Network Admin for 10 years.

I just passed ITIL-F, and am taking the AWS Architect Associate test this month. From March-May I'll be taking the MCSA 2012 tests to get back up to speed on Windows Server. My job hunt will begin in May or June. That's going to be, at the every least, an 8 month gap in employment.

My questions are, will this limit the number of interviews I get? And if I'm lucky enough to get any interviews, will the gap in employment be looked down upon? How exactly should I explain it....just explain the short-term disability?

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Comments

Danielm7

Well, I'm not sure how to help with the explaining part. Any reason you can't start applying now while you're working on the other certs?

Years ago I worked for myself for a few years, I ran my own consulting business, and even then I still get questions on it and it was 2 jobs ago. It didn't hurt that it coincided with the worst economic downturn most of us have ever lived through and the closing of the offices of the last company in my state.

metalone4

Danielm7 wrote: »

Well, I'm not sure how to help with the explaining part. Any reason you can't start applying now while you're working on the other certs?

Years ago I worked for myself for a few years, I ran my own consulting business, and even then I still get questions on it and it was 2 jobs ago. It didn't hurt that it coincided with the worst economic downturn most of us have ever lived through and the closing of the offices of the last company in my state.

Thanks. I could start applying now, but I want to be fully up to speed first. For example, the Windows Server experience I have is mainly with 2000, 2003, but only a little with 2008. I want to be able to speak competently about Server 2012 in the event I'm quizzed during interviews.

pevangel

How long ago was the network admin job? I think short term disability and studying is a decent reason for a gap in employment. I'd be more curious why you left IT.

Chadius

Ditto. I would be wondering the same thing. How long did you work in the engineering job?

metalone4

The Network Admin job was from Dec. '03 - July '13 and the engineering job was from July '13 - October '15. It was actually at the same company and very similar to the IT job, just more physical. I actually continued to do much of the IT work I did there in the past, but I reported to another Manager. I changed departments partly because the robotics side of things interested me, but also because my IT manager was so incompetent/stressful to work under, that we could never keep people in the dept. From 2007-on it was a revolving door of IT staff, and I finally decided to accept an offer working under someone I could respect.

bermovick

I had about a 10-month gap between leaving my last non-IT job and my first IT job. I just tell them the truth: I got sick of a dead-end job that would never be a career, and my wife was supportive enough to tell me to "just quit and study" while she went back to work. I got my CCNA, started applying and about 7 months later was employed again. It's never been a problem as far as I can tell.

metalone4

bermovick wrote: »

I had about a 10-month gap between leaving my last non-IT job and my first IT job. I just tell them the truth: I got sick of a dead-end job that would never be a career, and my wife was supportive enough to tell me to "just quit and study" while she went back to work. I got my CCNA, started applying and about 7 months later was employed again. It's never been a problem as far as I can tell.

That's good to know. Thank you for the insight.

jcundiff

I had an 11 month (2009-2010) gap and had no problem getting hired by my current company. Of course I had a particular set of skills that they were looking for at the time ( Incident Management). I have since transitioned to a 3 pay grades higher InfoSec position.

Get your skills current and you should not have an issue

scaredoftests

My issue was lay-offs or the contract was up. At the time, the economy wasn't so hot. Some businesses understood this, some did not. Just be truthful