Employment Gap Definition

I believed an employment gap was any gap in employment that was not filled with school attendance. That is to state that if you were attending school it would not be viewed by prospective employers as a "gap"; however, upon reading some of the posts on this forum I've been exposed to the idea of "educational employment gaps". This has left me a bit perplexed.

Would a potential employment "gap" caused by attending school be viewed the same as the typical employment gap?

Thank you in advance.

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Comments

docrice

I don't know the technical merits of it from an HR-perspective as going to school full-time is pretty justifiable for not working in my opinion, but if I were a hiring manager, it would concern me as well since not actively working might mean that your skill set is getting rusty. Hopefully school attendance compensates for it, but not everyone might see them as being equivalent.

ptilsen

I think you could easily justify a gap by saying you went back to school full-time, but I wouldn't say that meets the definition of a non-gap. An employment gap is a gap between jobs, period.

prtech

"Would a potential employment "gap" caused by attending school be viewed the same as the typical employment gap?"

No. Going to school explains why the gap is there. When I look at resumes, I look for employment gaps. If it's filled with school, then I don't care. If there's a gap and nothing in your resume explains why then it raises an eyebrow.

Xyro

prtech wrote: »

No. Going to school explains why the gap is there.

Ok, this is what my initial belief was... thank you.

N2IT

I think each situation has to be analyzed differently. It's just not that clear cut, I wish it were.

I believe a lot has to do with where you are in life, your age, your job experience, etc.

If you have 8 years of experience and then all of the sudden drop out of the work force for to attend school, that in my opinion wouldn't be as acceptable as someone who spent 2 years at target and then went back to school. (Call it discrimination, call it whatever the heck you want) but each instance is different. Also you have to see how the message is delivered.

IMO an employment gap is just that. A gap between a timeline that reflects you wern't working. If you time it right you can take 6-7 weeks off and show no gap.

Xyro

N2IT wrote: »

I think each situation has to be analyzed differently. It's just not that clear cut, I wish it were.

I wish it were also.

N2IT wrote: »

I believe a lot has to do with where you are in life, your age, your job experience, etc.

I also wish I could understand the effects of these variables more.

N2IT

No need focusing on things you can't control, focus on what you can. You seem like a smart person, I've been impressed with your drive. I also like the fact you aren't going wild with all the crazy certs. Rep +1

Xyro

True, indeed... this is good advice, thank you.

I guess I concern that I will appear to be a way which I am not simply because of my employment "gap". You are correct, however, in that I cannot control this; therefore, I should let it go & spend my energy on more profitable items.

Thank you again.

N2IT

We all need to uplift each other as much as possible. You are welcome.

Xyro

N2IT wrote: »

We all need to uplift each other as much as possible.

I fully agree!

prtech

N2IT wrote: »

If you have 8 years of experience and then all of the sudden drop out of the work force for to attend school, that in my opinion wouldn't be as acceptable as someone who spent 2 years at target and then went back to school.

Why not? A lot of older people who have been in the workforce for a long time have decided to change careers. There were a lot of 40+ year old people in my classes. Some of them were still working but there were some that either got laid of or quit to go back to school full time. Some people get tired of their dead end jobs and want something better for themselves. I don't see anything wrong with that.

kurosaki00

I worked for half a year at my second year of College, then for like 3 years and a half didnt worked.
They always ask me, I just say that I was in school full time (which I was) and they have been cool with it.

N2IT

Some of them were still working. Exactly

I would guess that most of them were still working. (I never said there was anything wrong with quitting to go back to school, but be prepare to get passed over for jobs because of that gap). It can happen, it does happen, and if you apply enough it will happen. This is my OPINION clearly stated in my original post.

No shame in getting laid off it happens to great and terrible employees a like. Just be honest on your resume and do the best you can.

Xyro

prtech wrote: »

Some people get tired of their dead end jobs and want something better for themselves. I don't see anything wrong with that.

Unfortunately everyone is not you lol.

Some people who hire will have an issue with this, while some will not. It's all dependent on exactly who it is. There are varying degrees of how each individual person will judge a specific item.