Employment Gap in Cover Letter/Resume

[Anonymous]

How much do I write about my employment gap in the cover letter? I am a military wife who followed my husband during his moves/deployments and I also stayed home with the kids. It's been almost 8 years since I worked at an office. I have done volunteering work and kept up with the microsoft office skills.

Do I write anything on my resume or do I leave it blank?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I think you could address it broadly in the cover letter: "after spending x years attending to family responsibilities, I am now seeking full-time employment in y..."

Makes sense to list the volunteer work and skills too.

I think employers want to know what the gap is about. raising kids is a fine and legitimate reason for a gap, as is military spouse relocations/travel. Mainly they will want to know it wasn't for an unstable/unreliable reason (prison, debilitating mental illness, etc), so they have every reason to assume you are ready to be a decent employee now.

[Anonymous]

Include the volunteer work if it was substantial and/or relevant to your career field. I wouldn't include one off items (PTA bake sale).

Also, include all of your training under education. Use Year for the dates rather than Month-Year so that the gaps don't seem so large.

Explain the rest on your cover letter, ensuring that the frequent moves and military obligations have ended.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Cover letter only. I had a 4 year gap and can tell you that at least 4 HR people said they appreciated me not treating volunteer stuff as "employment" on my resume. List them at the bottom only.

I did get multiple job offers too. Don't fret about it too much.

[Anonymous]

Here you go, OP. Thank you for your service! Below a suggestion to add to your resume for those 8 valuable years-

"Military Family Deployment"
Supported family during deployments, organized home systems and routines, and project-managed multiple moves. Carried out targeted volunteering and certifications to remain on-track current practices.
Volunteering: Continued growing in [add skills, ex. Project management, Financial management, Marketing, etc.] by volunteering in local organizations.
- Organization 1 name, Location, Volunteer role
- Organization 2 name, Location, Volunteer role
MS Office Suite Training: Remained up-to-date through: [List certifications/courses]