This blog post is written by our founder Sapna Sarda.
Introduction
Every lawyer is not always blessed with a stellar employment history that matches their career goals. While the first generation lawyers find it extremely difficult to set up their own law practice, there are many who find themselves with substantial employment gaps or a string of short-term work experiences dominating their resume. The reasons for resume gaps can be numerous, ranging from taking time off to raise families, providing care for an ailing relative, or overcoming a health condition of their own etc. However, long term gaps on resumes are often considered to have a detrimental impact on the job prospects of job seekers and one should have a strong reason to justify the same.
5 Most Essential Tips on how can a lawyer handle employment gaps in their resume
Here are the 5 most essential tips on how a lawyer can handle such gaps in their resume and pump up their professional resume to make a better case of their candidacy –
1. Always follow the unfeigned approach
The most important thing to remember when dealing with a gap in your resume is that, whatever the reason for taking a break from your legal career may be, acknowledging and explaining a gap won’t harm your chances of employment but lying about a gap will. There’s nothing you can do to change your work experience, so the best strategy is to be truthful about it.
2. Try to draw the attention of the recruiter on your pro-bono employment history
If you have worked as a volunteer, for example – participation in free legal aid campaigns or were an active member of the mooting society, placement committee etc in your law school or have taken up an unpaid internship at any law offices/organisations, that allowed you to build relevant skills or gain industry experience, then these positions should be mentioned on your resume. You must describe your role and responsibilities by highlighting the major contributions and accomplishments on your resume.
In case you have worked as a freelancer for a number of clients then you must include it in your resume, under a separate section.You must summarize the services offered by you by highlighting the work you did and the results you achieved.
3. Show a consistent employment history
An inconsistent employment history might land the job seeker in serious trouble. Employers, these days review the social media profiles of the prospective candidates before contacting them for a job interview. So while applying for a job, one must ensure that the social media profile, on various platforms like – Linkedin, Naukri.com etc is in cohesion with what has been stated in the resume.
4. Go in for professional development
The gaps in the resume can be also be addressed by demonstrating to the employer that you have utilized your time effectively. There is absolutely no harm in pursuing skill development courses. There are many free and low-cost training opportunities/programs available online and in person. Various websites like SkillShare, edX, Cousera, Udemy etc offer short courses and certification programmes that help in skill up-gradation.
If you can’t find a course suiting your needs then there are various ways of potraying your talents. For example – writing a blog, can be extremely fruitful, in showcasing your knowledge and writing skills.
5. Consider revamping your resume
If you find it difficult to make your skills and experience shine with the standard resume format, you can consider using a different resume format – essentially a functional resume. A functional resume focuses more on skills than professional experience, which can be helpful for someone who has gaps in their career history.
However, this type of resume should only be used as a last resort. Recruiters and hiring managers generally dislike functional resume because they deviate from the traditional layout. It might give an impression that you are attempting to hide something.
Conclusion
One of the key things to remember here is that, you are likely to be offered an interview, if your resume proves to be successful. During the interview, it’s almost inevitable that you will be asked about these gaps in some form or the other. So prior preparation of what you’re going to say, most importantly a short and a witty response, is very essential. So if you have taken years out of your employment, then planning is the key for getting back into the market.
If you are looking for advice on your legal career, please feel free to reach out to us on team.legalrecourse@gmail.com.