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As I didn't get chance to learn new technologies in my previous job, I resigned from there and prepared for higher studies. Job market also went down that time due to COVID. Now I got a chance in a good institute.

I want suggestions on how to mention this 8 months break in my resume and linkedIn (a popular site for profile connection and job search) profile. Will it look professional/good if I mention this as "Break for exam preparation" ? (this is truly what I was doing during this period). Or is it ok to include this period within my higher study period? (That's also true, because the lessons I will learn in my university are based on top of what I studied during this break). Can anyone suggest any better way to mention the career-break in resume?

gnat
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  • Thanks for suggesting gnat. My case is different, I looked at those questions, those are for job hopping at early stages of career, or contract employees. I have worked in a single company for 19 years, then left for preparation of higher studies. My job was full time, not contract based or part-time. –  Nov 28 '20 at 08:03
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    Except for the part where it’s not at the start of your career, the answers still apply perfectly. – AsheraH Nov 28 '20 at 09:13
  • It's a perfectly valid question. Gaps for education and gaps that occur mid-career are seen differently than ones that occur earlier in the career. Perhaps someone has some specific insight about this scenario? Not every question has to be like a "one-size-fits-all" generality. BTW the question that @gnat pointed to was also closed by the dupe-police because they considered it a dupe of a question about something else which itself was almost closed as a dupe and links to other questions where dupes get cited. Yet they're all different. – teego1967 Nov 28 '20 at 12:10
  • Has this 8 month break already occurred? I assume you did more than study for a single exam during that time, did your studies result in a certification or degree of some sort? If I were recruiting someone and saw an 8 month break labeled "exam prep" I would want to discuss and understand that further. – mjjf Nov 29 '20 at 17:29
  • @mjjf, yes I obtained some technical skills and certifications through online, however those are not full time courses. I added those skills in my cv. –  Dec 02 '20 at 12:30

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I'm an IT recruiter, and I often see gaps in people's resumes. I have successfully recruited many people for big software companies so I hope my answer out of my experience will shed some light on you.

The short answer: just state the truth in your CV. It's very normal and most recruiters will appreciate your interest in learning new skills and view it positively.

The longer answer: people take breaks for all kinds of reasons. Women often take 1-year long, or several years' maternity leave; some travel for a few months; some go back to school (including virtually); some need to take care of family members; some are sick themselves.

In a perfect world, once people graduate from uni, they keep working till retirement. I'm talking about the world before 90's. It is no longer the truth, because on the other hand, jobs are far less stable than they used to be. Many events happen in one's life, and I understand that in many situations working daily is not a preferred option.

That's largely true in Australia. I have recruited back in China and Singapore, and there employers are less flexible towards "flawed" CVs. Sad because they simply have too many people to choose from. Not sure where you are, but take that into consideration, too.

Qianqian
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