I worked at the same company for 24 yrs and progressed to a supervisor role over that time. Once laid off my wife and I looked into starting a mobile medical office to the point of having a business plan and talking to partners but then other elements of her career opened up and we stopped pursuing it. I then switched to a stay-at-home father role to support her progress. How should I explain the one year gap in my resume?
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1possible duplicate of Presenting open source development during a resume-gap? Even though the topic covers open-source instead of startup, it's roughly equivalent. – Garrison Neely Aug 20 '14 at 20:42
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2@GarrisonNeely I believe its different enough to allow. – Mike Van Aug 20 '14 at 20:56
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1The description of the question seems clear enough but the title is confusing?? Is it the start-up that you want to explain or the gap when you switched to stay-at-home father role? – Brandin Aug 20 '14 at 21:08
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In I were in your shoes, I would explain the gap just like you did in the question.
I my opinion, it is not necessary for you to include the startup in your résumé but be ready to explain the gap.
As an hiring manager, your explanation is perfectly acceptable.
David Segonds
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I agree if the start up never became an official thing it doesn't make much sense, besides 24 years at one job where he advanced? That's a VERY rare and attractive thing in most markets to find on a resume these days. – Eric J Fisher Aug 20 '14 at 20:47
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I agree that it probably doesn't need to go on a resume, but a cover letter is a great place to include this explanation. Just make sure to pitch it as "this is my experience" and not "this is why there's a gap". – David K Aug 21 '14 at 12:39
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For me, a gap in a resume instantly pushes it towards the reject pile - to go to the next step with gaps, it had better be a pretty good one. Never leave gaps - you might not get an interview to explain them - especially if it appears you are hiding the gaps.
As a potential employer I would value the experience a failed start up gives someone and to leave the off a resume is wrong. To me, "1 Year - Failed startup..." is a superior resume than virtually any other 1 year of experience -especially for someone with 24 years working for the same company.
At interview time, I would be asking a lot of questions around that, and would be looking to see what you learnt from the experience.
If a company rejects you for putting "Stay at home dad" on your resume, you are probably better off if they do not interview you.
mattnz
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