With the recession economy forcing many people to spend more time between jobs, savvy job seekers are capitalizing on these work gaps to enhance their professional -- and in some cases, personal -- development.

Rachel Weingarten, marketing strategist and author of Career and Corporate Cool, says that in the ongoing “morass” of our economy, just about everyone has dealt with a period of unemployment.

“Explain the situation, explain your eagerness to work again and talk about the fact that you didn’t use this as an excuse to work on your tan, but rather polished up your skills and made yourself a much more valuable asset to any company,” she says.

Make the Most of Employment Gaps

That’s what Christina Brodsly, a public relations specialist and writer, did when she left a public relations job in Las Vegas in March 2008 to follow a boyfriend to Providence, Rhode Island. While looking for full-time work in Providence, she decided to improve her technology skills. Through free tutorials from Lynda.com, she learned Photoshop, Excel and general online design. She also took a few professional-development classes in PR at a community college.

But Brodsly didn’t stop there. Since employment didn’t materialize after she finished the classes, she used her work gap to help a local business owner devise a plan for rebranding his bagel shop. She donated her services, because she was gaining valuable (and marketable) experience.
“It made me happy, because I felt like I was contributing -- both to his business by thinking differently and to my own advancement by doing something other than sitting around, waiting,” she says.

Brodsly included her work for the bagel shop on her resume and finally landed a copywriting gig with the Hasbro toy company. When she endured a second work gap in October 2008 after following the boyfriend to Colorado, she leveraged the experiences from her first work gap into a marketing job in the green movement.

“I’ve always done these kinds of things, but the extra experience proved that I’m not the type to sit around and let grass grow under my feet,” she says.

Two Views of Work Gaps

In Atlanta, Andrew Reed took a different approach to managing his recent employment gap.

Reed, who worked for Siemens for 32 years, was laid off from his position as a high-ranking international sales executive at the end of 2007. Rather than expand his skills or knowledge, Reed focused on his personal life. He spent time in London with his daughter. He read books. He relaxed, which he rarely did when he was working.

In spring 2009, Reed started interviewing for sales and management jobs. During interviews, when hiring managers ask how he’s spent his time off, Reed says he doesn’t hide the fact that he took 18 months to recharge.

While he hadn’t found a job by August 2009, Reed, who worked for Siemens in Germany and Singapore, started his own consulting firm to help European companies expand their businesses into the US.

“[The work gap] is part of who I am, and there should be no shame in doing what I’ve done,” he says. “I was concerned that people might not receive my explanation favorably, but the truth is that when you’re honest about it, people who might be skeptical or critical suddenly appreciate your openness.”

Of course, Reed’s approach is controversial. Many companies, such as Curran, a Seattle-based, high-end home-furnishings company, won’t even interview candidates with resume gaps.

“I’ve never liked work gaps, because good people find jobs in good or bad economies,” says CEO Jeff Curran, who says he has never hired anyone with a sizable resume gap. “We review resumes before scheduling interviews and shy away from talking to those with unexplained gaps.”

Putting Gaps into Perspective

Jennifer Kahnweiler, an executive coach and president of AboutYOU, an Atlanta leadership-development and career consulting firm, says it doesn’t matter how job seekers spend their work gaps, so long as they are prepared to describe those hiatuses with confidence to prospective employers and emphasize the skills they learned during their time away.

“These days, interviews are much more about how you come across -- your energy, your enthusiasm, your focus and showing how you’ve prepared,” she says.

Kahnweiler suggests these tips for job seekers looking to make the most of their work gaps:

• Be Proactive: Make the most of your time out of work by taking professional- development classes, learning a new language or catching up on milestones in your personal life so you can then be 100 percent focused when you return to work.
• Be Confident: Everybody is out of work at times; the fact that you have time between jobs says more about the economy than it does about your skills.
• Be Positive: Stay upbeat during your employment gap to show prospective employers you’re indefatigable.