Most honest job-seekers with stellar resumes, sufficient experience and impeccable references also have gaps in their employment histories. Some of those gaps were filled with personally-enriching experiences such as hiking or swimming with dolphins. The issue is what such employment gaps signal to the prospective employer. After all, when you’re between jobs, the proper practice is to engage in worthwhile activities: volunteering, internships, freelancing, or taking classes. What happens when you’ve done none of those things? What if you simply took a break to mentally prepare for diving into a new, demanding job once the opportunity arose?

Not everything you’ve done during your gap may have been productive, but even so, there are some things that can be used to your advantage when discussing potential employment opportunities with hiring managers. So here’s how you can explain a longer gap in your resume and land the job you’ve been searching for:

Be honest – highlight achievements during the gap

There’s no problem with owning up to being burn out or having had needed to take some time out. That’s something that everyone deals with sooner or later in life, even hiring managers. So be honest about taking some time to recompose yourself, mention a journal or a blog you’ve kept, any new publications or activities you may have engaged in. If you took time off to travel, discuss the experience: have you had the opportunity to learn a lesson that can, in any way, relate to your career? Great! Mention it, debate it, build around it.

Were you preparing for a career change? Then discuss how you collected information about this particular change during your employment gap. Be open with the hiring manager and detail how you’ve been reading, connecting with people in the industry you’re targeting and preparing for this career change. Just like people tailor their applications to make then appeal to a potential employer (here are some absolutely creative job applications, for instance), you too can explain your gap in a way that hiring managers find understandable and acceptable.

Know how to discuss why you left your previous job

Chances are that hiring managers will ask you about the reasons why you left your previous job long before they will ask about any employment gaps so be prepared to address this issue. An ideal answer follows the well-known KISS rule (keep it short and sweet). Now, there are acceptable reasons for discontinuing employment:

• Advancement issues: you did not find the advancement opportunities that you wished for
• Location: unreasonably long commutes/ being forced to move
• Job Security: working for a company that was not stable
• Prestige: wishing to work for a more prestigious company
• Financial reward: being underpaid for your contribution and skills

Always focus on yourself and not your previous employer. Any change should be a result of your desire for growth and career improvement.

Confidently explain how you’re qualified for the job

It’s understandable that an honest conversation about an employment gap would make you uneasy, however, confidence is paramount. Remember that resume gaps are common among job seekers and hiring managers know it. Have an answer prepared and finish with a question that moves the interview back to your capabilities and the job’s requirements:

“I’ve taken advantage of this period to better educate myself and connect with successful industry professionals who’ve gone through such a massive career shift. Getting up to speed with how the job hunting process has changed also took more than I had anticipated, but all these experiences helped me grow. Here I am, determined, persistent and re-fueled. “

****For this great post, Campus to Career thanks Karl Magnussen!!****