Getting a normal job i.e how do I explain the long job gap?
I'm in the process of preparing for a normal office job and am currently updating my resume. Problem is, I have been dancing for a number of years and have a considerable work gap in my resume.
What do you say when employers ask you about this? How has the transition worked for you? /:O
Re: Getting a normal job i.e how do I explain the long job gap?
This is one of the high prices that dancers pay for the fast cash and isn't talked about too much when dancing. I mean, we have to have made a LOT of money to truly make it worth it for our bigger picture financial and career plan. Then, if we made it, it depends on how it was spent-cars and clothes depreciate pretty quickly.
There's really no way around this, except if you have kids, you could say you were devoted here, or you could say you were a housewife, etc.
I went to college while dancing, earned a nursing degree, volunteered the whole time, and worked as a nurse aide about once a month just to keep my resume alive when I danced. Even so, I found that potential employers were focused on my experience, and I truly didn't have a lot to share for my first nursing job.
I feel so bad, because I know a lot of dancers who are thinking like you now. I wish there were a quick fix here, but just start one step at a time-the only way that works these days. Start volunteering and think about your unique qualities, and how you can talk this up during an interview.
Re: Getting a normal job i.e how do I explain the long job gap?
well i've been to uni and gotten my degree and when the time was right i jumped stright into a job, i had a gap between uni nd work so i said i'd been travelling, yes i've been to many countries on short holidays in the last 2 years so i could put morocco, turkey, spain, portugal, malta and china on my list and say it was one long trip when realy they were odd holidays and visits to friends/family x
Re: Getting a normal job i.e how do I explain the long job gap?
Maybe you can say that your mother or grandmother was sick and you put your life on hold to take care of them... I know someone who said that a few years ago and they are working a typical salaried/benefits, 9 to 5 now...
Re: Getting a normal job i.e how do I explain the long job gap?
Yeah, I am a stay-at-home girlfriend. My boyfriend is a PhD student and has been working on dissertation research for a year, so I've been cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. so he can concentrate 100% on work. And he's rich. So bills aren't an issue. A story like this can easily be tailored to fit your life, and you know what? No one can prove otherwise.
Re: Getting a normal job i.e how do I explain the long job gap?
When this has been an issue, I always tell employers I do freelance work. I've never had problems with this. While I was dancing I often worked another job just so I could explain that gap. This is why I always tell dancers I know to work another job while dancing, even if it's volunteering or part time. It'll help getting into the non dancing world.