How to Maintain Your Resume Between Jobs

Regardless of your employment status, you should be thinking about your resume at all times. Employment gaps are a considerable reason why many professionals are unable to find employment after a long lapse between jobs. Maintaining your resume between jobs should be a top priority, but it isn't as difficult as you might imagine. There are plenty of ways in which you can add to your resume even when you aren't gainfully employed.

Volunteer Work

Giving back to your community will be a largely positive reflection on you, so don't be afraid to add volunteer work to your resume between jobs. In fact, many employment experts have been adding "social responsibility" to the list of buzzwords that can make or break one's career. An employer who sees that you have participated in volunteer work might very well rank you above others who have held consistent jobs over the last few years.

Where you place volunteer work on your resume is up to you. Some professionals make an extra section for extracurricular activities and put volunteer work in that category. Others, especially when they've experienced employment lapses, will place it directly under the work history heading. Keep in mind, however, that volunteer work should only go under work history if it pertains to your area of expertise in some way. For example, you shouldn't put "Volunteered for SPCA" if you are a software engineer; the two don't relate.

Professional Affiliations

If you are a member of a professional organization, you should definitely put it on your resume between jobs. Not only is this a great way to network and find new employment opportunities, but employers often look favorably upon professional affiliations. If you are active in that organization -- especially if you've assumed a leadership role -- make sure to put those details on your resume.

While professional affiliations might not make much difference when you're in between jobs, it will help you to maintain your resume and continue adding new things to your list of qualifications and experiences. The more you can put on your resume, the better, and it might help to detract from the fact that you've been in between jobs.

Contract Work

Just because you aren't currently employed doesn't mean you can't contract your services to businesses and individuals. One of the best ways to maintain your resume between jobs is to participate in a different type of work that helps to explain employment gaps. For example, if you are a senior copywriter, you could help aspiring businesses to write website content for their sites.

Contract work will bring in a little extra cash and will help to flesh out that resume between jobs. Just make sure that you are qualified for the work you perform and that you obtain positive references from the people who contract you.