Should You List Education as a Job to Fill a Resume Gap?

[oneamp]

I went back to school and so I have a gap between now and my last job. It's a 3 year gap. Should I do anything about it, like put school as one of my 'jobs' in the list to close up that gap? I fear that putting school at the top of the resume will call attention away from my jobs that I worked before it and make me look like I'm new to the field.

Thanks

 

[Borek]

Don't you put information about your education somewhere in the resume, together with dates?

 

[oneamp]

Don't you put information about your education somewhere in the resume, together with dates?

Yes. My concern is that the employment section is at the top, and the date gap is the first thing they see.

 

[Ben Espen]

If I saw that, I would ask you about it in an interview. "I was attending school full-time" would be an adequate answer.

 

[a_potato]

Just put it in chronological order and be honest about what you did and why

 

[SteamKing]

Yes. My concern is that the employment section is at the top, and the date gap is the first thing they see.

Then don't put a gap in the employment section. Simply say from "X-X attended school at ..., details below in th Education section."

 

[gmax137]

Maybe resumes don't need to be chronological? I know they often are (that's how I do mine, too), but it seems to me the resume could be organized differently -- say, to show the things most important for the job you're trying to get at the top. Just a thought, I'm no expert on resumes.

 

[D H]

Yes. My concern is that the employment section is at the top, and the date gap is the first thing they see.

Yeah, we'll see it. But as Ben Espen noted, we should also see that you went back to college, filling in that gap. It's not something to worry about.

If you worked while going to college on a job related to your career goal, you should have that in your resume (filling in the gap). But now when I get down to the education section I'll see that there is no gap in the employment section. Curious! I'm going ask you about that when I interview you.

If you worked part time on jobs completely unrelated to your career goal, a one liner that fills in the gap will suffice. There's no point in touting your experience as a short-order cook other than maybe a one-liner: "Miscellaneous jobs while going back to school." BTW, I'm still going to ask about that when I interview you.

 

[oneamp]

Thank you