Q: I am a SJSU SLIS grad and had a question about how to handle being out of the workforce for a couple years. I am planning on staying home with my kids and am wondering the best way to convey that gap on my resume once I am trying to get back into the workforce? Should I explain the gap and if so how?

A: When you find yourself out of the workforce for a while, you want to be sure to continue to stay connected to the work world in some way. That might mean volunteering, working part-time or working on a project or contract basis or getting involved at your kid’s school for example. Try to continue doing something that allows you to demonstrate your skills or develop new ones. Think big in terms of paid and unpaid experiences as both of these can add value to your resume. Choose your activities with purpose and think about how you can include the experience on your resume and how you can communicate the value of what you did to a potential employer. In doing this, you won’t really have a gap on your resume because you will account for your less than full-time work experience with other activities that show how you stayed connected to the world of work.