How to explain gap due to waiting on EAD card

[stellamahoo 179]

Hello there,

 

I received my EAD card late last year and ever since I am on the job hunt with semi success. I was wondering how to explain the gap due to waiting on the EAD card and how to put in on my resume. 

In the meantime I was volunteering at an animal shelter which I would like to put down as well.

 

Any ideas/experiences on that topic?

 

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

36 minutes ago, apinchofstella said:

Hello there,

 

I received my EAD card late last year and ever since I am on the job hunt with semi success. I was wondering how to explain the gap due to waiting on the EAD card and how to put in on my resume. 

In the meantime I was volunteering at an animal shelter which I would like to put down as well.

 

Any ideas/experiences on that topic?

 

 

No real need to explain a gap.. I mean they will see work from Germany, then applying now in the US, people generally put the two pieces together and realize why there is a gap. My husband had a year gap on his resume .

[millefleur 5,047]

If it were me, I'd just be honest about the whole thing...use it as an opportunity to educate folks about the immigration process if the question comes up. Since you were waiting and legally were not allowed to work, you followed the law and did everything correctly. That's a sign of good moral character, could be useful at a job interview.

 

I don't think you need to add anything in writing to the resume about it, just explain if the question comes up.

[RLA 323]

Yeah, no need to address the gap on your resume.  If recruiters can't figure it out by themselves they will ask.  Should be straightforward to explain.  By the way, that's true for other gaps as well.  Unlike back in Germany, an American resume is not supposed to be an account of everything you've done since high school.  Think of it more like a personal ad taylored to the specific job opening.  You focus on your relevant professional experience and leave out everything unrelated, such as gaps.  In my local library they have The Damn Good Resume Guide, which I found very helpful to get out of that German mindset and to understand how resumes work here. 

[TabeaK 517]

Just tell them why. I had a 5 month gap with immigration, job hunt etc. I just told them up front I had just moved from Europe and needed to wait for my work permit to process. No one even batted an eye lid.