Getting back after a gap

[robin kay]

Hello,
I left my job as a J2EE developer in 2007 after working for about 6 years to look after my newborn baby and am planning to get back.In these 3 years I did not get a chance to do any programming or related reading.Any tips to help ease into the 'java mode' will be greatly appreciated.Also now that I do not have anything to show for those 3 years, how do I explain that gap in my resume. Any & all tips will be really helpful.
Thanks,
Robin.

[Henry Wong]

In my opinion, the best way to explain the gap is to tell the truth.

Henry

[Bear Bibeault]

I think most people understand how important child-rearing is and the truth will go over a lot better than "I needed some time to find myself".

Make sure that your skills are brought up to date.

[robin kay]

Thanks.I am not looking to fudge the truth I guess I did not make myself clear.what I meant was:Should doing some sort of internship or project be more helpful to demonstrate my skills? if so any suggestions in that regard will be very helpful.
Thanks.

[Henry Wong]

As Bear mentioned, you definitely need to get your skills up to date. How you choose to do so is up to you. Self study, certifications, or taking short term positions (internships), are all viable options.

If you are offered the chance to work on a project (even if it is an intership), I say why not? At minimum, it will help get some of the rust off, and get you used to the work environment again.

Henry

[Pat Farrell]

I think you can just be up front and say, I had great skills before I took time with my kid, and I am a quick learner. I've been reading/practicing using cool new thing (jQuery, REST, scala, etc.) so I can get back in.

[robin kay]

Thanks for all the advice.