One of my friend has a 2-years gap after completing his PhD in 2014, gap due to personal reasons, family-one mainly.
He is now trying to get a postdoc position in electro-engineering. To me, this two-year gap is hard to justify as he has not produced any relevant papers, nor really gained much sought skills as he had to take care of his family.
I'm not familiar with academia but I'm familiar with recruitment in tech. I advised him to find an angle where he can put his two-years gap in a way that would work for him, instead of letting this 2-years gap being an hindrance.
My question is the following:
Except to be involved in side projects or do side researchs that he can put on a cv, to help him find a postdoc, are there any other things he can do to make his cv better and make this 2-years hiatus less visible?
Many thanks for your feedback