1 year gap due to illness - Should I state it in Cover Letter?

Upon graduation, I spent a year in and out of hospital due to illness I had (cancer to be exact). I was completely cured, thankfully, got an IBD analyst job shortly after and have been with the currrent firm for almost 2 years now.

Now that I am job hunting and sending out resume/cover letter to employers, it is obvious on my resume that there is 1 year gap b/w graduation and my first job, and I wonder whether or not I should state it in my cover letter. If yes, how much details should I enclose in it, i.e. just state that "due to illness I have", or just flat out say that I had a cancer.

Thanks for your inputs in advance!

 

Thank you both for your inputs. Before I posted this question, I was leaning toward putting it in my cover letter, as I think employers would prefer not to see any kind of time gap in b/w school, work experience etc. But what you guys said makes sense and I will just leave it out for now, and if they do ask me during interivew, I will tell them.

Thanks both again.

 

Thanks all for your inputs!

Matty 200 - Yeah, that's what I was afraid of when I was looking for my very first job fresh out of hospital (well, I already started looking when I had only couple cycles of treatments left). Thankfully, my current firm only looked at my academic achievements, good internship experiences etc and did not mind at all the fact that I was ill. Of course, they were somewhat worried about the possibility of me going back to the hospital, but I convinced them that it was cured and I was more than ready to get some hands on experience.

Hopefully I will be lucky again this time.

That is very nice of you to help your friend out through his/her tough time. Trust me, friends/family members like you are what your friend needs the most at times like this. :)

 

Perferendis porro magni nobis voluptas. Facere et aspernatur minus sint animi sapiente.

Perspiciatis non veritatis neque qui dolor. Voluptatibus corporis fugit temporibus commodi fugit aut. Aliquam dolore dicta recusandae dolor nulla.

Dolorum natus aut dolor et. Sit voluptas praesentium neque reprehenderit. Quaerat eos laudantium voluptas fuga doloribus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”