Though employment gaps are uncommon, they’re still quite scary. This is because hiring managers usually assume the worst when it is mentioned on a resume. However, the reason is justifiable in most cases, such as professionals going back to school or simply taking time off for their children and loved ones. In some scenarios, they also take it to explore their wanderlust spirit.
Employment gaps are not a big deal if you know how to mention them well on a CV and make a good impression. We have put together this handy guide to explain to you in-depth how to address a career break. Scroll below to uncover it all!
Here’s How You Can Explain A Work Gap In Your Resume
Honesty Is The Key
Your resume is the first thing a hiring manager would notice about you and then comes your cover letter and professional profile. Hiding a work gap in your CV and then opening your LinkedIn profile about it or revealing it during an interview can throw off your bad impression. Even if you try your best to hide your career break, your potential employer will find it out sooner or later. The longer or more recent it is, the more obvious it becomes.
Once the recruiter realizes you were hiding it, they would believe that you’re keeping your more professional facts secret. Keep in mind that honesty is the key, and recruiters look for it in every employee. So, prove that you’re honest right from the beginning, aka your application. Feeling anxious about it is obvious, but know that recruiters are humans too, and they will probably understand if you’re straightforward about it.
Remove The Outdated Employment Gap
The good news is that you can omit your employment gap if it is too old. For instance, you can skip mentioning your career break that you had taken some ten years ago. A seasoned professional doesn’t need to mention their work experience, which is ten years old. The goal of the perfect resume is to make it as relevant as possible while limiting it to one to two pages.
Similarly, you can skip mentioning it if it is in your recent past but is too short, such as six months. Seek help from reputable and trustworthy resume writing services if you are still feeling confused about whether to include your employment gap. CV experts will help you make this decision and present it professionally if including it becomes necessary.
Provide An Explanation Regarding Your Gap
Simply writing down your employment gap dates isn’t enough. It would leave your potential recruiter in confusion, letting them interpret things on their own. You should provide a proper explanation to clear out their doubts and prove that you’re away from work for a meaningful reason. It would ensure that they don’t think of you as some couch potato. Therefore, write out the exact reason for your career break in between your work history entries. You can write as:
| 07/2020 – 01/2023 From September 2020 to January 2023, I explored countless destinations throughout Europe and South Asia. I successfully achieved my goal of letting my wanderlust spirit free before turning 30. |
Take Advantage Of Resume Layouts
An effective trick to emphasize your credibility and bring less attention of recruiters towards the employment gap is to cleverly choose resume layout. A resume comes in different formats, and you should learn to take the most advantage of them. For instance, you can consider a functional CV layout or a combination format to emphasize your skills and competencies over your professional experience. But it doesn’t mean you should omit mentioning your career break from your application altogether.
We nowhere suggest you lie or hide important professional facts from your potential hiring manager. Apart from addressing the career gap in your vitae, highlight it as well in your cover letter. Mentioning the same thing in these two different marketing documents would require a different approach. Study about how you can mention it in your cover letter other than the vitae to make your best impression.
Prove That You Used Your Time Effectively
While taking your career break, involve yourself in something meaningful enough to describe in your CV. Use that duration effectively either by polishing your specific technical skills or taking up some personal project. It will prove that you’re not lazy and you’re always finding ways to enhance your professional integrity.
Instead of simply mentioning ‘career break’ or ‘job searching,’ create something more valuable to put on your application. For example, you can join online courses related to your job title while you’re not employed. Otherwise, you can work on the project that you have always dreamt about but never had the chance to. This way, you’ll have something much more credible to speak about rather than merely stating that you were looking for jobs. Here’s how you can prove it:
| 07/2021 – 10/2022 Took a year off from employment to focus on my professional and personal development, as well as growth. During these months, I managed to: Launched my blog and affiliate marketing website Completed 5 courses related to digital marketing Read 15+ books on personal discovery, digital marketing, and entrepreneurship |
Should I put gaps in employment on your CV?
Yes, you should be honest about your professional history, including gaps in your employment tenure. It isn’t always seen as a bad thing, especially if the candidates mention what they were doing during that duration. Make sure you clearly explain how you consumed your time during that timeline.
How do I describe the employment gap in my resume?
Describe whether you took time off from your work for a voluntary cause or personal development. If there have been some external factors, mention them as well.
What is the best answer for the career gap?
You can write as: ‘I took some time off to focus on myself. Now that I’ve discovered myself completely and have figured out what I want, I’m more motivated than ever.” This example is suitable for candidates who took space for personal growth and rejuvenation. If your reason is related to your family or some other personal issues, clearly mention it, as the right employer would respect it too.
Final Takeaway
And that’s a wrap on how you can address employment gaps in your resume! Now, you know all the right ways to tackle them so they don’t hurt your CV and let you professionally present yourself. Always be honest and there is no need to mention a career break that is either short or outdated. Choose the right job application format, such as functional layout, to emphasize your skillset more than your work experience.
Provide a proper explanation regarding why you took time off your jobs and include your meaningful tasks/projects. It would boost your professional credibility and wouldn’t let your potential recruiter make false assumptions. Connect with expert CV writers if you are still facing hardship in addressing your career gap in your job application.