Before we elaborate on this blog, let’s first begin to understand what employment gaps are on resumes.
Job interview tips: During your professional career, you may encounter periods without formal employment. These are what we call “employment gaps.” These gaps can vary in length, from mere months to several years, and can arise voluntarily or involuntarily. Employment gaps on a resume, if not properly explained, can raise concerns. To avoid this, it’s crucial to provide a thoughtful explanation for your gap and highlight any valuable experiences or skills acquired during that time.
Job interview tips: As a job seeker, your resume is often the first point of contact between you and potential employers. It’s the document they’ll use to form their initial impression of you. With this understanding, it’s essential to make sure it’s well-written and error-free. One common challenge that job seekers face is how to address employment gaps on their resume. Be aware that employment gaps can occur for a variety of reasons, such as taking time off to care for a family member, traveling, or pursuing education. While it’s essential to be honest about your employment history, you also need to be strategic about how you present it.
Job interview tips: Remember, you are “selling” yourself to your potential employers; thus, it’s essential to be meticulous in presenting your career journey.
Where to Explain Employment Gaps
Job interview tips: There are several different places on your resume where you can explain employment gaps. One option is to include a brief explanation in your resume summary or objective statement. Job interview tips: This is an excellent place to provide a high-level overview of your career and why you have gaps in your employment history.
Another option is to include a separate section on your resume for employment gaps. This section should list the dates of your employment gap and briefly explain what you were doing during that time.
Good Reasons for Employment Gaps
There are several good reasons for employment gaps, including:
- Taking time off to care for a family member: This is a common reason for employment gaps, especially among women. Being honest about this on your resume is essential, but you don’t need to go into too much detail unless your interviewer asks for more information.
- Taking time off due to medical leave: While this may not be a common reason for employment gaps, it is still advised that you add this with the right information and even provide the medical documents necessary in case the interviewer asks about it during the interview proper.
- Facing job loss due to organizational restructuring: Employees might face job loss due to organizational restructuring, which can be a challenging experience. Should this happen to you, it is crucial to stay positive and focus on finding new opportunities. During your job interview, let them know how you coped with this experience and what values you learned that can help you succeed in the new job that you’re applying for.
- Geographically relocating: Involves moving from one location to another, often a significant distance away. This can be a major life change, with many factors to consider and decisions to make. With that said, be sure to add this to your employment gap and be ready to provide the reasons behind this relocation. To make this count during an interview, it’s best to share the remarkable experiences gained when you relocated, the challenges, the strengths you’ve achieved, and how you can use this in the new role you’re eyeing.
- Traveling: Traveling can be a great way to learn about new cultures and gain new experiences. If you’ve taken time off to travel, be sure to highlight the skills and knowledge you’ve gained during your travels. You’re also encouraged to elaborate on those skills and knowledge that you’ve learned, as this may be valuable information that the interviewer might note during your interview.
- Pursuing education: If you’ve taken time off to pursue education, be sure to list your degrees and certifications on your resume. You can also include a brief description of your coursework and research interests. Share your remarkable accomplishments and leverage on these, too!
- Military service: If you’ve served in the military, be sure to include your military experience on your resume. This is a great way to demonstrate your leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.
- Starting a business: If you’ve started your own business, be sure to include it on your resume. This is a great way to show your entrepreneurial spirit and your ability to take initiative. Another strength to highlight is your leadership skills and high motivation for the job role you’re applying for.
Job interview tips: let’s now look further into explaining employment gaps in your resume.
Use the time to prepare for your return to the workforce during unemployment.
Job interview tips: to effectively address employment gaps in your resume, you must utilize your time wisely during unemployment. This can be achieved by engaging in productive activities that enhance your professional development. Allocate this time to obtain relevant certifications, enroll in continuing education courses, actively participate in professional organizations, and engage in volunteer or contract work. These pursuits can yield valuable and positive experiences that can serve as effective strategies for filling employment gaps when composing your resume.
Identify the essential positions or roles that should be considered for inclusion.
Job interview tips: when writing a resume, you may wonder if you should include every job you’ve ever had. While it’s generally a good idea to be comprehensive, it may not be necessary to list every single position, mainly if your employment gap occurred early in your career and you have several years of professional experience since then. Generally, you should include only your most recent and most relevant employment experiences in the employment section of your resume. Once you determine which jobs you need to include in your resume, you can evaluate which employment gaps you need to explain.
To conceal small gaps, consider leaving out the month.
Job interview tips: when you have short employment gaps between jobs, you can hide them by omitting the month from the dates of each experience. Instead, simply list the years you were employed in each position. This method works best if the gaps are less than a year and you worked in each position for over a year. For example, if you were employed in one position from March 2015 to January 2017 and didn’t start your next job until July 2017, you can disguise the gap by listing the dates of your first job as 2015-2017 and the dates of your next job as 2017-present. While this can help your resume pass an initial screening, you may be asked about specific dates during an interview, so be prepared to explain any gaps positively.
Use a resume style or format that makes the gap less obvious
Job interview tips: Consider adopting a functional resume format to make employment gaps less apparent. This format emphasizes skills and achievements over work experience. Include sections like a career summary statement and critical accomplishments to highlight your positive experiences. Lastly, position the employment section toward the end of your resume. Combining this approach with minimizing employment gaps can further reduce the impact of small gaps.
Create a separate section to list the reasons for longer employment gaps.
Job interview tips: when faced with an employment gap longer than a year, your resume may highlight the gap even when using a functional format or listing only the years. To address this, consider including a brief entry within the experience section, framing your activities during the gap as if it were a job. For instance, if you spent four years as a stay-at-home parent until your child was ready for preschool, include this experience concisely in the same section as your other work history. For example:
Full-time parent, Cambridge, MA, 2006 – 2010
I took time away from my professional career to raise my child and also to manage our household
When a gap exists in an applicant’s work history, incorporate any relevant experiences acquired during that period.
Job interview tips: when applying for a position, consider including more detailed information in your employment gap entry if you can relate the experience gained during that period to the role’s requirements. Highlight specific examples of daily activities and responsibilities from your employment gap that align with the duties and responsibilities of the position you are seeking.
Job interview tips: Suppose you have a two-year employment gap because you devoted your time to being a full-time caregiver for an elderly relative. If you are now applying for a position as a nurse, your experience section might include a description of this gap that looks like this:
Full-time caregiver, Jersey City, NJ, 2015 – 2017
I acted as a full-time caregiver to my granddad, thus the need to take time away from my professional career
Ensured that his vital signs were checked on a regular basis to gauge recovery progress
Assisted my granddad with daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and feeding
Administered his medications as prescribed by his physician
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