Explaining gaps in your resume - what’s the best approach?
The worst has happened. For whatever reason, you’ve been out of work for a little while and now you’re ready to rejoin the job market but you’re worried that the big, shining gap in your resume will hold you back. What do you do?
Good news! That big gap in employment is not the CV taboo that it once was, and you’re not alone. In fact, a recent survey by LinkedIn showed that out of 23,000 workers and more than 7,000 hiring managers surveyed, nearly two-thirds had taken a career break at some point and just over a third of them intend to take one in the future.
On top of that, nearly half of the employers surveyed felt that candidates with career gaps were an untapped talent pool.
Whatever the reason for them, gaps in your resume are no longer something to be ashamed of. But you should still be prepared to address your career break during the interview process.
So what’s the best approach? Read on for our top five tips:
Be honest (but don’t overshare)
If you have an obvious gap in your resume, trying to minimise or disguise it from the interviewer is not a good look. As we mentioned before, there is far less stigma around career breaks nowadays so it’s far better to be upfront with potential employers about your time off work and address it early on.
Be honest about the reason you had a career break, but do not feel the need to share personal information if you don’t feel comfortable doing so.
For example, if your career break was due to burnout or illness simply say something like: ‘I left my job to allow myself to rest and recover from health-related issues and re-assess my career goals’.
You shouldn’t feel bad about taking time away from work, no matter the reason for it, so don’t feel embarrassed to address your career break in an upfront and honest manner.
Reformat your resume
Most standard CVs are formatted chronologically, which makes extended career gaps stand out very clearly. The good news is that, although it’s generally preferred, a chronological resume is not your only option.
Other resume formats include a skills-based or functional resume or a hybrid chronological/functional resume.
A functional resume will focus on your skills rather than your work experience. The usual layout would consist of detailed bullet points describing your career accomplishments and skills, followed by a brief list of your work history.
However, recruiters generally dislike this format because it can be hard to read and understand the true extent of your skills and ability. One way to combat this is to create a hybrid functional and chronological CV.
Typically, a CV of this format would include the following sections:
- Contact details
- Brief bio/summary
- Skill summary
- Work experience
- Additional skills
- Education
When writing your skills summary, be sure to describe how you’ve used these skills in the past and any achievements related to these skills.
For example,
SEO and Content Writing
Created a personal travel blog where I posted regular, SEO-optimised content and grew my audience to 500+ monthly visitors within the first year.’
Similarly, when it comes to describing your work history, try to focus on achievements rather than just your responsibilities.
This style of resume allows you to emphasise and highlight your skills and abilities and takes focus away from any lengthy career gaps you may have had.
Provide context in your cover letter
Regardless of the format of your CV, an employer will still be curious to understand why you have had time away from work. Rather than leaving them guessing and risk your application being unfairly disregarded, provide further information about this career gap in your cover letter.
Again, you don’t need to share overly personal details but adding a line or two explaining the reason for your time away from work and describing how you kept up with the industry in that time will stop employers from jumping to their own conclusions.
Be prepared to discuss it in the interview
You are likely going to be questioned about your career gap in an interview setting so it pays to be prepared.
Acknowledge the reason for your absence and let the interviewer know how you have prepared to reenter the workforce since leaving your last position.
You do not need to provide personal details about the reasons for your time away from work and you’re well within your rights to refuse to answer any questions that make you feel uncomfortable. For more advice about how to respond to inappropriate interview questions, read our blog here[1] .
Turn it into a positive
Ultimately, the best approach to explaining gaps in your resume, is to turn it into a positive thing and find ways to show an employer that this time actually makes you a better candidate for the role than you would have been without it.
For example:
Time away travelling
‘In 2019, I left work for a year to spend time travelling. It has always been a goal of mine to travel extensively before age 30 and I was proud to have finally achieved this. During my travels, I met many incredible people, experienced new cultures and truly expanded my horizons. I also learned valuable lessons about planning, budgeting, and adapting to changing circumstances which I am looking forward to implementing in a workplace setting.’
Redundancy
‘At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I sadly lost my job due to company wide redundancies. I decided to make the most of this unfortunate situation to reassess my career goals and undertake X,Y and Z courses to level up my skills in preparation for re-joining the workforce.’
Carer responsibilities
‘Recently, I have taken extensive time away from work in order to focus my energy on raising my children while they were very young. Being a parent has taught me more than I could have imagined about how to stay calm and level-headed in stressful situations, how to multitask and how to work well with my partner as a team. My youngest is now in school and I am ready to return to work with all of these newfound skills and experiences under my belt.’
Ready to re-enter the workforce?
Ready to get back to work but not sure where to start? Let Conquest Recruitment help you! Speak to a member of the team today. Or for more advice and guidance on explaining gaps in your resume and finding the job that’s right for you, check out our blog here.
