There’s no shame in having a few employment gaps on your resume. People need to step back from the workforce for any number of reasons, including caring for family members, relocation to a new city, or a medical issue. However, it’s important to know how to explain gaps in employment, especially on your resume and in job interviews.
Let’s break down why employment gaps matter and how to address them with hiring managers and recruiters. With the right explanation (and resume format), these gaps don’t need to be career-killers.
Why Do Employment Gaps Matter?
Hiring managers and recruiters want to know whether a candidate is reliable; if they see a resume with a number of prominent employment gaps, they might assume that the candidate has trouble holding down a job for some reason. As a result, they may be less inclined to move that candidate forward in the job process.
However, there are many solid reasons for a candidate to have an employment gap, including:
- Caretaking for a family member
- Pursuing an educational opportunity
- A layoff during a bad job market
- Medical issues
- Geographical relocation
We’ll break down what to do if one of these applies to you.
What Should You Do if You Have an Employment Gap?
Never try to cover up a gap. While not all organizations research job candidates, many do, and it’s likely they’ll discover the gap on their own. Instead, tackle the issue head-on. You have some options here:
Explain in Your Cover Letter: Provide a brief, matter-of-fact explanation, something like: “My position was one of many eliminated at Company X in February 2021. I underwent successful surgery and recuperated for six months. I am now fully healthy and eager to return to work, and am currently taking a course in Technology Y to keep my skills up-to-date.” Don’t spend too much time on it—cover letters have limited space—but enough to convey that you were proactive during that time.
List the Gap(s) in Your Resume: You may also choose to define the gap in your experience section (“2020-2021: Medical Leave”). If you take this route, make sure to use a few bullet-points beneath to explain how you kept your skills up-to-date, pursued any educational opportunities, and so on—you want to show potential employers that, even during your downtime, you focused on new skills.
Tell the Recruiter or Hiring Manager: If you engage in a one-on-one discussion with a recruiter or hiring manager, pre-empt an awkward moment by bringing up your gap period. Again, explain how you used the gap to improve and maintain your skills. If you’re persuasive enough, you may even transform any recruiters into advocates for you with employers.
Training and Education During a Gap are Key
Again, it’s important to show a hiring manager or recruiter that you spent your gap continuing to learn important skills. You may want to use your application to highlight personal projects or code commits made during your gap period. This will help underscore that you’re still very much at the top of your game.
How to Solve Smaller Employment Gaps
Not everyone steps away from the workforce for long periods of time. Occasionally, you may have a gap of a few months between jobs, especially if you were laid off and need time to apply to new positions. Most employers aren’t that concerned about these small gaps, but if they bother you, consider stripping the months from your resume. For example,
Software Engineer, Big Tech Company
December 2018 – January 2022
Would become:
Software Engineer, Big Tech Company
2018 – 2022
You can also consider eliminating older jobs from your resume, especially if your gap periods were well into the past. Hiring managers and recruiters generally want to see your experience and skills most relevant to the open position; if your gap was several years ago, and you can craft an effective resume by only including your jobs from the past few years, consider truncating your experience. It will free up space and eliminate gaps—a win-win.
