Tips on Addressing Gaps in a Resume to Take Control of Your Career

Addressing work gaps in a resume can be a very tricky task. Taking time off from work or being forced to do it due to unavoidable circumstances is something that most workers encounter at different parts of their careers. These issues are often inevitable but they do still have an impact on an employee’s future prospects. These individuals don’t permanently lose their experience or knowledge during the period but an employment gap on a resume is still seen as unfavorable.

Workers face considerable stress over how to explain their resume gaps to future employers but these gaps are not treated as negatively as one might think.

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Addressing Gaps in Resume—Getting Set To Restart Your Career

Employment gaps on resumes are fairly common—some take a break from work to recuperate and come back stronger and others might have to step away from work to care for an ailing relative or get medical help themselves. There are still others who might have a resume gap due to a fluctuating job market that made it difficult to find employment immediately. These are all valid experiences that individuals may encounter, but there is little time to explain these circumstances in detail to help an interviewer understand exactly what happened to the employee.

These resume gaps have traditionally been perceived negatively because employers make the assumption that if an employee has taken a long break before, they are likely to leave work again. There is also the belief that an employee who has taken a break from work might not have the skills necessary to keep up with their jobs. 

There are many measures that an organization can take to verify whether the candidate will be able to handle their new role but their performance here is often overshadowed by the bias held against those with employment gaps on their resume. 

What Does the Research Have to Say?

According to Harvard Business Review, these attitudes are not as firmly held as they once used to be but they’re still a very real problem faced by candidates. A LinkedIn survey found that nearly two-thirds of its respondents had taken a career break of some sort in 2022. Career breaks are so common that LinkedIn has made changes to its platform to allow users to provide an explanation directly for the non-employed period. HBR’s own poll exploring the matter found that 61 percent of respondents were still averse to seeing resume gaps. 

The research also showed that employment gaps in resumes hurt not only in terms of locating work but also with regard to pay. When moving jobs, those with resume gaps were still able to secure a 14 percent pay raise, but those without a professional break saw a 22 percent pay raise. These numbers can be disheartening, but a major takeaway from this is that there is still room to continue finding new jobs and pay raises despite the transition. It is not a lost cause, which is why you need to master how to explain resume gaps proficiently.

Learning How to Explain Resume Gaps

It can be very intimidating to return to work after a break. Micro changes permeate through the workforce, HR managers approach hiring differently, and the industry regularly moves a few steps ahead of where it was when you stepped away. Despite these challenges, countless people have found their footing again and transitioned back to the workforce with ease. 

A considerable number of people have become more open about sharing their stories and experiences online, and the discussion on taking time to care for their mental and physical health has largely helped in the discussion. This transition has made it a lot easier to address the gaps in a resume without fear of being turned away. When it comes to looking for future employment, addressing gaps in the resume with confidence is a big part of moving forward in your career.

The better you are able to explain the gaps in your resume in the brief time that is allowed, the more likely you will be to find your ideal job again. 

Honesty Is the Best Policy

It can be very tempting to invent an illness or a family emergency or weave a dramatic tale of your struggles in order to win the sympathy of your future employer. However, in most cases, it is better to lead with honesty. 

This does not mean you have to blurt out the truth unfiltered about how you hated your job and had to leave. The response should be framed in a way that still conveys that you intended for the break to be temporary and are now back with a fresh perspective and the collective advantages of all the skills you picked up during your time away.

If you had to take a break due to poor health, explain that you need time to work on yourself and recuperate without hurting the business, but you feel you are ready to return to work. If it was a forced break because there was a lack of employment opportunities, explain that the job market wasn’t offering the kind of opportunities that you needed but feel that the ones you are applying for right now are a good fit for you. 

Do Not Overemphasize The Work Dates In Your Resume

If you have a break period in your resume, do not try to falsify the dates and months and pretend the gap never existed. It can be very easy for the recruiter to call up your old employers and gain some perspective into your work experience and the lie will reflect more poorly on you than any career gaps could. 

At the same time, you can also avoid drawing excessive attention to the dates and months via the format you choose for the document. If an employer’s eyes are drawn to the dates before anything else on the resume, you’ll only hurt your chances of making it to the interview where you can explain your career history. 

Have A Brief Explanation of Your Reasoning For the Gap Ready to Go

Not all interviewers are going to bring up the employment gaps on your resume. Very often, a 3-4 month gap might be easily written off as the transition period between roles, especially if you have a lot of experience in the industry. Don’t draw attention to the gap or bring it up unless the interviewer does. 

If the interviewer does question you about the break in your professional experience, have a brief and honest explanation ready to go. The interviewer is rarely looking for an in-depth analysis and will be satisfied by an explanation of the main circumstance for example:

• I need to move cities after coming to the end of my lease and now that my family is settled, I can return to work
• I had to take care of an ailing family member who was unable to care for themselves and wanted to dedicate all my energy to their care
• I wanted to focus on my professional development and took some time off to update my knowledge and understanding of the industry as a whole by completing a few courses on topics of interest
• I needed to take a step back and re-evaluate my career and what I needed to do next in order to grow more holistically
• I wanted to ensure the next work opportunity was one that I truly aligned with so I could do my best to fulfill that role. As a result, I have been more selective about the positions I apply for and ensure they truly resonate with them
• I felt it was better for me to take a few months to focus on my health so I could come back to work with a fresh perspective and a renewed drive to reach my career goals

Highlight Any Professional Insights You Gained During Your Break

After you mention the reason for the resume gap, try to highlight some of the professional takeaways from that period. Read about any major changes in the industry, popular trends, software that is becoming more relevant, new techniques that are gaining popularity, research papers that have come out recently, campaigns that have performed or failed, etc. If you have time, try to complete a professional course or two that might be relevant to your industry.

If you work in a field that doesn’t necessarily have as much information to study or follow, focus on highlighting the skill sets you worked on during that period.

Shine a Light on the Skills You Picked Up During Your Break

When it comes to taking a professional break there are a lot of experiences you might have that don’t appear to correlate to professional development at first glance. Despite that, skill development and knowledge growth can happen even from unexpected sources. While caring for a parent, you might pick up on leadership skills, decision-making, communication with experts, etc. that have helped you address the issues better. 

If you had chosen to travel during the break, you might be able to highlight how you gained a wider perspective, learned about the importance of sensitivity in communication, mastered the skill of negotiation, etc. Don’t oversell the experience and list 15 different skills you picked up, but try to think of at least one or two soft skills or insights that you gained. If these skills are particularly relevant to your new role or the organization you are applying to, it’s even better.

Keep Up To Date With You Professional Networks

Even when you are unemployed, it is helpful to try and stay active on professional platforms like LinkedIn and update your portfolio. When addressing gaps in your resume, it is more reassuring to the employer when they can see evidence that you haven’t disconnected from the industry entirely and can still interact with the same degree of professionalism. 

If you maintain your professional relationships, it will be much easier to find employment when you’re ready or show a new organization that your professional networks can still be beneficial to them.

Focus the Conversation on Your Future Goals

When you practice how to explain the resume gaps to an interviewer, simultaneously practice a brief explanation of your future goals too. When you are able to tell the employer that “I was able to take the time to think about my career and I now know the kind of leader I want to be,” you might be able to shift the focus to your future prospects instead of only analyzing the past.

If an employer is convinced that you are certain about wanting to return to work or that you have worked seriously since the last gap in your resume, they will be able to focus better on your qualifications. 

The pressure of explaining gaps in a resume feels considerable but in the modern world, most candidates see a brief break in their career at one point or the other. Some may be longer than others which might make it harder to come back from, but it’s never impossible. Temper your expectations on the kind of roles that you might have available immediately, but don’t sell yourself short either. The more confident you are about being qualified for a role, the easier it will be to convince the person who is going to hire you.

The post Tips on Addressing Gaps in a Resume to Take Control of Your Career appeared first on The HR Digest.

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