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How to bridge that gap in your resume
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A reader emailed me recently to ask “How do I explain a small personal time off from employment on my resume?”
It’s a question I’ve been fielding more often lately, as more parents try to return to the workforce after time off, and as people begin to deal with layoffs.
It’s one of those questions that’s tough to answer without knowing details. A person’s profession or tenure in their field, the rest of their work history, why they have that gap in their resume, when it occurred and just how small it was are all factors that will determine just how big a deal it is.
But this is generally what I think:
You can’t hide gaps in your resume
If a person is seriously interested in interviewing you, they’re going to pay enough attention to your resume to see that you have a gap, or worse, they’ll suspect that you’re trying to hide a gap and will be wonder why you're trying to be slick.
So don't go out of your way to hide it. Put your dates of employment but don't call attention to them. Instead, hoose a format that draws attention first to your skills and experience. Hope that employers will be interested enough to give you the benefit of the doubt about that gap.
There are gaps and there are gaps
I think anything under six months won’t even raise an eyebrow and isn’t worth worrying about. Even a gap of up to a year won’t create a lot of fuss or worry if your work history is otherwise solid—with reputable employers and not a lot of job-hopping.
Life happens and hiring managers understand this. Maybe you couldn’t look for a new job while still employed in your old one. Maybe your mother was sick and your employer wouldn’t give you the leave you needed to take care of her. Maybe you always wanted to backpack across Asia and finally took time off to do it. Maybe you were laid off during the last downturn.
If the gap was sizeable but a while ago—say during the last recession—and you’ve been gainfully employed in the mean time it’s probably not going to be a deal breaker for anyone.
Be ready to talk about it
Regardless of the size of the gap or when it happened you should know what you want to say if anyone asks about it. Presumably you have a reasonable explanation that also happens to be true.
Keep it simple and couch it in terms that reflect the best on you.
If you took time off to deal with a family issue, explain the issue, and that you felt it was a period where family had to come before work or that you didn’t feel it was fair to your employer to keep working while your attention was needed elsewhere. Then explain how that issue has since resolved itself so your potential employer is reassured you won’t be running out on him anytime soon.
If you were laid off, depersonalize the situation. Say that the company or the industry or the economy hit a down cycle and there were layoffs. Or say the company shifted direction and made a lot of staff changes. But don’t say “I was laid off,” which will make others wonder if you were dead weight the company was shedding.
Wait for the other person to bring it up
Don’t add a sentence on your resume explaining that you spent three years raising your children. Don’t feel obligated to use your cover letter to explain that you’re looking for work after a foray into business ownership didn’t work out. Don’t open your interview by saying how great it would be to be working again.
Wait for the other person to notice that you spent some time doing something other than punching the clock, and to decide that it matters and to ask about it. Because if you have the right experience, the right resume and the right attitude, they might not.
