Addressing employment gaps in your resume is important to ensure those gaps don’t harm the impression formed about you. Knowing how to include employment gaps as a positive can help you create a great impression.

Gaps can occur for both voluntary and involuntary reasons, and gaps may exist for good reasons. How you spend your time while unemployed and how you explain your gap is usually more important than the reason for your gap in employment. Try to focus on the positives, rather than any negatives, and be prepared.

A list of positive reasons for employment gaps you can list are:-

·        Time spent looking for a new job

·        Being laid off because of organisational changes

·        Taking time off to be a stay-at-home parent

·        Taking time off to be a caregiver

·        Taking time off for medical leave

·        Time spent furthering your education

·        Time spent gaining certificates or licensing

·        Relocating from one geographic area to another

·        Gap years spent on personal development

Where possible, include the experience that you gained during the gap when relevant. If you can relate the knowledge or experience you gained during the gap to the position you are applying for, then it may be beneficial to include more information on the gap.

You can also make gaps appear less obvious by using a resume style or format such as a functional resume format. A functional format focuses more on your skills and achievements than on your timeline. You can include a career summary statement of key accomplishments to make positive experiences you have the focus of your resume.

If you get the interview, be prepared to answer questions on gaps. Prepare a succinct but plausible answer and practice it out loud until you sound relaxed and genuine.

“I was unfortunately made redundant in [month, year] and rather than starting a new role straight away, I took the opportunity to pursue my passion for [state] and to visit [region], somewhere I have always wanted to visit and see.”

“The gap you see in my resume was due to caring for [person], and given the level of care required, I made the conscious decision to take a break from work in order to care for them fulltime.”

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