When recruiting for a position, employers expect viable candidates to have a clear and consistent employment history. Significant gaps in an individual's career are viewed with suspicion. If they are a factor on your CV, think carefully about how you communicate the reasons behind them. People might have large gaps in employment for all sorts of reasons: raising a family, travelling, caring for a sick relative or simply not being able to find the right job.
Make the most of your gaps
Remember a CV is simply a means to market yourself to prospective employers and in the cases mentioned above there is an opportunity to put a ‘positive spin’ on the circumstances. If you have taken a career break to go travelling, for example, focus on the positive experiences you had in this time especially if they can be made relevant to the job you are applying for. On your travels you may have learnt a foreign language and acquired knowledge of different cultures, customs and traditions. Such knowledge could be of great value to organisations that operate on a global scale.
It is important to acknowledge gaps in your CV. Do not be tempted to gloss over the holes by omitting them, as this will be obvious and simply lead to an unpleasant interview experience. Make sure you are prepared to answer questions about your employment gaps. You are under no obligation to divulge a detailed analysis, the bare facts are sufficient assuming they are satisfactory. For example “a family member was ill and I was responsible for caring for them. Once they recovered I was able to start looking for a job.” This goes straight to the point and leaves little room for confusion.
Even an extended job search can be a legitimate reason for a gap in employment. Instead of revealing that you were desperately seeking employment for six months you can make this time-scale look designed rather than excessive. Emphasise that on leaving your previous job you were determined that the next career move would be the correct one. This entailed taking however long to carry out an intelligent and thorough search. Conclude that you believe the process worked very well and you will have given the impression of a carefully conceived, well thought-out job search.
Adopt a new CV format
If you do not feel confident in putting the ‘positive spin’ on the gaps in your career history there is another option. You can change the format of your CV to what is known as a ‘functional’ CV as opposed to the more traditional chronological CV. The format focuses more on an individual’s skills in various areas rather than a timeline of employment history.
Functional CVs tend to consist of four categories: summary of qualifications, areas of strengths, professional experience and additional experience. Once again do not leave out dates in your employment section. Make a positive out of your break in employment by including skills you picked up in the additional experience section. So if you did any courses during the gap put them here. If you travelled, you could say you know how to work effectively within a budget.
When accommodating gaps in employment into CVs or your interview dialogue, the trick is to be creative. No matter how long the period might be, find a positive angle.