Reader Eliana needed two years off from work while she dealt with some personal issues – but will it make recruiters think badly of here? Jobs Guru James Innes is here with some advice
I have a gap of nearly two years on my CV after taking time away from work for personal and family reasons. I’m now ready to return, but I’m not sure how much detail employers will expect.
Part of me thinks I should explain it properly so nobody assumes the worst. Another part thinks it’s private and has nothing to do with whether I can do the job.
I’m also worried that mentioning the gap will draw even more attention to it. Should I put an explanation on the CV, wait until an interview, or simply leave the dates as they are and hope nobody makes too much of it?!
Eliana, Manchester
Well, I wouldn’t start by treating the gap as though it were a suspicious stain on the carpet, Eliana!
People step out of work for all sorts of reasons and most recruiters have seen it all before.
What can cause problems isn’t the gap itself, it’s the nervous fog around it. Dates are blurred, explanations become evasive, and the reader starts wondering whether there is some terrible secret being kept from them.
So my advice is to be straightforward about it all. Give the dates and, where useful, a short, plain explanation. “Career break to care for a family member” is quite enough. (You don’t owe strangers your private medical history or a small autobiography).
Then move on to what matters now. If you did anything relevant during that period – freelance work, voluntary work, training, keeping up with your profession – include it, yes. But don’t manufacture a heroic programme of self-improvement if the truth is quite simply that you had other things to deal with.
You may be asked about the gap at interview and my advice there is to answer without apology, show that the matter is settled (or manageable) and bring the conversation back to the job. Most reasonable recruiters will do the same.
Top Tip:
Explain a career gap briefly and without embarrassment. Give enough information to stop unnecessary guessing, then turn attention back to your experience, readiness and reasons for applying now.
Spotlight On: Disclosure
Recruiters sometimes ask about gaps because they genuinely need to understand the employment history. Fair enough. The manner of the question tells you rather more.
A sensible interviewer will ask briefly, listen to the answer and carry on. Another may start poking about as though they’re in the fraud squad. They want personal details, make disapproving little noises, or behave as if caring for a sick parent showed a lack of commitment.
Don’t assume you must surrender every private fact to prove your honesty. You can answer clearly without giving chapter and verse. And take note of the reaction.
An employer who cannot cope with the idea that adults occasionally have complicated lives may be giving you a very useful warning about the place before you have even joined it.
Get a head start in your job hunt with James’ new book, The Job You’ve Always Wanted – out now from Pearson at £16.99.
Our Jobs Guru, James Innes, is a best-selling careers author and founder of the world’s leading group of professional CV and resume writers .