Please mind the gap

By Emma Davies PLEASE MIND THE GAP

It can be worrying to see gaps in your CV when applying for a new job. And career breaks are certainly not out of the ordinary, especially if you are a military spouse or partner who relocates regularly. However, there is no need to be concerned. Emma Davies, director of the specialist recruitment company Joint Force Alba, is here to discuss gaps in employment and how to positively address them on your CV.

WHAT IS A CAREER GAP?

Essentially, a career gap is a time in your life where you take time away from work due to a change of lifestyle or to pursue an interest. Believe it or not, gaps in a CV are relatively common. Most recruiters won’t be concerned about a gap of a couple of weeks. However, anything around a month or more will likely attract their attention, particularly if it’s been within the last five years.

There are many reasons why you might have a gap in your employment history. You may have had caring responsibilities for children, spouses/partners, or elderly relatives. A return to education, either formal or via a series of training courses, could mean you didn’t have time to work. In addition, redundancy might have come at short notice, and you may not have been able to secure new employment yet – job hunting is timeconsuming and can be a full-time role in itself.

On top of these reasons, personal health concerns and recovery may have made working unsustainable. And for transitioning military personnel and their relocating families, the nature of these two activities could mean there are gaps on their CVs.

Life happens to us all, and you cannot always avoid career gaps.

WHAT DO EMPLOYERS THINK?

Unfortunately, employers are still wary about unexplained CV gaps, despite them being relatively common, because it puts doubt in their minds about you as a candidate. It makes them wonder what you are not telling them or what you could be hiding. Many employers, especially when the job market is very candidate-led, will question why no one else has employed you in that time period. Why have you struggled to find a new role? However, a gap in your career history is nothing to be ashamed of − whether you have been in control of the situation that brought about the gap or not. But as with so many things in life, it’s what you do with the circumstances and your career break that counts.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT A GAP IN YOUR CV?

The main things to remember are honesty and positivity. I would recommend explaining any recent gaps that have been longer than a month. It’s a good idea to include them chronologically in your career history, to make it easy for an employer to see. For example, ‘Date from − Date to: Career break due to travelling/caring/ relocation, etc.’ You don’t want to leave an employer with too many questions about your circumstances.

Now, suppose you have a career gap due to personal health reasons or a change in family circumstances, such as a divorce or bereavement. In that case, it’s understandable why you might be hesitant to put these details on your CV. Firstly, don’t include any more than you’re comfortable with. In fact, just putting ‘Date from – Date to: Career break’ may be sufficient for some recruiters.

However, if you do mention a career gap without providing any details, a recruiter may ask you questions about it later. So you might want to consider including a brief outline in a covering letter or email accompanying your application. That way, it is not on the CV for anyone to see but is explained in a targeted letter. This can be a great option if you plan to upload your CV onto a jobs board and don’t want your reason for a career break to become public knowledge.

Remember, an employer wants to ensure they are hiring the most suitable candidate for the role, so they will want to gain as much information about you as possible. Whilst you might think it’s quite personal information to share, if you’re not transparent from the beginning, you’ll likely find more obstacles to overcome later.

THINK POSITIVE

A career gap is often a case of turning lemons into lemonade. Firstly, you can make it into an advantage. It’s likely you will have developed skills during your career break that you can put on your CV. For example, if you have been caring for others, chances are there has been a good dose of time and resource management involved, not to mention stakeholder engagement and communication skills, particularly if you’ve been looking after children or a relative living with dementia/Alzheimer’s.

If you’ve been travelling, you’ll probably have developed language skills and cultural awareness. If you’ve had to leave your job due to relocation, you will have honed your planning, project management, and logistics skills. Whilst I wouldn’t encourage you to write War and Peace about it, a couple of sentences can be beneficial. LinkedIn Learning. Whilst you might not come away with a formal qualification, it will demonstrate to an employer just how committed you are to personal development and improvement. Perhaps it will open doors for you that you hadn’t previously considered.

You may have time to do some voluntary work. Again, this is a significant plus for employers, as it keeps your skills fresh and you’ll possibly learn new ones. Keeping up to date with any technological, legal, or industry innovations is also really important. You can join online webinars or read articles to help keep your knowledge current, which you can explain to a potential employer.

Remember, be forthcoming about any career gaps and don’t try to hide or shy away from them. Employers want people they can trust, so make that something you show them from the start by being open and honest.

Secondly, if you’re applying for your first role following a career break, it is an excellent opportunity to explain why you feel this role is the perfect one to get you back into work and how ready you are to take on new challenges and responsibilities.

Whatever you do, don’t try to hide or lie about your career gap by ‘stretching’ previous employment dates to cover it. Most employers will take references that include checking previous employment dates. If yours and your last employer’s dates don’t match up, it’s unlikely to work in your favour.

ARE YOU IN A CAREER GAP NOW?

If you’re currently in a career gap or are planning one in the future, try to use the time as productively as possible. This way, you can demonstrate how resourceful you’ve been to future employers.

For example, many organisations offer free training online, such as Open University short courses and Put a positive spin on the situation and turn that career gap into a strength to help you stand out from other applicants.

About the author Emma Davies , Joint Force Alba: Ex-Military Recruitment

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