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CV Writing Help

CV Writing

The Perfect CV

Employment Gaps

How Your Job History Can Affect Your Career

CVs Versus Resumes

Covering Letters

CV Templates - Advice

Spelling and Grammar

Explaining Gaps in Employment

It can sometimes be difficult to account for gaps in employment within your CV, particularly if they are for potentially negative reasons. However, it is important to try and include some explanation for these gaps otherwise potential employers could make assumptions of their own and completely disregard your CV.

Avoid using months

Some gaps in employment are only for a short period of time, a matter of just a few weeks or a couple of months, and it is relatively easy to avoid highlighting these in the CV. Throughout the employment section, just put the years of employment rather than the months and these gaps will disappear by themselves.

Travelling

Taking time off to travel is seen by some employers as negative as it could reflect a lack of commitment or a tendency to want to take long leaves of absence. However, it is possible to include travel time in a positive way by highlighting the experiences you enjoyed and any qualities that you may have developed during this time. For example, overseas travel could enhance your cultural awareness and independence as well as your skills in time and budget management.

Training

You may have a gap in your employment as a result of taking time off for further study and this is by no means a negative reason. Just make sure that you include the date next to the qualification undertaken so that potential employers can make the link between the gap in your employment and the time spent studying.

Maternity leave

This is the reason behind many gaps in employment and nowadays paternity leave is becoming increasingly common as well, so it is perfectly acceptable to include it in your CV. Your covering letter could also be used to emphasise the fact that now is the right time for you to return to work and that all necessary childcare arrangements are in place to facilitate this.

Unemployment

Possibly one of the most common reasons for gaps in employment is the fact that you simply could not find the right job at that time. Although common, this can also be one of the hardest reasons to explain in a positive way. The trick is to try and mention anything productive that you did during this time so that potential employers do not think that you have been idle. Perhaps you have undertaken voluntary work which could have provided you with new skills and experiences or maybe you completed further training during this time. Either way, your covering letter should make it clear that you were at least proactive in your job search and that you are ready to start a new job as soon as possible.

Illness/Injury

It is sometimes necessary to take prolonged periods away from the workplace to recover from an illness or accident. If this is the case, the important thing here is to make sure that potential employers are reassured that you have now recovered and are capable of returning to work.

Be honest

No matter how negative you think the reasons are for any gaps in employment, it really is essential that you do not try to hide them by extending the length of time spent in other positions. This sort of cover-up is easily detected if future employers seek references from your previous employers and will make them question your honesty and trustworthiness. Just make sure that you try to make each reason for a gap in employment sound as positive as you can with details provided of any skills, qualifications or attributes that you acquired along the way.