Resume gap

What It Means

A resumeResumeA short document that sums up your work history, skills, education and results for an employer, usually sent with a job application. See more gap is a period with no paid work between the jobs on your resume. Common reasons include raising children, caring for a relative, illness or recovery, going back to school, moving, a layoff, or a long search for the next job. CareerOneStop, the U.S. Department of Labor's career site, says employers are more flexible about gaps than they used to be, and it suggests ways to arrange a resume so your skills lead.

How People Say It at Work

• "How do I explain the two years I was home with the kids?"
• "There's a gap on my resume from when I was sick."
• "Will they ask about the year I wasn't working?"

The Breakdown

How to handle a gap (Buhata's suggestion, built on CareerOneStop's guide)

1. Keep the dates on every job. CareerOneStop notes that some employers and most applicant tracking systems reject resumes without them.
2. Lead with a professional summary and 3 or 4 major skills for the job you want. CareerOneStop says employers focus on the top 30% of a resume, and it recommends a skills section first for people with gaps.
3. Consider a combination format, skills first and work history after, which CareerOneStop suggests to minimize gaps and show skills from paid and unpaid work.
4. Name the gap in one line if it's long, such as "Family caregiver" with the dates, and list anything you did in it: volunteering, courses, freelance jobsFreelancingWorking for yourself, selling your skills to different clients by the project or the hour instead of holding a long-term job with one employer. See more.
5. Use the cover letterCover letterA short letter sent with a resume that says which job you want, why you fit it and why this employer, in your own voice. See more for one or two sentences of context. CareerOneStop lists explaining employment gaps as one job a cover letter can do.
6. Practice a short spoken answer for the interviewJob interviewA conversation in which an employer asks about your experience and skills to decide whether to offer you a job, and you learn about the role. See more, then steer back to what you can do now.

Try it today. Write the one-line entry for your gap and one sentence you'd say about it out loud, under 20 words.

Good to Know

You don't have to give medical details. The EEOC says that before a job offer, an employer can't ask about a disability or ask questions likely to reveal one. Employers may ask whether you can do the job and how you'd do it, and about your education, work history and licenses. If you think a question crossed the line, the EEOC's website explains how to contact the agency.

Related Terms and Categories

• Resume

  A short document that sums up your work history, skills, education and results for an employer, usually sent with a job application.

• Cover letter

  A short letter sent with a resume that says which job you want, why you fit it and why this employer, in your own voice.

• Career break

  A planned stretch of months or years away from paid work, for caregiving, study, health, travel or rest, usually with a plan to return later.

• Returnship

  A paid, short-term program, often 12 to 16 weeks, that helps an experienced professional return to work after a career break, sometimes called a re-entry internship.

• Returning to work after baby

  The move back to a job after parental leave, which brings new childcare costs, a pumping plan for some parents, and federal rights worth knowing before day one.

• Job interview

  A conversation in which an employer asks about your experience and skills to decide whether to offer you a job, and you learn about the role.

Work, career and remote life