How to Explain an Employment Gap on Your Resume

Whether you took time off to care for a family member, pursue further education, or navigate a career transition, having employment gaps on your resume shouldn't deter you from pursuing your dream role. 

In this article, we'll cover how to explain gaps in employment on your resume with some examples. You'll also find helpful tips for addressing those in a cover letter and interview so you can confidently jump into job searching. 

What Are Employment Gaps?

Employment gaps on a resume refer to periods where an individual was not employed or had a break in their work history. Employment gaps can occur for various reasons, such as taking time off to travel, raising a family, pursuing further education, or being unemployed. 

Potential employers understand that life circumstances and personal pursuits can lead to employment gaps. Still, they will want to know how you utilized that time. They will often choose candidates who remained engaged in personal or professional development. 

Why it’s important to address employment gaps

It’s always best to be transparent about an employment gap in your resume. Leaving resume gaps unexplained can raise red flags for employers, leading them to question your commitment or reliability.

By proactively explaining your employment gap, you can demonstrate your dedication to your chosen field and your ability to overcome challenges. 

Moreover, it’s an opportunity to highlight skills and educational experiences you gained during that time and turn these periods into valuable assets that set you apart from other candidates.

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Steps for Explaining Gaps in Employment

While it may seem challenging, addressing employment gaps can be straightforward. Follow these steps to ensure you maximize the opportunity to show your commitment to professional development:

STEP 1

Decide if it’s necessary to display your employment gap 

The first step in addressing an employment gap is to decide if it belongs on your resume. Your resume should be two pages at most and cover the last 10 years of your career. 

If your employment gap happened early in your career or lasted only a month or so, you may omit it from your resume and focus on your most recent and job-relevant positions. 

However, if your employment gaps happened more recently in your career or were long gaps, you should account for them in your resume. 

STEP 2

Choose the right resume format

Your resume format can be an excellent tool for effectively framing gaps in resumes. 

Professionals with lengthy employment gaps should opt for a functional resume format to emphasize their professional skills and achievements over their employment history. 

STEP 3

Fill in the gaps

Be honest. Explain what you were doing during each employment gap, whether it was a personal project or achievement that shows your passion and drive, volunteer work that displays your desire to help others, or professional training that helped prepare you for your next role.

For example, if you used your time for a community service project, you could add it to your work history like this:

Or if you took some time off to raise your children, your employment gap might look like this:

STEP 4

Highlight transferable skills

Show potential employers that you learned valuable job-relevant skills during your employment gap. One way to do this is to highlight the transferable skills you picked up during a personal project, freelance work, or while traveling abroad. 

For example, you can create a dedicated section on your resume called “Core Competencies” to spotlight your transferable skills, like this:

How to Write an Employment Gap on Your Resume

The key to explaining gaps in your resume is addressing them head-on and using your strong writing skills to spin it positively. Here's how to explain employment gaps when writing your resume: 

In your professional summary or resume objective

Suppose you took time off to raise a family, focus on an entrepreneurial venture, go back to school, or travel. In that case, you can briefly mention it in your professional summary or objective. 

For example:

In your skills section

In addition to listing your essential hard and soft skills, you can create a separate skills section titled "Core Competencies" or "Key Qualifications," where you include the skills gained during your employment gap.

For example, suppose you spent a year developing a community outreach program. In that case, you might add a separate skills section like this: 

In your employment history

Chances are, the employment gap on your resume will be obvious in your work history section, so treat it like a job.

If you used the time away from work to volunteer, you can add your volunteer experience in the same format as in your past job roles like this: 

In your educational background

When addressing employment gaps in the education section of your resume, highlight the value and relevance of the experiences you undertook during that time.

One approach is to list any relevant courses, certifications, workshops, or training programs completed during the gap period. This demonstrates a commitment to continuous learning and skill development.

For example:

In the above example, the job seeker has used their education section to address employment gaps by including relevant coursework completed during their MBA studies.

By mentioning that they pursued their MBA during a career break, they provide context for the gap in their employment history and highlight their commitment to professional development.

Addressing Employment Gaps in Your Cover Letter

Addressing employment gaps in a cover letter requires a tactful approach that highlights your strengths and explains the reasons behind the gap in a positive light.

Here are seven tips for explaining employment gaps in your cover letter:

Discussing Employment Gaps in an Interview

Addressing employment gaps in a job interview requires honesty, confidence, and an emphasis on how you used that time to grow personally and professionally.

Here are seven ways to address employment gaps effectively during a job interview:

Key Takeaways