How to Explain Employment Gaps on Resumes [25 Tips]

Resume gaps can hurt your hiring chances and make employers wonder: “Why did they stop working? Are they lazy?”

Let’s dispel that. You can prove you’re worthy—even with employment gaps on a resume. You just need to show there’s no gap in your skills.

In this guide:

• A sample resume with gaps in employment better than most.
• How fill in employment gaps on resumes convincingly.
• Employment gaps on resume examples for sabbaticals, illness, death, depression, soul-searching, and career change.
• How to explain gaps in employment on resumes so you get hired.

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Sample Resume with Gaps in Employment You Can Copy and Use

That sample resume with employment gaps does one thing: It shows the gap fast, with proof you used key skills (check out our list of sample skills to put on a resume).

Does the employment gap on your resume come from a career change? See this guide: Resume for a Career Change. Are you writing a resume for a specific career? See our step-by-step resume samples and guides for dozens of professions. 

Now here’s how to fill employment gaps in your resume:

1. Be Honest When Explaining Employment Gaps on Resumes

Just want the quick and dirty facts? Here are the topline info for resume employment gaps on a resume:

How to Fill in Employment Gaps on Resumes

• Be honest. The employer will learn of gaps in employment on your resume with a basic background check.
• Be brief. Don’t agonize about the employment gap on your resume. Just show it and move on.
• Be proactive. Show how the gap added to your skill set. See examples below.
• Give the real reason for the job gap on your resume. Even if you think it’s silly, most employers won’t.
• Assure employers the resume gap will not recur.

• Show relevant experience after the gap if possible. Hiring teams don’t worry about gaps followed by experience.

• Worry about gaps shorter than 9 months. That’s not an employment gap. It just means you’re out of work!
• Cover gaps with dates. Leaving the months off your work history looks like you’re hiding something.
• Lie about the employment gap on your resume by saying you were saving kittens or working on a cure for cancer. Hiring teams can smell lies through a brick wall.

• Ignore a gap in employment longer than 9 months, especially in a resume for unskilled jobs.

Next, let’s see some good reasons for gaps in employment. Then I’ll give some employment gaps on resume examples.

Expert Hint: Don’t talk about the employment gap on your resume in a career summary or career objective. Save the top part of your resume for your brightest selling points.

2. Have Good Reasons for Gaps in Employment

Now the good news: Hiring teams will care what you went through.

They won’t think less of you if you give a good reason for employment gaps on your resume. Here are five:

Good Reasons for Gaps in Employment

• Illness. Were you or a loved one sick or injured? That’s a legit reason for a gap in employment on a resume.
• Death. Never be ashamed of an employment gap on your resume after a loved one dies.
• Tragedy. Miscarriage or other misfortune are legitimate reasons for employment gaps on resumes.
• Soul searching. Finding your path in life is noble and worthwhile. Many employers respect it.
• Tried a different career. Did you test the waters, then come back to your roots? That’s human. Hiring teams are human too.

The key? Don’t just give your reason. Show the employment gap on your resume bore fruit to help with your next job. And sssure them it’s a one-time thing.

Expert Hint: Put extra skills proof in your education resume section. An honors society or big project helps a lot in a resume with employment gaps.

3. Show the Employment Gap on Your Resume in Your Experience Section

Where should you put resume gaps?

The right place to show an employment gap on a resume is in your work history. List it as a sabbatical, and show three things:

1. List the start and end dates of the employment gap on your resume.
2. Give the reason for your resume employment gap.
3. Show you did something positive for your skill set in that time.

In other words, you need to show you weren’t just eating bon-bons. These employment gaps on resume examples show how:

Imagine the job ad wants skills in leadership, system development, Oracle Primavera P6, training, and working with cross-functional teams.

Employment Gap on a Resume—Experience Section

Experience

Sabbatical, 2017–present

• Took time off to be with family after loss of child.
• Founded Southern California Chapter of Butterfly Legacy Foundation.
• Handled all accounting and budgeting. Raised donations 50% in 1 yr.

IT Project Manager

Ermschwender Aerospace

2013–2017

• Developed system to raise efficiency of requirements management. Slashed 10 meeting hours a week for 10+ engineers.
• Managed 200+ projects with Oracle Primavera P6.
• Onboarded and trained 3 new IT hires.
• Worked with 10+ cross-functional teams to cut costs 20%.
• Facilitated integration of customer software into our workflow. Contributed to 25% increase in repeat business.

Experience

IT Project Manager

Ermschwender Aerospace

2013–2017 (2 years ago)

• Responsible for creating system to raise efficiency of requirements management.
• Managed IT projects.
• Worked with teams to cut costs.
• Facilitated integration of customer software into our workflow.

See that? You were up-front about your gap. You also showed the leadership skill they want—in the employment gap on your resume! You proved other skills in your work history. You customized your resume. Think they’ll hold that gap against you?

Expert Hint: Put “other” sections in your resume with skills the job wants. Certifications or conferences you spoke at can help outweigh employment gaps on resumes.

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4. More Employment Gaps on Resume Examples

Need more? See the employment gaps on resume examples below.

Each one touts a skill shown in the job ad. Each also says the employment gap on your resume is in the past.

Car accident gaps in employment on resume:

Cancer gap in employment on your resume:

Soul searching resume employment gap:

Tried different career employment gap on resume:

Each of those employment gaps on resume examples does two things:

1. It shows your gap helped build key skills.

2. It says the gap is history.

5. Choose the Right Resume Format for Employment Gaps on Resumes

Don’t make the mistake mistake of using the wrong resume format when filling the employement gaps on your resume. Use the reverse-chronological layout to put everything above board.

Employment Gaps on Resume Format

• Use a single-page resume with one-inch margins.
• Write with Didot, Cambria, or another trusted resume font in 10–12pt.
• Make resume sections like Heading, Summary, Experience, Education, and Skills.
• Add white space to let it breathe.
• Save PDF copies. PDF resumes travel well to different employers.

Expert Hint: You can also try a functional resume or combination resume to spotlight your skills and not your history. Beware—some recruiters don’t like functional resumes.

6. Stop Your Next Gap in Employment Before it Starts

The best advice? Don’t have another employment gap on your resume. The minute you’re out of work—

• Do some consulting. Use your skills to do a few hours of week of work.
• Volunteer. You’ll build transferable skills like teamwork or leadership.
• Freelance. Take on a small project here or there.
• Enroll in an online class. Lynda classes make great filler for employment gaps on a resume.

Expert Hint: You don’t need a full-time job to fill in a resume job gap. Even four or five hours a week of volunteering can help save face for your career.

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Key Points

Here’s how to fill in employment gaps on resumes:

• Use the employment gap on resume template up top. It puts your resume employment gap in the right place.
• Show a skill or two you used during the employment gap on your resume. Make it a skill the new job wants.
• If you accomplished something impressive, show it. Add numbers to make it real.
• Reassure employers the gap in employment on your resume was a one-time thing and won’t repeat.

Got questions on how to fill employment gaps on a resume? Need more employment gaps on resume examples? We’ll be happy to reply!

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