How to explain a CV gap?

Employers don’t like unexplained CV gaps. They can become instantly sceptical and unnecessarily suspicious of what you may have been doing during this time. Don’t give them any reason to think anything that may deter them from inviting you for an interview. Depending on the reasons for the CV gap, we have outlined below suggestions for how to explain it on your CV.

CV Gap Scenario 1: 

You have taken time out of the workplace to take care of family members.

Then just say that. State the years from 20XX to 20XY and call it what it is: 

2010-2017     Career break to care for family 

No need to try and justify this time by adding some dynamic description of how you spent those years juggling. Employers KNOW what’s involved. Just state the years so they can account for the time. That’s all. 

CV Gap Scenario 2: 

You have been unemployed for over a year and are finding it difficult to get a job 

Can you account for some part of the gap by mentioning a course you completed during that time in the CV’s Education section? Use years rather than months to describe how long the course was. If the gap was three years from 2016-2018 and you spent four months in 2017 completing a training course, then use the year rather than the months to describe the dates of the course. 

2017              Certificate in Office Administration                         AllTech College

Have you done any unpaid volunteering work while unemployed and looking for work? 

You can include that in the Employment section. Just because you didn’t get paid doesn’t mean it wasn’t contributing to your work experience. If you employment ended due to Covid-19 pandemic just state that on the CV to explain the CV gap. 

Take advantage of all the courses available and this will plug the CV Gap in the process. 

Job seeking CV Gap? 

You could use the phrase actively searching for employment to fill the CV gap of up to one year. 

Still unsure? We can help!

Our CV Review Service will ensure your CV is aligned to the requirements of the role you are targeting to make it stand out from the competition ⬇️

https://www.wearehilt.com/developing-people/cv-review-assessment/