Explaining a gap in your CV

Whether you’ve been travelling or unemployed, sometimes there can be gaps in your CV. Though you may be worried, you should avoid lying about these gaps; every situation can be explained and some even used to your advantage. There are legitimate reasons for gaps, and short breaks shouldn’t make a huge difference to your CV.

If you’ve been out of work for a long time, though, you’ll have to explain them eventually.

If you took time out to go travelling, you can describe your cultural experiences, and you may have even worked while you were away — it’s not all about full moon parties and putting pictures of sunsets on Instagram. There are many interpersonal skills you can demonstrate from your time abroad, as well as other desirable characteristics like leadership, adaptability, and financial planning.

List this in your Experience section as you would if it had been a previous job.

Likewise, if you were made redundant and became unemployed for quite some time, explain that your company had to make cutbacks that unfortunately led to a reduction in the number of staff. Your CV only needs to go back to a maximum of about ten years’ experience, so any gaps before then will be ignored anyway.

If you took a prolonged period of time off due to sickness, you shouldn’t have a problem being honest as long as the illness doesn’t affect your ability to do the job. State that, due to a medical condition, you had to take some time away from work but have now returned to full health and are looking to re-enter the workplace.