How to Explain a Gap in Your CV

Maybe it’s better to start with why recruiters are interested in gaps in your work experience.

🤔 

From my perspective of 15+ years in multinationals, I say the biggest concern on the employer’s side is to know whether you were in prison because you committed a crime.

Even though from a human-centric perspective this is highly biased, this is real. It’s the ultimate reason why HR would block your job application.

Now considering you didn’t commit any crime and were doing whatever other thing, like:

• Raising kids,
• Taking care of the elderly,
• Being with a loved one in a tough time,
• Taking care of your mental health,
• Working on the gig economy,
• Studying,
• On sabbatical leave,
• Moving countries,
• Other personal reasons not listed above.

What you were doing is by no means of anyone else’s business.

That said, think about auditors.

When I worked in Finance controlling billion-dollar projects, I was audited almost every quarter.

Internal and external auditors were demanding creatures and hungered to point their fingers where they thought there were problems.

I learned a lesson in a very hard way. 

I learned after spending energy and time with auditors to answer exactly what they asked.

And nothing more.

So coming back to our original question on how to explain a gap on your CV, I simply wouldn’t.

A CV is a sales letter, not an absence excuse letter. Your CV must hold your experience in a positive way, showing everything you accomplished so far and how you use your best talents to do that. 

Focus on quantifying your experience, rather than trying to explain what nobody has asked YET.

Keep that information to the screening call, then you have the freedom to disclose personal matters if you feel like doing it.

So, do you have a gap in your CV?

How do you deal with that? I’m curious to know.

Let’s rock.

Fabiana