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Handling an Employment Gap
On a Resume

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This is the archive page for questions about how to handle an employment gap on a resume.

Need answers to employment gaps questions?

Writing your resume when you've had a significant gap between jobs can be tricky... especially in today's super-competitive job market.

On this page, you'll find questions past visitors have asked about handling employment gaps... along with my expert answers and comments from other visitors to these pages. If you want to ask a question yourself, or view more current questions, then click the link to see our current employment gap questions page.

But if you're just looking to increase your knowledge, or see if someone has already asked the question you have about employment gaps, then here you go...

Archived Employment Gap Questions

Listed below are the many questions asked in past years about employment gaps and how to handle them on a resume. Even though these questions are older, the advice I've given the askers is mostly universal! :)

To see my answers, click on the question; additional info may be seen by clicking the Comments link at the end, as well.

How should I modify my CV to show a gap and also reflect my interest in a career change? 
I want to explain a gap of 2 yrs and now I also want to change my career to accounting from IT. I have 5 yrs experience in IT and basic accounting certificate. …

How do I explain to a potential employer (and on my resume) about a large gap in employment 
I have had a very hard time trying to find a job. I have actively looked for employment for over a year and a half. I have had very few actual interviews. …

How to explain an extended absence for caregiving? 
I left the working world in April 2001 for what was expected to be 2 weeks. During that time, I learned that my parents were in need of full time care, …

How do I present a 2 year gap due to car accident? 
I have been in the IT field for 25 years where in the last 5 years I was project managing as a consultant. In July 2008, I was in a head on collision and …

Should I add Primary Caregiver on my resume? 
I've worked for an auto finance company for eight years. I was laid off three and a half years ago and I haven't found work yet. I was an unpaid primary …

How to explain a break of 9 years to raise children? 
Would appreciate Professional attention-getting "key phrases" to explain my gap. I had worked in Pharmaceutical Sales for 11 years and decided to stay …

How do I explain a 3 year employment gap when I left the workforce to care for my aging parents? 
Should I include this gap on my resume? Answer: I don't see how you can NOT include it, as it happened. And there's nothing wrong with being honest …

How do I explain moves within the company? 
How do I explain moves within the company that were not promotions but either a department closing and then being moved by my request also? A total of …

I recently quit a job after 3 months, how do I explain this?  
I recently quit a job after 3 months. Everyone was unhappy there, we worked insane hours, had unhappy clients and I was not proud of the work we were doing. …

After an employment gap of 10 years in my main field, do I mention more recent unrelated jobs? 
I have an employment gap for the last 10 years, following 20-30 yrs retail and business management experience with lots of successes. Do I emphasize the …

How do I account for the fact that I am just seeking my first adult employment? 
I am disabled seeking part time work... haven't worked in years. How do I get a job? I worked when i was a teenager. When I was 18 I was declared legally …

Should I include temporary production work to avoid the appearance of a gap in my work history? 
I am currently applying for a managerial position with a retail chain and am a manager at my current job. However, when I list the jobs on my resume that …

How can I reword my resume without using my last employer on my resume for 5 years? 
I was fired from my last job 5 years 10/2004 to 12/2009. I do not want to list this employer on my resume. * the reason I was fired was that I had …

Do you have any advice for me? 
I am a victim of lack of opportunities and too many short-stay jobs. Help! I suffered a car accident just months after graduation from college. I graduated …

How do I deal with a gap due to PTSD? 
First, thank you for this forum. February, 2004 our child was brutally murdered while attending college. At the time I owned the number one Matco Tools …

How do I explain an employment gap due to moving because of my husband being transferred? 
I am quite "qualified for any administrative assistant" position. I even have SAP Computer software experience. BUT my husband and I have had to move around …

How do I explain a 2-year employment gap due to work visa issues? 
My Name is Nithya, I was out of work for 2 years. I was working in India before 2 years, after my marriage I quit my job and came to USA since my husband …

How to add "waitress" to professional resume? 
I worked for 11 years in finance and have an MBA...but because of the recession, I have been a waitress for the past year. Should I add that experience …

How to handle being let go for personal reasons? 
In 2000, I traveled the country for my husband's job until 2004, when we were going to settle in Denver, but then decided to move back to New Orleans when …

What is the best way to account for a two year gap of unemployment? 
Long story short, I had a job that I once worked for for 2 years. It is currently on my resume, however... I made a huge mistake while employed with this …

Should I add child care to my resume? 
I have not had a business job in about a year and a half. I have been babysitting for about a year, but I do not have it on my resume because it does not …

How do I explain a low-paying job during a caregiving employment gap? 
After 20 years as a general manager, my wife was critically injured-electrocuted on high voltage wires. After therapy in a traumatic brain injury hospital, …

How to Explain a Long Gap in Employment History? 
My husband died in 2001. At that time I quit my job, stayed home with my children and collected widow's social security. One child is almost 20 and out …

How do I present a 7-year gap in my resume? 
How do I present a 7-year gap of employment? Reason one: I had some immigration issues so I couldn't get back to work until now. Reason two: I had to take …

Is 20 months of unemployement going to hurt me? 
I am a 51 year old Construction Manager that was let go 20 months ago and I have not been able to get back to work. I thought part of it is I did not finish …

How do I fill in a 12 year gap in my resume? 
I have been a homemaker for the last 12 years due to caring for my disabled sister so I have a rather large gap in my work history. Previous to that I …

How do I explain a gap of employment on resume? 
I stopped working June of 2008 due to a lay off. At that time I decided to expanded our family. As a result I remained home to care for myself and my newborn. …

Should I list 2 years of travel as "Experience" to fill in employment gap? 
I have been unemployed for nearly 2 years because I have been traveling throughout the US. I am now actively seeking to get back into the workforce but …

Should I Include My Craft Business on My Resume? 
I was laid off from my job almost a year ago. While looking for employment, I have tried to make the most of my time by designing, sewing, dying and selling …

What Is the Best Way to Handle This Situation? 
I have a significant gap in work history and am also changing specializations. How do I avoid drawing too much attention to this prior to an interview? …

How Do I Explain an Employment Gap Due to Caregiving? 
I have been out of work for several years due to taking care of children and grandchildren and taking care of six sick parent and sick in-laws.

How Do I Explain My Employment Gaps to Future Employers? 
I have been unemployed since April of 2004, and I still am. I am currently seeking employment, but I am not sure how to address the employment gaps. …

How Do I Explain Six Years Taking Care of My Kids? 
am not actively looking for a job, but would like to have my resume ready in case I would need it in the future. For the last six years, I have been …

How to Explain a Long Gap in Employment History Due to Legal Issues? 
I was terminated from my last position. It happened at a time when a legal matter made it impossible to apply for a job in my industry. That matter …

How do I explain 3 year gap in employment before my first job 
It's hard finding that first job with no job experience so I have a 3 year gap between high school and my first job how would I explain this on an application …

How to state my study break into my work history 
Regarding writing my CV, I had a study break between my employment and now I am asked to put it into my CV, but I do not know how to explain and state …

Should I leave a gap in my resume or include all work history? 
I am looking to apply for a position in a field I worked in 7 years ago. The potential employer is looking for someone who has had experience in that …

How do I handle a ten year gap in my employment history on my resume and cover letter? 
I want to return to the work force part time after a 10-year retirement. I retired from the insurance industry (10 yrs. ago) after a successful 15 yr. …

How do I list multiple jobs from temp services on resume without looking like I'm not dependable? 
I got laid off last October after 11 1/2 years at Solar Communications. This company closed the doors for business and the machines are being sold to our …

Is it ever all right to leave education/experience off a resume, and if so, how would I explain the gaps?  
I have been a chiropractor in private practice for the past eight years. In 2007, I relocated and opened a practice in a new area. Business is very slow …

How Do I Handle a Gap in Employment on my Resume? 
I was with a company for 10 years prior to being laid off as the company downsized. I have had two brief periods of employment in the same field that …

Should I include non-related job experiences? 
I graduated from university a year ago, but unfortunately I was not able to find a job in my field, and have been working as a receptionist since. I have …

How Do I Explain a Long Gap in Employment? 
After working in the Insurance Industry for over 25 years I retired. After retirement I went on the road as a team driver for a large company to see the …

How Do I Explain an Employment Gap to Take Care of Our Kids? 
I have taken over seven years off of work to take care of my two children, while my wife's career has fast tracked. I'm a bit nervous on how well it will …

How Would You Deal With This Regrettable Experience? 
I was a Department lead in a sheet metal manufacturing plant for 27 years. 3 years ago management asked me to take a drug test. Offended, I replied "I …

How Do I Explain a Work Gap in My Resume? 
How will I explain that I was unemployed due to "no job vacancies"?

How Can I Minimize the Impact of a Long Gap Due to Disability? 
I have been disabled for 5 years and am now ready to return to the workforce. What can I put on my resume that will make me appealing to employers for …

How Do I Handle a Temporary Employment Gap Due to Disability? 
Since I have been disabled, I have been out of work for going on three years now. I have now completed my first year of college. I am planning to attend …

How Do I Account for an Employment Gap Due to the Poor Job Market? 
I was downsized 7 months ago from a biotech company with 20 years of background in a specific industry. Since the economy has changed, demand for my background …

How Do I Account for 16 Years of Self Employment? 
I have been out of the factory job market for 16 years. In that time, I have been buying homes and renting them. We have lost the homes due to foreclosure …

How Should I Describe My Employment as a Nanny on a Resume? 
I am a college student, but will have to put my studies on hold because of financial situations. While in school, I've been working as a nanny with the …

Should I Include My Nanny Job on My Resume? 
I am a college student and I have worked as a nanny for 14 months. Prior to that, I worked as an assistant to a CPA for 2 1/2 years. In the "nanny" job, …

Is Relocation a Sufficient Explanation for a Short Employment Gap? 
I am looking to relocate (across several states) to be with my partner and do not have a solid job lined up yet. I would rather have a job lined up first …

How Do I Handle a Very Long Employment Gap? 
I need to know how to handle an employment gap. I have a great deal of experience in the working world, from 1989-2001. It's now halfway through 2008 …

How Do I Account for an Employment Gap on My Resume? 
I have been working for an insurance company for only one year and am now faced with a layoff. Before coming to work at my present job, I spent 9 months …


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