How do you overcome work history gaps and career changes?

As a senior recruiting professional, I can attest from 52k hour of experience that nothing sends up the red flag signals like a nonchronological resume. Recruiters hate them, hiring managers hate them. But, people who sell resumes love them....because they can be churned out like unthinking tweets. My advice: Own your gap. Use an italicized section to explain the reason behind that gap, and then, and don't skip this explain what you learned. For those of us who are "gappers" because of firing, explain the conflict....and what you learned and how that will help you grow as a professional. If it is due to care-giving, explain how caring for an aged parent taught you persistence and resilience.

A hybrid resume is more advisable than a functional resume. The hybrid style combines a section featuring your relevant transferable skills with a traditional reverse-chronological career history, affording you the “best of both.” The skills section allows you to demonstrate your value and position your existing skills for a new role or industry, while the work history will perform better in applicant tracking systems (ATS) and provide hiring managers with the background information they expect to see on a résumé.

When I'm looking at a CV or a potential candidate the overall experience and skills focus is the main area I'm looking for. If you have a work history gap in your CV you can just add it with a simple explanation. That includes the date of the gap and a short few words for the reason. You don't have to elaborate or go deep on that in your CV. The main focus should be showcasing your relevant experience and or skills for the position.We all have times in our lives when life may dictate a reason for a career break or gap.

One thing you have to accept about a resume gap is that there will be people who pass over you because of it, you can’t win everyone over and you can’t try. Don't try to win over the people who will rule you out from the start. The way I address a career gap on a resume is to simply just address it by calling it out in a brief and straightforward way as the most recent role in your experience. For example: Career Break- Health 2/2022-Present Role at X company 10/2018-2/2022 This both helps the people who were never going to hire you move on from the start and save time, and eliminates the questions in an interview about your gap. They may simply ask "you're ready to work now" and move on. No need to explain since they already saw it.

Mike’s advice is spot on. Be direct and concise, and keep the information high-level. There is no reason to explain that you cared for an elderly parent during an extended illness or that you took a career break to stay home with your children. A simple phrase like “family care” should be adequate. Also be aware of the questions that prospective employers may and may not ask, especially with regards to health. You may want to read up on federal, state, and local employment regulations to better understand what employers are allowed to ask you.

It is also worth noting that Stay-at-Home Parent or Family Caregiver are valid job titles. There are so many transferable or "soft" skills that are involved in running a home, looking after children and contributing to the wellbeing of a community. These include organization, time management, communication, adaptability, problem-solving and critical thinking, to name a few. It is a case of highlighting these highly marketable skills, even if they were not used in paid employment. They are still valid.

You should shortly explain the employment gaps, but don’t go in too many details. Don’t forget to list any professional development done during that time (training, courses, certifications)

These days, parenting is a priority (finally!) and in Canada, a parent can take a year for parental leave, so year-long gaps in a person's resume is not a big deal. If it is to the hiring manager, that's your first clue.

Being confident and honest is my mantra to ace it at the career gaps - make them less obvious more often than not - be vocal about them if asked intrudingly

Be honest and explain the gaps, but consider these: 1. Smaller gaps, such as a few weeks or even a couple of months, don't necessarily require addressing, especially if they are due to short breaks between jobs or brief personal reasons. 2. Consider whether the gap is relevant to the job you're applying for. If it doesn't impact your qualifications for the position, you might not need to mention it. 3. If you engaged in freelance, consulting or contract work during a gap, consider including it on your resume to fill the employment timeline.

Orient the reader's focus onto the accomplishments you've delivered that most strongly aligned with what that particular employer needs. Present a highlights section showcasing 3 key achievements. This would appear before the experience section, in order to draw the eye to relevant areas of impact prior to diving into any problemmatic-looking dates.