How to Explain Gaps in Employment: Interview Advice for Job Applicants

Are you actively looking for a job after being out of work for a while? Or perhaps you’re trying to figure out how to explain previous gaps in employment on your resume. In either scenario, you might be hesitant to broach the topic with prospective employers. While it’s natural to feel some anxiety about how your work history may be perceived, having periods of unemployment doesn’t have to be an automatic red flag for hiring managers.

Gaps in resumes are common. These scenarios can happen for a variety of reasons, such as raising young children, going back to school, or relocating for a spouse’s new job.

If your goal is to be more confident and comfortable discussing your time out of the workforce, consider the following insight on addressing your professional hiatus.

Should you put employment gaps on your resume?

• If you’re currently employed and the gap was a few years ago, there’s no need to address the gap unless the employer specifically asks or if it was an extended amount of time.
• If your period of unemployment is directly related to an actionable event that makes you a more qualified applicant, consider including this as part of your cover letter. For example, if you took a break from work to pursue a degree.
• Explaining a recent layoff in your cover letter prevents recruiters from making assumptions about your work gap. This is in fact a popular route, according to a Zety.com survey of 1,000 Americans who were laid off in a recent two-year period. Among those surveyed, 94% said they had specifically addressed their layoff in a cover letter.
• Also take into consideration that some gaps are explainable by the nature of the job or industry. If you’re a freelance worker, there will likely be time elapsed between jobs, and the employer will understand this.

3 tips for talking about employment gaps during a job interview

So your application was well received, and you’ve been handpicked for an in-person or virtual interview. Congrats on making the cut! With a little thought and preparation, you can talk confidently about your employment gap.

1. Be honest about the reason for your resume gap

Recruiters aren’t necessarily concerned about the lapse itself; they’re more interested in what the gap represents. 

From the employer's perspective, they want assurance that whatever the reason was for the gap, it won't keep you from being successful at their organization. The most important thing is to not lie or deceive the employer during any part of the job application or hiring process.

2. Be brief, then move on

On the flip side, you also don’t want to go too far in addressing these gaps. You could hurt yourself by oversharing; or worse, being overly critical or apologetic when talking about your experience.

It’s normal to feel anxious during interviews, but if you’re a person who tends to ramble when you’re nervous, you might want to invest some extra practice time on this topic. It’s in your best interest to simply give an honest and concise answer and refocus the conversation back onto the skills and experience you bring to the table. If they want more information, they’ll follow up with another question.

Challenges are unavoidable, and life happens. The employer wants to know that you have the skills to overcome them.

It’s important to remember that being, or having been, unemployed is a normal thing that happens to many people at some point during their career.

3. Come prepared to talk about what you learned during your break

“Tell me about this time period in between jobs.” An interviewer may likely say something similar to this, so practice a short, 20-30-second answer to the question. The last thing you want is to be caught off guard by a routine inquiry.

Try talking about something you learned during your time in between jobs. Did you gain a new skill or develop deeper knowledge about a specific topic? Explain how that experience makes you a more qualified candidate for that employer or position.

What you learned doesn’t have to be a technical or hard skill to be meaningful. Perhaps you had a significant change in perspective or lived an experience that helped you develop more empathy. Soft skills and personal developments like these also translate into the workplace, so find ways to tie them into the position for which you’re applying.

Get the career service support you need to land your dream job

Hopefully after reading these tips, you’re better equipped to sound calm and confident next time you have to explain gaps in employment to a prospective employer. UMass Global takes students’ professional development seriously and provides support such as our AI-powered Career Services Hub.

For more great advice, check out our career support blog posts.