How do I deal with a small gap on my resume?
January 7, 2015 9:18 AM   Subscribe

How do I deal with a small gap on my resume?

I left a job in October after being there for 3 years. Typically, I don't list the months of my start and end dates at previous jobs. For each job, I just say 2003-2008, or 2011-2012, that kind of thing. However, I'm concerned that if I list my most recent job as 2011-2014, potential employers may think I've been out of work longer than I have been. For example, they may think I've been out of work since early 2014, when I've only been out of work since October. Should I start listing the months next to the start and end dates on my resume?

(I'm not sure if it matters, but I have another 2-month gap between previous jobs. that gap happened back in 2011)
posted by apostate street preacher to Work & Money (20 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I've got that, it's no biggie. If you got laid off, then explain that's how long it took to get a new gig. If you left, say you took a sabbatical. Mostly though, no one's going to ask because it's common as dirt.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:23 AM on January 7, 2015 [3 favorites]


I used to only list years on my resume, but then two separate people told me they thought it makes it look like I'm trying to hide something (i.e. make it look like there were no gaps when there were). So I added months, which I think is an appropriate compromise.
posted by primethyme at 9:26 AM on January 7, 2015 [12 favorites]


Yeah, see above. I've always seen the "gaps are bad" thing as a way to scare people away from having any sort of life experience outside of "Work, work, work, die." Any decent company understands people have time between jobs, either because they can't find another one, or because they intentionally take time off.

I mean I'm sure some job somewhere cares, but most don't. And if they do, they'll ask, and then you can explain the actual circumstances.
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:28 AM on January 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


That said, there is nothing to be lost by adding the months.
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:28 AM on January 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


I like seeing the months to show continuity.

And no, gaps of a few months are really no big deal. Life happens, people move and find new jobs and help with family. All of that takes time. The gaps only raise eyebrows when it's a year or so.
posted by mochapickle at 9:36 AM on January 7, 2015


It certainly doesn't hurt to show months. It tightens the gaps if needed, and it also shows on some small level that you pay attention to details. Many people have no idea what month they started and ended a job.
posted by SpacemanStix at 9:56 AM on January 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


I used to work in recruitment and we would always puts months on resumes.

When I moved to Canada, I arrived in October, spent some time adjusting, getting all my ducks in a row and then once I had found an apartment in Vancouver, I was ready to look for work. All in all I was unemployed for about 4 months in total, which seems significant when I think about it!

But I owned it, and my resume stated something to the effect of:
Oct 2008 - January 2009: Relocation to Canada

It really doesn't hurt to be specific about timeframes and it always helps to pre-empt any questions a recruiter might have about you.
posted by JenThePro at 10:24 AM on January 7, 2015 [2 favorites]


Obviously people that do hiring come in all flavors, some of them extremely weird flavors, but until a gap is long enough to affect the amount of relevant experience you have, it's not actually anybody's business and most people are aware of that.

Should you be asked about it, answer the question as if they asked whether it affected your up-to-date experience and leave it at that. They should be able to extrapolate that answer, though, based on it being 3 months and you clearly actively looking for a job and all.

I recommend putting months on your resume for employment verification purposes and to provide the feeling of continuity.

There's not actually anything wrong with a gap in your work history. Most states still allow the question about your felonies, so if you were in prison they'll know about that via other means. This is one of those white shoes after Labor Day thing where "everybody knows" you shouldn't have gaps, except almost everyone has gaps.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:28 AM on January 7, 2015


As someone who hires people, I'll chime in that years only is extremely suspicious-looking. Regardless of the gaps, add the months.

Also a few months isn't considered a big gap.
posted by radioamy at 10:32 AM on January 7, 2015 [3 favorites]


I think you're way too concerned over a relatively short gap. Even if you don't list months, I really can't imagine anyone thinking "wait, what if this person's been off since, like February 2014???". So I'd leave it alone.

I hire people, too, and disagree that years-only looks suspicious. Of course, this varies by industry, and by pay level (e.g. if you're quite accomplished, a terse, sleek resume is all you need, and filling in lots of details only detracts from your broad strokes obvious wonderfulness). If your resume (regardless of pay/wonderfulness) is fairly broad strokes, forget the months. If your resume is data-rich, it might (but not necessarily) appear strange not to list them. I'd base it on that. But I wouldn't sweat the gap either way.
posted by Quisp Lover at 11:26 AM on January 7, 2015


List the dates as you see fit. If you feel it's necessary, put in your cover letter "Since leaving position X in October 2014, I have been studying/consulting/freelancing/whatever and am now looking for a full-time position."

Even if you haven't really been studying/consulting/freelancing/whatever much, even if you did one of those things one time as a free favor for a friend, it's fine, as long as you can talk about it even a little bit in an interview.
posted by erst at 11:38 AM on January 7, 2015


Months are fine; I've also done seasons, e.g. Summer 2011 - Fall 2014.
posted by craven_morhead at 1:30 PM on January 7, 2015


Or you could reformat your resume as a skill based resume. Eliminate dates and start saying things like "In 5 years at Widgetco I did x y and z and learned b and led a group through Y prime.
posted by Gungho at 1:39 PM on January 7, 2015


Add in the start and end months -- a gap of a couple of months is no big deal and doesn't even necessarily mean there was a gap in work history. For instance, I took off an entire month between my last job and my current one because I had an entire month's worth of unused paid vacation time coming to me anyway.
posted by desuetude at 1:59 PM on January 7, 2015


You can also just lie.

If you're confident that it won't come back to bite you, that is. I wouldn't lie on an application where an actual background check/security clearance was involved.

In most cases, your resume is just a tool to get an interview. If you think a gap on the resume will hurt your chances of this, why include it?
posted by paulcole at 2:41 PM on January 7, 2015


Start and end dates are absolutely something I check with a potential hire's former employer if I end up calling the former employer for a reference. In my view, the blowback for lying about a small resume gap is much bigger than the gap itself, particularly if you're in a small field. Artfully covering it up is one thing, but if you tell me you ended your last job in January 2015 when it was October 2014 to fool me and I find out, I'm not hiring you and neither is anyone I know and have a chance to talk about you with.
posted by craven_morhead at 3:00 PM on January 7, 2015 [2 favorites]


To the people writing here who hire people: can you point to an ideal resume (for your industry)? The info you're providing here is hard to come by in trusted form on the wider internet, and most searches for resume questions return absolute malarky. Those of us who haven't put together a resume in a while probably all shudder to think of doing it again (and I, too, happen to be preparing myself to look for a new employer soon).

Thanks all for the responses so far, this question is perfectly timed.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:00 PM on January 7, 2015


Years only is sketchy. If you list 2012 - 2013 on a resume, how do I know you weren't hired in December 2012 and left in January 2013? The point of a resume is to give a clear picture of your work history -- I've looked at a lot of resumes and it's almost like a narrative of that person's career. Start adding months. Two problems solved -- the problem you came here to ask about and a problem you didn't know you had.
posted by AppleTurnover at 5:04 PM on January 7, 2015


------
To the people writing here who hire people: can you point to an ideal resume (for your industry)?
------

No. There isn't one. But there's a major distinction to be made between people slavishly aiming to create a "correct" resume and people who realize it's about the information, not the presentation. Nobody makes hiring decisions based on adherence to resume formatting conventions. I'm not your 10th grade teacher.

If I'm hiring you for a wonkish position where you don't need to think independently or manage anyone, then slavish resume style adherence is fine. But it shows me that you're callow, shallow, and/or unable to see things from my point of view.

From my point of view, I want to know: Who are you? What have you done? What's your experience? What should I know about you? Give me that information as clearly and economically as possible. I don't need a lot of nonsense; full adherence to resume conventions doesn't, like, fill me with delight. Resume conventions - and there are a zillion of them - are for people too gimpy to be able to deliver information clearly. They're remedial. If you're a clear thinker, give me the info in plainspeak and no-nonsense clear, terse, articulate text. If you're too disorganized or gimpy to manage that without stumbling (or micro-stumbling), fine, work to a template. But I'll notice you've done that, and assume you're not a clear thinker. More of a sprocket.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:28 PM on January 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thank you all for the help. I've decided to include the months. It's good to know that I'm not alone in having gaps, and that my gaps aren't too gaping :)
posted by apostate street preacher at 2:10 PM on January 8, 2015


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