Why do screening companies care so much about gaps in your CV ?

25 Comments

1. rgstaffing@bellsouth.netJuly 26,2024 at 12:44PM UTC

   i always want to know why are there gaps. 8 week is nothing but 2 years most certainly is. I want to know were you terminated or did you resign and if so did you work a 2 week notice. Not interested in the word toxic. It is overused and thrown around. I want the story.

2. AnonymousJuly 26,2024 at 1:56PM UTC

   But why?

3. Tami L CannizzaroJuly 31,2024 at 2:07PM UTC

   The reason I can think of for wanting to understand gaps - mainly significant gaps - is did the candidate keep up with current skills? Business changes so fast, if we’ve been “out” for awhile the concern may be that it may take us awhile to ramp up or that new tech has arrived that we are not familiar with. I may not be explaining this well…

4. ppinesAugust 1,2024 at 12:02PM UTC

   Because they think you are hiding something.

5. AnonymousJuly 26,2024 at 6:13PM UTC

   I'm being questioned on a 8 week gap which is ridiculous

6. Tami L CannizzaroJuly 31,2024 at 2:01PM UTC

   How do they know it’s 8 weeks? If possible, leave specific dates off of any submissions and stick to years only. This is common for resumes too; simply list years - not months or dates of employment

7. Tracy DyeJuly 29,2024 at 5:15PM UTC

   But why? I have over a year gap for family care reasons. Doesn't mean my skills have slipped, there's ways to keep up.

8. ppinesAugust 1,2024 at 12:01PM UTC

   Because they think you are hiding something. If you add a line to explain that you took a year off for family care reasons then that won't be questioned. But if you leave it blank they become suspicious.

9. AnonymousAugust 4,2024 at 2:42PM UTC

   If you’re inquiring about a gap for those reasons that seems somewhat problematic.

   Rightfully, a lengthy a gap is going to elicit some questions about what an applicant was doing during that time. But whether 2 week notice was given or if it was worked is completely irrelevant. Some companies don’t allow you to continue working once you’ve given notice—and most people aren’t required to give notice, and not doing so doesn’t necessarily signal anything that identifies if they’re going to be good at the job they’re applying for. Inquiring into resume gaps should be for determining if any legit work experience was left out or to uncover other important skills that may have been acquired during the gap. Also the story of why someone felt a workplace (usually a manager) was toxic isn’t helpful since the manager isn’t at the new place. If you’re disqualifying candidates for things that happened during or leading up to periods of unemployment you’re likely making judgment calls about them

   based on your preferences for a person whether than their ability to do a job. I’m sure this is common, but it’s problematic. Nobody ever tells a candidate why a company constantly has turnover in a certain department or role. Nobody ever tells a candidate if the company gives their employees decent severance if they’re terminated. Nobody tells the applicant if the hiring manager has been called out in exit interviews for being a micromanager or aggressive in the workplace. There’s a lopsided amount of judgment placed on applicants for what they did with their time and their past instead of focusing on what they want to do in the future.

10. AnonymousJuly 26,2024 at 12:53PM UTC

    I'm not sure what you mean by a screening company. It's not them who care—it is the company you are applying to. If you are applying to a company that requires every moment of your history on its application, you don't want to work there. Their rigid structure will suffocate you. I have applied to hundreds of companies; only one requested details on gaps. That one required a security clearance, and I assume it was to evaluate a person's ability to get and keep one. None of the most common job boards (LinkedIn, Indeed, or Career Builder) do, and they don't do any screening for companies, only allow them to search on qualifications.

    One of the things you can do, if you have significant gaps, is fill it with any career development or volunteer work you did during that time. If it was family leave time, indicate it was "Family Caregiver," especially if it was more than a year. Not every position on your resume requires you to be paid, so volunteer and family caregiving can help fill significant gaps.

    Companies don't care about an 8-week gap, so your difficulties and rejections likely lie elsewhere. You may need to have your resume evaluated. If the application is asking for that much detail, look elsewhere.

11. AnonymousJuly 26,2024 at 6:13PM UTC

    I already accepted the offer lol

12. ppinesJuly 26,2024 at 2:18PM UTC

    A resume gap could signal you had trouble finding a new job after a job loss, or that you have difficulty making a commitment. They may wonder what you were doing while unemployed and whether you're trying to hide something.

13. AnonymousJuly 26,2024 at 4:36PM UTC

    That's really narrow thinking on the part of the employer, though. There are a ton of good reasons one can have a gap. I have a pretty significant one, and I've found in interviews explaining it was a great way to open up a conversation. If I was judged for it, it was a sign that it wasn't a good match anyway.

14. ppinesJuly 27,2024 at 12:38AM UTC

    Not really, if there is a big gap and no explanation it looks like you are hiding something (like a stint in jail - granted that's rare but it happens). As a contractor I have had the occasional long gap between roles, but I always have an explanation - usually volunteer work or a training course, even the pandemic.

    I agree that there could be any number of legitimate explanations, however, if it's not explained in the resume or cover letter then it looks like you have something to hide.

    If there's a legitimate reason, like volunteering, taking a course, a career break, travel, parental leave, medical reasons (even the pandemic), other family related issues (e.g. caring for a sick parent) then it's worth adding a line to cover it - avoiding the need to explain the gap.

    In some cases, recruiters and hiring managers may not even bother to contact you after applying for the role if there's a significant gap without an explanation because they have stronger candidates who look more reliable.

15. AnonymousJuly 31,2024 at 6:50PM UTC

    No one is saying a gap is disqualifying, but employers have a right and, frankly, a responsibility to ask about work history, and that includes gaps.

16. AnonymousJuly 26,2024 at 6:40PM UTC

    Exactly. Wonder why applicants don't understand that from an employer's perspective.

17. Barb HansenJuly 26,2024 at 3:08PM UTC

    It's ridiculous (in my opinion) that companies are so stressed about employment gaps.

    So , I should be punished because my ability to have a 100% job employment was impacted by:

    -a global pandemic

    -family planning

    -my need to leave a toxic job

    -my job being impacted by external economic factors that I don't control

    -my job being impacted by internal factors that I don't control

    -medical issues of me or a family member

    -my desire or need to take a few months off for any number of reasons.

    None of the reasons above mean that I'm not an average or above average employee.

    My career path was impacted by a toxic manager, a global pandemic or a global economic slow-down and that's my fault?

    In some professionals sabbaticals are not frowned on (teaching is one) and some people are blessed enough to be able to take a gap year between high-school and college or college and full-time work.

    If a company is going to have strict rules around "no employment gaps", then tell us before we apply and please publish the real employment timeline of your top executives.

    And if you are lucky enough to never have an employment gap, please don't use your luck as a ladder to hold yourself above others.

18. rgstaffing@bellsouth.netJuly 27,2024 at 8:06PM UTC

    Some employment gaps such as raising children and being a stay at home parent, caring for a sick family member is usually not an issue. The "toxic environment" and the other excuses will probably impede you being selected to interview. Unfortunately, a resume full of gaps will probably not stack up next to a candidate with a consistent resume, like it or not.

19. AnonymousJuly 31,2024 at 3:45PM UTC

    Nor should it

20. AnonymousJuly 31,2024 at 3:44PM UTC

    No one said they had strict rules about job gaps—they just want to know so they can better understand the candidate. What is so hard to understand? Recruiting, hiring, and training are expensive and time-consuming, and everyone is trying to find the right fit.

    Have you ever hired anyone? Didn't you want to know as much as possible to ensure you're not wasting your time or theirs?

    Why so negative and assuming the worst?

21. Barb HansenAugust 1,2024 at 7:03PM UTC

    Since you asked, I'll answer. I have hired a lot of people over my career and I have never asked a candidate to explain gaps in their employment record, but that's just me as a hiring manager. Other managers and recruiters care about the gaps.

    I know there aren't strict rule about job gaps. I was sharing my frustration with having to explain gaps in my work history to the OP. I was also sharing my thoughts for others reading this stream who may currently be hiring managers or may grow into hiring managers in their careers to remind them that employment gaps don't necessarily mean

    the applicant is flawed.

22. AnonymousAugust 3,2024 at 1:26AM UTC

    Again no one said gaps = flawed but history matters, all of it.

23. Cynthia Armistead NewmanJuly 26,2024 at 3:13PM UTC

    Organizations hire screening companies to verify candidates' work histories (and probably other stuff, too) so HR at the main organization doesn't have to. The screening company is often staffed by personnel overseas, and they tend to be extremely literal in interpreting work histories.

    Before I was hired by Apple, I had to deal with a big screening company. At the time, my volunteer experiences were integrated into my resume, as I had recently taken ~12 years off to raise my daughter. The volunteer gigs allowed me to stay current with technology, so they were important. The screening company wanted W2s for each of them! They absolutely could not understand that there was no financial compensation for them. In each case, I had to get a contact at the groups for whom I volunteered to speak with the screening company and verify what I did and that there was no compensation. It was ridiculous.

24. AnonymousJuly 26,2024 at 6:15PM UTC

    Being blackmailed by your direct line manager that if you quit he will make sure that you do not get employed if that's not toxic enough for you I don't know what is

    Of course I worked the notice but hey what if they grant you a garden leave because he wants you out of his sight .. it did hurt him when high performer employee did not bow down to his demands nor blackmail and I indeed did what he least expected which was quit.

25. AnonymousJuly 29,2024 at 10:09PM UTC

    Why? Because those can be indicators on fit, on retention, on being coachable, etc. It matters, BUT NOT so much in the negative way as I think you may be leaning towards. Learn to tell your story, whether it's negative or not.