should I leave a gap in my resume?

8 Comments

1. AnonymousSeptember 22,2023 at 2:51PM UTC

   IMO, if you can quantify accomplishments for this job in the bullet points and it is relevant to the job you are applying to, I would leave it. Only remove it if it doesn't add any value and does not generate (when combined with a previous gap) a gap of over a year. It would also be useful if you are applying for a manager job and have no other previous management positions to include. The context of what you are applying for is pertinent.

2. AnonymousSeptember 22,2023 at 5:36PM UTC

   I would leave it there. There is always something we learn from each job we do no matter how bad or good it is. Sometimes we learn more from jobs that are not so favourable for us as they may bring out certain qualities in us such as adaptability, resilience and flexibility. In this case, being a manager job, it may have things you have learned while managing the team. So think about it from that perspective and see if you can list what the job has taught you and what you have achieved on the job even if it was temporary and see how that relates back to the qualities relevant to the job you are applying for.

   On the other hand, if it has been a very bad experience that you would rather not talk about, please feel free to remove it.

3. AnonymousSeptember 23,2023 at 3:29PM UTC

   My resume only has years on it - not months. If someone has a question about things that seem to overlap, I will answer that. That allows you to gloss over small jobs like that. In addition, the longer your resume gets the more you need to cut things out of your resume for space reasons. My “master” resume document has every job I ever had, but that is just for me. My job application resume is only the highlights and other relevant information.

4. AnonymousSeptember 24,2023 at 5:23PM UTC

   Why leave it off? You did work there. Instead add a footnote under the job to say I was recruited away to the next position. Problem solved.

5. AnonymousSeptember 25,2023 at 2:02PM UTC

   I have no idea what "bakery closing" means, and your resume readers probably won't either. You found something new, so no worries. How could you add a more relevant job for that time period? I'm confused.

6. PatriciaSeptember 26,2023 at 4:07AM UTC

   I am contractor and sometimes I do short stints (anywhere from a week to a few months) when I can't land anything else. I leave these off as it makes me look like a job hopper and would add considerable length to my resume. So I have added the following line on my resume - just before the career summary:

   Please note, some short-term consulting roles have been omitted as they are not relevant to my resume.

   Perhaps you could craft something similar.

7. Sue Gordon- retired Career CoachSeptember 26,2023 at 12:42PM UTC

   The answer to this depends on what else is on your resume and this job's relevance to the jobs you are applying for.

   If you are a new college grad, with limited work experience, I'd leave it in. But if doing so detracts from stronger, more relevant experience, you can leave it off.

   If you've been working for years, then don't include months in your dates- year-to-year is fine. If you include months and someone notices a less-than-6-month gap, then you can express that at that time you were in a role not relevant to the one you are interiewing for.

   In general, a less-than-six-month gap isn't big deal. On my own resume, I eliminated a job of less than 6 months- partly because it was an emotionally draining experience that I didn't want to discuss in an interview.

   Personally, I wouldn't add a note that indicates you've omitted things- that can be assumed. Why highlight what's not there? If I were the interviewer, I would likely ask you to tell me about what's not on your resume. Come to think of it, that's a pretty good question for an interviewer!

8. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistSeptember 27,2023 at 5:03AM UTC

   YOU SAID: "what are your thoughts on removing something from your resume to add a more favorable/relevant job in its place?"

   How would you be adding a more favorable job? Are you talking about making one up? Because if you had a more favorable position, I'm assuming you'd have already substituted it. Not sure if I'm understanding this correctly.

   As a general rule, I recommend plugging holes in a resume if you can. It's not so much an issue for me as it's sometimes an issue for my hiring managers.

   Can you frame that time as something along the lines of "I've always dreamed of running my own bakery, so I took this position for 6 months to get real world experience at it"?