Best verbiage to document gaps in a resume due to one’s child being seriously ill on/off last 5 years?

5 Comments

1. AnonymousJuly 27,2022 at 4:29PM UTC

   Time off for personal reasons. That's all you need to say.

2. Robin LampertJuly 27,2022 at 4:58PM UTC

   Other options I've seen used is to list it as the position of "Full-Time Caregiver" or "Sabbatical. What works best for you may depend on the type of position you are looking to get.

   Also, you may want to consider the responses to this gap as a test of the potential employer.

   Good luck!

3. S.July 27,2022 at 7:06PM UTC

   'Time off to care for a family member'. I find that a growing number of companies are recognizing this. I would include this in a cover letter, not really the resume.

4. Cyndi RosenblattJuly 27,2022 at 7:17PM UTC

   Mom of a medically-complex special-needs daughter.

   Your approach also depends on the circumstances. Keep it vague up front - along the lines of "sabbatical to care for a family member" as others have suggested is sufficient. If the care needs are ongoing, my approach has been to talk about it after an offer is made, but before accepting. Taking a new job and then running into inflexible schedules or pushback for the way I needed to use leave (often in small increments on a weekly basis) was not going to do them or me any favors. I figured if the offer fell through after disclosure, it wasn't going to be a successful position for me anyway.

   Best of luck and I hope your child is doing better.

5. AnonymousJuly 29,2022 at 1:34PM UTC

   Don't worry about "best." Just use wording that's good enough. I'm assuming that you are only talking about your cover letter here. Career interruptions for family reasons are common for women, so 5 years off isn't that huge of a hurdle to overcome.