How do you manage gaps in CV?

[ResistanceFighter]

I haven't had many gaps, but when on the bench I have a few previous clients I drop in to do bits and pieces for, and then that fills the gap on the CV

[simes]

Agents, and maybe clients too, do get hung up on the gaps. Irrespective of whether they are a consequence of an economical downturn or one's own choice, they are always looked upon with grave suspicion.

But then, in substantial part, agents can and do apply 'focus' where none is needed. To wit, even in this downturn, agents call, for a chat(!), and ask me what I 'would like to do next?' A completely redundant question to which I respond, 'I will only ever currently do as I have already done on the CV. I would like to work. If with a Telco-filled CV I tell you I would like to go into Banking, exactly what would you do with that?'

That kinda ends that conversation.

And so to the question above, I find it best just not to open myself to that type of issue and to not have any gaps on the CV; but to iterate exactly how I go about that would no doubt incur the ire of an indignant few. If the CV is to be considered a marketing document, then it is a game one can play.

[hobnob]

I had a 7 month gap before my current contract. The first 5 months were deliberate (full time study for an exam) but the last 2 months less so! I put that on my CV as a career break ("professional development"), partly to make it clear that this was an up to date CV rather than an old one, and partly to explain what I'd been doing. I've seen some other people put things like "Career break to raise children" on their LinkedIn profile.

Now that I'm in a contract, I've removed the description of that gap from my CV, mainly to save space (keeping it to 2 pages). I've left it in my LinkedIn profile now, but I might get rid of it later.

Prior to that, my longest gap was 3 months, and I haven't specifically mentioned that at all. It's far enough back that I don't think anyone will notice.

[fatJock]

I was in contract having just completed six months and had a year extension but I decided to have some time off. Initially I was planning to have three months off after pretty much six years of solid contracting with the odd week off here and there, maybe two between contracts. In the end I took a whole year off and was getting tapped up by people I'd worked for during that year.

Started looking end-September, was in a role mid Oct with a previous firm I'd worked for. Didn't have any problem explaining the gap and to be fair, I'd just say it how it was - after years of non stop working I wanted some time off, one of the reasons I became a contractor anyway. Might help that I don't have any time sensitive / go-out of date quickly skills being a PM but I think if you have a good history and network then it's fine. Most of my work in the last five years has come via LinkedIn and/or subsequent recommendation.

[oliverson]

I had a very stop/start period over the financial crisis, unsurprising as I was contracting in the London investment banking/trading sector. Projects getting canned, contractors not being renewed. Very damaging, and not just financially, as I didn't have any kind of warchest to carry me through it. There was still a market back then though and I had lots of phone and face-to-face interviews but with mixed results. I think they could smell the desperation or sense it in my voice/demeanour. One day I'd turned up from Sussex -> London Bridge -> Canary Wharf for an interview at Credit Suisse I think. I was beaten up and broken down. Couldn't face another gruelling interview and so I disembarked the tube, walked across the station and got on another one, back down to Sussex. No matter what the consequences I couldn't go on. As I emerged from the tube into London Bridge train station my phone rang. It was a technical lead from a previous project back in Yorkshire, the second contract I'd ever had, with a great crowd and good work. Was I available for a contract???? Why am I telling you all this? Two reasons - 1) To show those currently struggling that no matter how bad things get, and believe me, they went REALLY BAD for me/us, they can turn around in an instant, and 2) To remind myself not to take for granted the position I am currently in.

My second period was obviously the covid era, but in fairness I was benched just before the lockdowns and that was because my client at that time wasn't engaging contractors outside IR35 (and they didn't do even when the IR35 reforms were kicked down the road a year). So, IR35 + pandemic + Brexit. We all know what the market was like as a consequence, though in actual fact the slump was quite short-lived compared to the current one. But there was nothing at all when I was looking and so I decided to just take some time off. Took a European drive between the lockdowns, which was wonderful, then I just decided I didn't want to compete for a load of tulip work that was out there. So it was almost a sabbatical but total benchtime was 17 months. Far longer than I'd planned for or budgeted for. It got to the point where I was talking to liquidators regards my Ltd and I wasn't sure what to do next, probably sell one of our properties. Then it happened again. A message from some chap on LinkedIn and was I available for work? 'Contract only, outside IR35' I batted back to him with, and the rest is history. 2.5 years later and thank god I was able to avert a disaster and rescue my Limited company. Also reskilled 'on the job' into some very in-demand skills.

So, I wouldn't worry too much about gaps on your CV. They are just war wounds in a way and shouldn't prevent you landing work. I'm living proof of that.

[BigDataPro]

I had a very stop/start period over the financial crisis, unsurprising as I was contracting in the London investment banking/trading sector. Projects getting canned, contractors not being renewed. Very damaging, and not just financially, as I didn't have any kind of warchest to carry me through it. There was still a market back then though and I had lots of phone and face-to-face interviews but with mixed results. I think they could smell the desperation or sense it in my voice/demeanour. One day I'd turned up from Sussex -> London Bridge -> Canary Wharf for an interview at Credit Suisse I think. I was beaten up and broken down. Couldn't face another gruelling interview and so I disembarked the tube, walked across the station and got on another one, back down to Sussex. No matter what the consequences I couldn't go on. As I emerged from the tube into London Bridge train station my phone rang. It was a technical lead from a previous project back in Yorkshire, the second contract I'd ever had, with a great crowd and good work. Was I available for a contract???? Why am I telling you all this? Two reasons - 1) To show those currently struggling that no matter how bad things get, and believe me, they went REALLY BAD for me/us, they can turn around in an instant, and 2) To remind myself not to take for granted the position I am currently in.

My second period was obviously the covid era, but in fairness I was benched just before the lockdowns and that was because my client at that time wasn't engaging contractors outside IR35 (and they didn't do even when the IR35 reforms were kicked down the road a year). So, IR35 + pandemic + Brexit. We all know what the market was like as a consequence, though in actual fact the slump was quite short-lived compared to the current one. But there was nothing at all when I was looking and so I decided to just take some time off. Took a European drive between the lockdowns, which was wonderful, then I just decided I didn't want to compete for a load of tulip work that was out there. So it was almost a sabbatical but total benchtime was 17 months. Far longer than I'd planned for or budgeted for. It got to the point where I was talking to liquidators regards my Ltd and I wasn't sure what to do next, probably sell one of our properties. Then it happened again. A message from some chap on LinkedIn and was I available for work? 'Contract only, outside IR35' I batted back to him with, and the rest is history. 2.5 years later and thank god I was able to avert a disaster and rescue my Limited company. Also reskilled 'on the job' into some very in-demand skills.

So, I wouldn't worry too much about gaps on your CV. They are just war wounds in a way and shouldn't prevent you landing work. I'm living proof of that.

Inspiring and Motivating. Thanks for sharing it!

[Fraidycat]

Sometimes you can extend the appearance of the length of gig and make gaps look shorter by dropping the 'end month' off your profile, this is most effective if your last gig ended in the earlier part a year.

Lets say your last gig ended in March 2023 and so you have been on the bench for 11 month.

You could write, 'Worked at Acme Corp between April 2022 and 2023'

[hobnob]

You could write, 'Worked at Acme Corp between April 2022 and 2023'

If you're going to do that, I think it would be better to omit the month for both, i.e. "Acme Corp, 2022-2023". Otherwise you're drawing attention to the missing month.

[CoolCat]

If there are a lot of gaps in a persons CV history I'd certainly be questioning their abilities, bad market or not.

It's understandable to have a few short gaps over the course of a long contracting career, but on here I see people talking about spending 9 months on the bench. They must just not be very competent or don't know how to market themselves.

BS, half the fun of contracting is to be able to do other things from time to time. and lots of stuff like you or a close family member having a major operation, and needing a long time to recover are not the kinds of things I would publicly put on a CV even in the most general terms. frankly its got nothing to do with the average car salesman job agent.

[northernladuk]

BS, half the fun of contracting is to be able to do other things from time to time. and lots of stuff like you or a close family member having a major operation, and needing a long time to recover are not the kinds of things I would publicly put on a CV even in the most general terms. frankly its got nothing to do with the average car salesman job agent.

I would totally agree with that sentiment but I've met very few contractors that use their career like that. For every person I've met that does dip in and out I've met many many 100's that have enforced gaps. I don't think it necessarily means they are crap though. Could be problems with working in remote gigs, wrong time of year but I do have to agree that a contractor with multiple gaps, and particularly lots of short gigs does make it look like they are struggling contracting. I can see why the assumption is there is something wrong with them rather than they are using contracting to enjoy there life is a pretty safe one.