Gaps on dev CV

[SimonMac]

Not a code monkey but I have never gone straight from one gig to another, usually its 6 weeks to 2 months and has never been an issues, just be upfront and say I don't like taking holiday when on assignment so like to have some down time with the kids between contracts, I contract for the better work life balance.

[NickFitz]

I've got gaps of several months dotted throughout my CV, as one of my main goals in life is to do as little work as is humanly possible. I've never been asked much about them, and on the rare occasions that I have been, some hand-wavy stuff about taking a holiday or working on some stuff of my own has been accepted. I don't think clients really care too much, as long as it's obvious that you're not in the habit of upping sticks and leaving in the middle of a gig.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

I have been contracting for 4 years as well....

Think of how difficult it was to get into contracting and how experienced you now are in finding your next gig. Take the holiday and don't worry about it.

[DirtyDog]

I did see you put this on another thread and annoyingly my contract does end on 31st Jan.

So change your CV so it just says years instead

That's what mine does.

[EternalOptimist]

50% of dev work is thinking, right?

so as long as I am thinking about a job, I am devving. Therfore I have no gaps on my CV because when a gap appears, I think about some support calls I might get, or recalls to fix that niggling bug that I just know is in there

mind you, I did get caught out once.
At an interview, the PM was mightily impressed, he offered me the job straight away. His boss put his hand on his arm and said 'one minute please'
'Did you enjoy your holiday last year ?'

I had not left a gap for me hollis

still got the gig though

[SpontaneousOrder]

If you're a developer then ends of ranges tend to be exclusive, right? I.e. 0 to 5 means 0,1,2,3 & 4

So I reckon you can get away with with it

[RedSauce]

Tricky when it's on a Friday...

See if you can schedule some handover work on the Monday and tell them you'll work that day instead of another day in your final week, and of course you are doing it for their convenience as Friday is not always the best day to get people in the office or some tulip like that.

Great Idea, the permies at ClientCo tend to WFH most Fridays so could be an acceptable solution.

[Damon]

I did see you put this on another thread and annoyingly my contract does end on 31st Jan.

Put Feb on your CV, I don't believe checking goes to that level of detail.

[Old Greg]

I did see you put this on another thread and annoyingly my contract does end on 31st Jan.

Tricky when it's on a Friday...

See if you can schedule some handover work on the Monday and tell them you'll work that day instead of another day in your final week, and of course you are doing it for their convenience as Friday is not always the best day to get people in the office or some tulip like that.

[RedSauce]

Small damage limitation. As you only put months and years on your CV, try to finish on 1st of month.

I did see you put this on another thread and annoyingly my contract does end on 31st Jan.

[Old Greg]

Small damage limitation. As you only put months and years on your CV, try to finish on 1st of month.

[RedSauce]

I am in the final throws of a 21 month contract (initial 3 month +2 extensions) and am hoping to go abroad for 2-4 months. I have been pushing this back for the last 3 years as wanted to built up a more impressive contracting CV. I have now been contracting for 4 years with no gaps greater than 2 weeks.

I appreciate there is no clear answer, but I was hoping to gauge the more experienced contractors views on here of how this will be perceived by agents and the end client? And whether there is any further damage limitation I can do to mitigate the risk of my CV being received less favorably than another contractor without the gaps.