Like lots of people, you may have been without a job for 2 months, or like one guy I met, for 2 years! From a personal marketing standpoint, it means time gaps in your resume. Why should you care? And, how do you fill in those resume gaps?

Why Should I Care About Time Gaps In My Resume?

As a perennial job seeker, I get a lot of feedback on my resume from a lot of recruiters.  Time and time again I have been asked these things in regards to time and dates:

• What are the specific start and end dates of each engagement on your resume?
• What is the duration of each project?
• How long has it been since you last worked? Or, “Are you currently working?”

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Without wasting time or words, the benefit of having no gaps is that you are far more marketable.  And by not being currently unemployed, you are viewed as a “passive” candidate which is more attractive to suitors than is one who is seen as chasing or desperate.

(Note, actively pursuing a job is not always bad thing in the eyes of a recruiter; it can show drive and initiative.  And sometimes the relentless pursuer can be the champion.  In fact, I once hired such an artist with a philosophy degree who kept emailing me, and he turned out to be a star graphics designer).  This is likened to when guy interested in a girl is told no or maybe, he tries all the harder.  But if she is the initiator, many times things are short lived (please receive my analogy with the grain of salt for which it is intended).

Take for example a fun outing to the go-kart track.  As you stand in line waiting your turn, you see two sets of karts: one set on the track serving the client, and the other parked on the side or in the shed.  The ones on the track, you reason, have been maintained to use the new hybrid fuels and are tuned to handle optimally for the ever-changing surface conditions of the track.

But in the other set – the ones on the bench, so to speak – you observe a mixed variety.  Some were taken off the track because they were smoking or running poorly or needed fuel or had a flat tire.  Or maybe there simply was nobody to drive them.  Among them you see some in the back that look like they have not run in ages.  You regard them as having many “unknowns”.

As you get closer to your turn to drive, you desperately hope you get that kart which is all fueled up and has been running well – one you can depend on -  not one of those whose status is unknown or worse.

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Likewise, recruiters and hiring managers are interested in candidates who have been staying busy exercising their skills and getting training (of various sorts).  It takes time to try to fill a position with a good candidate, so a good recruiter will try to eliminate as many unknowns from the equation as soon as possible.  That is whey you need to eliminate them from your resume first.

Another important truth is that you are viewed as less expensive if you are not already employed.  With as many recruiter contacts as I receive, I am inevitably asked if I am working, what I am working on, and what is my availability.   It is nice to honestly be able to always answer that “yes I am working”.  And when it is not a formal position for a client or employer, the rest of my answer is “I am working on a few small freelance projects, but I am very flexible and be available to start a new position in two weeks, or one week or sooner if necessary”.

Reality is that you are no longer guaranteed to have your job as long as you want it until you retire with a cake and a gold watch – if you ever were.  Fact is that I have had lots of breaks in my income stream and in my line of formal engagements.  But, fortunately I don’t have any gaps in my resume now, and I can show you how to eliminate them, or at least minimize them.

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