A gap in your resume? Companies’ attitudes toward it seem to be changing somewhat. Once considered something best concealed by candidates, as it significantly reduced job prospects, this perception appears to be shifting. According to a LinkedIn survey (2022) of 23,000 employees worldwide, nearly two out of three respondents reported having taken a career break. Subsequently, the platform introduced a ‘Career Breaks’ feature, allowing users to showcase the skills they acquired during that time.
On social media, many people see a career sidestep as a strong signal.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed less of a blemish on your resume if you couldn’t work for a while. Additionally, it appears that newer generations (and especially Gen Z) generally view career breaks and less traditional career paths less negatively. Social media has contributed to this: it’s no longer a shame to announce that you’re taking a break; it’s often seen as a strong signal. Whether simply to ‘recharge your batteries’ or acquire new skills, such decisions are typically met with much appreciation and admiration.
The critical question: Is it a punishment?
Then, the critical question arises: social media users may be okay with you taking a break and creating a gap in your resume, but do employers feel the same way? Is it still considered a ‘punishment’ or not? Or perhaps the opposite is true: could taking a sidestep or a break benefit your career? Researchers Boris Groysberg and Eric Lin decided to investigate and reported their findings in Harvard Business Review. And it turns out the situation is still quite nuanced.
The larger the gap in the resume, the smaller the chance of getting a callback.
For example, they cite a 2019 study in which ResumeGo sent fictitious resumes to over 36,000 job openings. They discovered that a resume without a gap had a callback rate of over 11%, while a resume with a 1- or 2-year gap had a callback rate of about 10%. If the gap was larger, the callback rate dropped significantly: for gaps of 3, 4, and 5 years, the rates were 4.6%, 3.7%, and 3.1%, respectively. However, context mattered. If you didn’t explain the gap, the callback rate averaged only 4.3%. If you mentioned that you were pursuing education during that time, it rose to 8.5%. Health issues resulted in a callback rate of about 7%, and family issues nearly 6%.
Skeptical
There’s also reason to be sceptical that a gap in your resume no longer matters. In the fall of 2023, the two authors surveyed over 400 managers on LinkedIn. Their responses: 61% still viewed a gap in the resume as a negative sign. The biggest concern was reliability (29%), followed by motivation (27%), retention risk (25%), and skill deterioration (19%). Interestingly, women judged gaps more harshly than men: only 4% saw it as a positive signal, compared to 10% of men.
And a gap in your resume doesn’t only affect recruitment decisions. The authors also looked at what it could mean for your further career progression. They examined compensation data for executives with and without a gap in their resumes. It turns out there’s still a significant negative effect. Without a gap in your resume, you could expect an average salary increase of 22% when starting a new job. With a gap, that increase was only 14%. According to the researchers, this effect is even more pronounced for younger executives, which is logical because they have shorter career histories.
‘No death sentence’
Notably, the researchers found that the negative effect of a resume gap was most evident in larger companies, where it is seen more as a warning signal. Also notable: the negative effect lasted longer for women than for men. They suggest that men can more easily ‘catch up’ by proving themselves at a new employer. Their conclusion: ‘A gap in your resume is not a death sentence for your career, but it’s also not irrelevant. The extent to which you can explain it can mitigate the negative effects, but not eliminate them.’
‘How you explain a gap on your resume can mitigate the negative effects, but not completely eliminate them.’
Looking at the entire career trajectory, a gap in your resume generally hurts your earnings. However, if you’ve already had a longer career, you have less to worry about, while those just starting are more vulnerable to a resume gap. The researchers note that companies, especially large ones, still use it as an important signal, although it may be unclear what that signal may be. ‘Hiring managers still make decisions based on incomplete information, using imperfect signals as input.’ For example, a gap in someone’s resume, whether it’s explainable or not.
Unintended side effect
The researchers suggest that the societal trend of taking time off could even lead to an unintended side effect. The more people have a gap in their resume, the more selective the group that doesn’t have to present such a gap becomes. The greater the chance they will stand out positively in a recruitment process, the higher their chances for promotion. Employers still view it as an important signal of someone’s suitability. ‘And so, a larger number of people with a gap in their resume could potentially widen the pay gap rather than narrow it.’
