As a recruiter I sometimes see a gap in a resume, or someone hasn’t work for the last 6 months. The obvious question that comes to mind is, “what have you been doing since the last time you worked”.
While this information is important, we don’t want to make a candidate feel uncomfortable about having to explain something that may be very personal to them, while also knowing that for a recruiter to sell a candidate, questions may be asked by a hiring manager about the gap.
It is important to be careful about getting information for the recruiter but it is also just as important for the candidate to make sure that any gaps in a resume or work history are addressed.
When reviewing a resume and I see that someone hasn’t work for 6 months, my first assumption would be that there was either a reduction in force or more likely, the candidate has been searching for a position and has interviewed but for reasons unknown has not landed a position.
If your reason for having a gap is because of a RIF then disclose that and a recruiter should not take it any further than that and move on.
If your reason for having a gap is personal, there isn’t any need to go into depth with it, unless your reasons are something that may show up later on you can just say that for personal reasons you had to take some time off.
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