Questions about resume gaps are expected. Here’s how job seekers can address them

NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� When Monique Di Liberto began looking for a paying job after putting her to parent full-time, she felt paralyzed by self-doubt.

鈥淲ho do you think you are trying this after 17 years?” Di Liberto recalled asking herself. “You have no business doing this.鈥�

The fear and uncertainty she felt is familiar to many people seeking work after an absence from the job market. Whether they lost a position during mass layoffs or needed to leave one to care for an ill loved one, job applicants can expect questions about employment history lapses to surface and .

鈥淵ou have to address it honestly and directly,鈥� said Andy Decker, CEO of Goodwin Recruiting, a candidate recruitment and placement firm. 鈥淢ake sure that you鈥檝e included anything you did during that time. Did you get certifications? Did you volunteer?鈥�

between jobs have become far more common and are less stigmatized than they were before many people worked from home or took time off during the COVID-19 pandemic to take care of children or relatives, Decker said. Some people note these periods on their resumes as a 鈥渃areer break鈥� or 鈥渇amily responsibility,鈥� he said.

Here are strategies suggested by a recruiter and workers who have been there for addressing a career gap.

Highlight transferable life skills

Employers are more focused on skills or results than a perfect career path, and at a nonprofit organization is a good way to keep those skills fresh, Decker said.

Di Liberto, 57, was a classically trained opera singer before she got married and became a mother. While her husband built a chiropractic practice, she set aside her music career ambitions to .

Once she decided to reenter the workforce, Di Liberto didn鈥檛 have experience to feature on her resume. Instead, she reviewed activities beyond family life for skills that would translate into a work environment.

Serving as PTA president at her children鈥檚 school, for example, required managing budgets and presenting project plans to the school board. She also helped with budgeting, software rollouts and hiring for her husband’s business.

Even so, she kept hearing as she applied for administrative support roles that she wasn’t qualified. However, one person who interviewed Di Liberto was intrigued, saying, 鈥淭his resume was so different than anything I had ever seen. I needed to see the person who created this.”

Determined not to walk away empty-handed, Di Liberto proposed a monthlong trial run as an administrative assistant. Her pitch was: 鈥淚 recognize that you probably are getting resumes of people who are far more qualified than me, but I would challenge that they are not as tenacious and driven as me. If you give me 30 days, I鈥檒l prove to you that I can learn this job and I can do this job.鈥�

The company hired her. Over the next decade, she was promoted and recruited away by other employers and worked her way up to head of client services at an artificial intelligence company. Di Liberto said she was asked about her employment lull each time she interviewed for a new position.

鈥淚 was fortunate enough to stay home for 17 years and raise amazing humans,鈥� she tells potential employers. “And I worked from the ground up to be where I am today.”

Laura Sandvik, who left a marketing job to and later her children, highlighted in her LinkedIn profile the soft skills she gained from her experiences.

鈥淚 have no regrets about those choices. They strengthened my patience, perspective, and sense of responsibility. In returning to formal roles, I have done so intentionally,鈥� she wrote.

Practice telling a layoff story

If you lost a job due to restructuring , you don’t need to volunteer that information on a resume but be honest if an interviewer asks why you left, Decker said.

鈥淚 would simply say, 鈥業 was one of 270 people caught up in this reduction of force,鈥� or if you made it through a few rounds of layoffs, say, 鈥極ver two years we had five rounds of reductions in force, I made it through four, I was caught up in the fifth,鈥�” Decker suggested.

Practice your response before the interview, and avoid negativity such as blaming the employer. 鈥淥wn it, acknowledge it and move on,鈥� Decker said.

Baura Zia, 35, was laid off in 2022 shortly after returning from maternity leave. She was upset initially but says losing her job 鈥渨as honestly a blessing in disguise” because she spent the next three years raising her two children full-time.

On her resume, Zia describes those years as a 鈥減arenting gap,鈥� and states that she also moved across the country in that time. When she decided to find a part-time job after her son’s first birthday, she explained during interviews that the organization she previously worked for didn’t let her go over performance issues but because it lost the contract she was working on.

鈥淗aving grace with yourself is really important,” Zia said. “It鈥檚 not a flaw to have a career gap. If anything, you鈥檝e grown so much from that.鈥�

During her job hunt, Zia sometimes sent messages to people she found online to ask about their experience working at the company where she’d applied. Many didn鈥檛 reply, but some did. She also reached out to contacts from a for women in public relations she joined years ago.

鈥淲hen I was ready to go back to the workplace, it wasn鈥檛 as hard as I thought it would be, only because I had my network to tap into,鈥� Zia said.

Own your accomplishments

Addressing resume gaps due to major employment barriers can be especially difficult.

Ryan Cuellar, 29, who was charged with felony possession of stolen property at age 18 and sent to jail a month before he expected to graduate high school, is proud of his perseverance and record of overcoming hurdles.

鈥淒on鈥檛 reflect on your mistake but take pride in what you learn from it and what you are doing about it,” Cuellar advised.

After being incarcerated for a few months, Cuellar returned to high school to repeat his senior year. Then he took a string of odd jobs that didn’t require background checks, including acting gigs and working as a machine operator, while also taking college classes.

After receiving certification as a paralegal, Cuellar said he used the training to petition to have his criminal record sealed. That meant he did not have to disclose his legal history or worry about getting asked about it following background checks.

Cuellar chose to tell potential employers about it anyway, even though doing so often hurt his chances of getting hired. He also volunteered at the jail, helping people held there acquire skills to help them succeed after their release. He recently landed his first full-time job, working as a salesperson for a company that provides online tutoring services.

鈥淚t鈥檚 part of my story,鈥� Cuellar said of his incarceration. 鈥淎t the end of the day, I think that you need to know that about me as a person to understand my side and where I come from and my perspective.鈥�

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of a subject’s surname to Di Liberto, not De Liberto’s name.

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Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP鈥檚 Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at

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