The CV-Gap? Don’t let this stop you from recruiting the best talent

There are not enough negative adjectives to describe the impact of COVID on people’s working lives – redundancy, stress, reduced growth. A lot of people’s expectations of their linear career path will have taken a detour.

Due to this, there might be a lot of people’s CV’s who have the 2020 ‘COVID’ gap. Employers might see the date ‘2020’ and nod empathetically, as they themselves have also become accustomed to writing off 2020 with exceptional circumstances.

But, many people, BC (‘Before COVID’) had gaps in their CV’s.  

Such a gap comes with much stigma – ResumeGo research demonstrated that applicants with work gaps had a 45% lower chance of receiving job interviews than those without. This can be due to periods of caring, illness, funding, redundancy, travelling… basically #Life.

Not having a ‘normal’ career trajectory does not make you unemployable.

A quick online search provides lots of results for interviewees to justify why they had a period in their life where they were not in full-time permanent employment.

Caption: Text saying ‘Applicants with a work gap are 45% lower chance of receiving job interviews.

It shouldn’t be down to the potential interviewee to ‘explain themselves’.

As employers and interviewers, here are some simple tips to approach a gap in someone’s CV:

• Have an open non-judgmental mindset and don’t make assumptions. You can make a person feel much more at-ease with an accepting and curious attitude.

• Do not limit references to two, or more, recent employers. Accept references from people who can attest to the skills needed for the role.

• For questions in applications and interviews, always ask for examples that can be from education, voluntary experience, and personal life, as well as in a recent professional role (e.g. parental leave is a huge chance for someone to develop organisational skills!).

• Trust the person to offer as much personal information about the situation as they comfortable with.  

Remember: By challenging gap-stigma, you are more likely to get the best employee for the role.