Every job search has a lot of moving parts, and there’s no denying that employment gaps on your resume can make things seem more complicated. The quality and longevity of your work experience can speak directly to your work ethic and professionalism, making it an important piece of your candidate profile. Rather than worry about how your employment gaps may be perceived by employers, it’s best to tackle them head on so they don’t have a negative effect on your job search.

Even just some small adjustments to your resume can make a big difference when it comes to addressing gaps in employment. Here are some resume changes you can implement to ensure you’re making the best impression.

Avoid Listing Months

Listing dates on your resume without mentioning actual months is a good way to keep your resume accurate without revealing significant employment gaps. For example, rather than write “May 2017-Jan 2018,” you may opt to list the job timeframe as “2017–2018.” Writing the years in this way will not raise as much of a red flag and make your employment gap less noticeable. With that being said, employers generally expect temp jobs to be short-term positions that often don’t turn into full-time work. Therefore, there’s no need to feel concerned if your resume has some breaks between temp jobs.

Include Non-Employment Experience

As a candidate, your experience extends beyond your employment history. When you weren’t employed, think about how you spent your time. For example, did you freelance or consult? Did you volunteer or do charity work for a cause you care about? Did you do an internship? Including these other types of experiences will help employers look beyond your past employment and see everything you offer as a candidate.

Remember, nobody has a flawless work history. As long as you take steps to address employment gaps on your resume, you’ll have no problem positively showcasing yourself as a candidate and landing interviews.

Reformat Your Resume

You can minimize the appearance of employment gaps in your resume through some simple reformatting changes. For example, you may choose to make the dates on your resume plain, rather than bold, or you can make them a smaller font than the font of the company name and job title. You can also consider adding a skills section at the top of your resume to showcase your accomplishments, as this will detract from the actual dates in which you held previous jobs and focus more on your qualifications.

Your resume tells a story about who you are and how you can add value as a candidate for a job opening. If your resume is ready for the job hunt, contact Carlton Staffing and let their team of recruiters help you find the right professional fit.