Comment by enrmarc | Hacker News Reader

Comment by enrmarc | Hacker News Reader

Serious question: what's the problem with résumé gaps? Is it a big deal in USA? I'd say that in Europe it's not such a big deal. Nobody is going to ask you why you have, for instance, a 4 month gap in your résumé if you have been working 3 or 4 years in a row. Almost everyone would guess that you took that time off, and that's not a bad thing precisely. Perhaps you took that time to learn new skills, to read a ton of books, to travel around the world, to be with your kids,... a lot of activities that do more good than harm. Most of us are going to work until we are 60 or so, so what's the big deal with having a few months every 5 years or so in our résumé? They give you a medal if you finish your career without gaps?

Imagine this scenario: developer A has been working in a time span of 10 years without résumé gaps. Developer B has been working for 9 years and has been taking gaps of 4 months every 3 years. Do you really think there is going to be a big difference between the two developers in terms of skills set? 10, 9, 8 years, it doesn't make a difference at all in terms of accumulated knowledge. But developer B has been doing "something else" during a whole year (3 gaps of 4months each). Maybe he travelled the world and learned a little bit of a couple of languages, and I'd say that's a valuable non-technical skill to have.

As I've said, I see more good than harm in taking a few month off from time to time.

Going back to your question: if it's just for a few months I see no problem at all, and if recruiters ask then just explain what you have post.

I did this in the UK and it felt like a huge deal. I wasn't yet a developer at the time, but I think my experience is still relevant. It seemed to really have an impact on interviews. The interviewer would end up asking a lot of questions about why I left the previous job (it was for quite innocent reasons), rather than the stuff I really wanted to be talking about, which puts the whole thing on a downer from the start. It affected me a lot, which meant I started to become very nervous before interviews, so performed badly, got even more nervous, etc. I pretty much have a phobia of interviews to this day (almost 10 years later) because of it.

I think the answer to the original question depends enormously on what type of person you are. If you're extremely confident in yourself, and in your skills, and you're naturally positive and optimistic then you should be fine.

If you have the sort of personality that tends towards introspection and self-doubt, then think very carefully before doing this. Think about how you'll feel after your 10th rejection, or when your savings are starting to run low. Will you still bounce back?

Finally, I've heard that some recruiters use your current employment status as a filtering criterion. So your CV might not even get looked at. This is insane, but I've heard it enough times to think it might be true.

Do more interviews. Jobs you're vaguely interested and qualified for, but aren't likely to switch for.

When everything isn't on the line, you can learn to relax and enjoy.

I try to never go more than a few months without a bit of practice, and now I'm head and shoulders above most people with my interview confidence.

This is my experience too in the UK. 6 months is border-line unemployable – expect at the very least a salary low-ball offer. I don't know many people in our industry in the UK who would take 3 months off and not worry about their career.

Most you can hope for is delaying the start date in a new position. But, again, they likely will ask your notice period and your end date, and be a bit suspicious of a a delayed start date.

I have the opposite experience in the UK. I have god knows how many gaps in my resume... for all sorts of reason. Probably part of the reason why I became a contractor ; as it's kinda part of the job. Anyway, interviewers have never raised it. Perhaps it's just that we don't apply to the same type of tech companies.

The difference in the US is that employment is mostly "at-will". An employee can be let go pretty much any day without notice.

So when you change job of your own initiative, it is assumed that you first get a new position, then give a notice and start your new position. If you have gaps, we can imagined that it's because you were let go (and therefore were unprepared to start something new). Now, why were you let go? Were you not performing well?

I'm not saying it's right or wrong; just explaining how long and recurrent gaps can be interpreted.

> So when you change job of your own initiative, it is assumed that you first get a new position, then give a notice and start your new position.

It's pretty much the same in Europe (except when you take gaps, of course).

> I'm not saying it's right or wrong; just explaining how long and recurrent gaps can be interpreted.

Recurrent gaps can be interpreted in a lot of different ways, but there is just one real reason behind them. But I see how recruiters can assume things before asking for real answers (e.g. 6 months gap and this guy hasn't been able to find a job? Next!). It's a pity.

>> So when you change job of your own initiative, it is assumed that you first get a new position, then give a notice and start your new position.

> It's pretty much the same in Europe

Not exactly. If I understand things correctly, in US when your employer fires you the very same day you're unemployed. There's no mandatory notice period. In Europe, there usually is a notice period guaranteed in employment laws, so if you're fired, you can still find a job before termination.

A gap in the past is probably not a problem, but a gap between your last job and the job you are applying for is a big red flag. Being unemployed puts you at a disadvantage because it makes you seem less desirable.

It's not much of a stretch to image a hiring manager seeing this and thinking:

- What happened that caused this person to leave their previous job? Were they fired or laid off because they were underperforming?

- Why has it taken them 3-4 months to reach us? Have they been applying to a bunch of places and they were rejected from all of them?

"Nobody is going to ask you why you have, for instance, a 4 month gap in your résumé"

How would they know, in the first place? I always use year ranges to describe previous employments. So, job one could be 2003-2006, and the next one 2006-2011. Gap? Between zero days and 11 months or thereabouts.

Also, 2003-2006 followed by 2007-2011 could mea. A gap from zero to almost two years, but it doesn't look that way.

Thank you and very good question. I posted this here because I'm not sure if it's just something my parents (workaholics) convinced me of, or a real thing. I am in the USA, and from my perspective, not having resume gaps is hugely important, but I'm hoping I'm mistaken. These answers are helping me realize maybe I am.

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