{"id":17914,"date":"2022-05-10T16:46:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T13:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/?p=17914"},"modified":"2025-03-21T17:31:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T15:31:26","slug":"employment-gaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/employment-gaps\/","title":{"rendered":"Career breaks: Are they truly candidate red flags?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’re looking for your next great hire. As you’re browsing relevant profiles on LinkedIn, you stumble across one candidate with an… unusual<\/em> work experience:<\/p>\n

\"Employment<\/p>\n

Not your expected job title. Or, a familiar company name.<\/p>\n

Instead, a career break<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Employment gaps are not something new. But highlighting them online hasn’t been what recruiters recommend. This is changing now, and you’ll likely start seeing more entries like these, thanks to a feature<\/a> that LinkedIn recently rolled out. People have the option to add career breaks to their profiles and, this way, explain why they’ve taken time off from work.<\/p>\n

You may wonder why people would want to highlight their employment gaps<\/strong> in a competitive job market.<\/p>\n

Attitudes and assumptions about resume gaps have started to shift. Employers are more open to candidates who have taken time away. LinkedIn\u2019s new feature is a reflection of this change and is a way of allowing people to give context to their career breaks.<\/p>\n

But this hasn’t always been the case.<\/p>\n

Why people are afraid to talk about a resume gap<\/h2>\n

Historically, resume gaps and career breaks have been red flags. And some hiring managers are still nervous about considering candidates with gaps in their careers. Even subconsciously, employers may be mentally dinging applicants for taking breaks from work.<\/p>\n

It can be easy to assume the worst. For instance, “someone who\u2019s stayed out of the workforce for a while has outdated skills.<\/em>” Or, “someone who quit their job to travel for 6 months isn\u2019t stable and their behavior will be a pattern going forward.”<\/em><\/p>\n

These concerns may seem valid at first sight. But they’re just that: assumptions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You don’t know for sure whether candidates have the necessary skills for the job unless you evaluate them during an interview or through an assessment. And you can’t tell whether a candidate is generally flaky because at some point in their career they went on a 6-month trip.<\/p>\n

Removing the stigma from career breaks<\/h2>\n

According to recent research from LinkedIn, 62% of employees have taken a break from work<\/a>. And the reasons for most of these gaps don\u2019t stem from a lack of loyalty or dependability.<\/p>\n

The top reasons people cite for taking time away<\/a> from their career are to care for family (things like raising children or taking care of a sick relative) and layoffs. Other reasons may include personal or professional development, travel, or personal health.<\/p>\n

Whether the reason for an employment gap is driven by personal needs and interests (e.g., someone might be suffering from burnout and wants to prioritize their mental health), or external factors (e.g., a company is making mass layoffs due to the economical crisis), career breaks are not decisive of a person’s skills and potential<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Eliminating arbitrary assumptions and approaching people\u2019s work histories with curiosity instead will benefit your organization in several ways.<\/p>\n

Being open to all qualified candidates helps so that you:<\/p>\n