Writing A Resume After A Long Break

Career gaps can feel uncomfortable. Whether you took time off to travel, care for someone, reset your mental health or just figure things out. The question is always the same:
How do I explain this on my resume? Here’s what I’ve learned from my own break. Early in my career, I paused on my recruiting career to chase a passion and I took an unpaid internship in the music industry. I learned and this is the same advice I’ve been to my clients: It’s all in how you frame it.
Your break isn’t something to hide, it’s part of your story. Think about what you gained during that time: clarity or new skills. Own it directly on your resume. Here’s an example :  Career Break (11/2021–02/2023) Creative Exploration & Personal Development
 - Unpaid PR internship in the music industry: developed skills in communication and project management. - Explored personal interests, built clarity around career direction, and developed adaptability. Freelance / Consulting Projects - Created and managed social media strategy for a small business, increasing engagement and visibility
 - Designed pitch decks and marketing materials for an early-stage event startup, contributing to client acquisition Even if it was part-time, unpaid or self-initiated, if it built skills or experience that is relevant to the roles you are going for, include it. When someone asks about the gap, don’t apologize. Speak confidently and explain it clearly. Example: “I took time off to explore a new industry and ended up gaining clarity on what I really want. I’m more focused and motivated than ever to grow in this space.” Career breaks don’t disqualify you. It’s about you talk about them makes all the difference.

She had 12 years of experience. But after her maternity break, not a single company replied. (Hiring managers ghosted her) Samara's (name changed) story isn’t rare. But it shouldn’t be this common. She’s an Atlanta-based immigrant professional. Strategic. Sharp. 12 years in the game. But the moment she stepped away to raise her child, the world paused her career, too. She applied to dozens of roles. Silence. No calls. No responses. It's like taking a break for family made the industry forget her value. And I’ve seen this happen too many times — Especially to women who step out briefly… and return to find their experience discounted. When Samara reached out, we didn’t talk about motivation. We talked about strategy. Here’s what we fixed: ✅ 1. Resume positioning for impact Samara's old resume was a timeline of responsibilities. What it needed was proof of ownership. We rewrote every bullet point to answer: - What decision did she make? - What changed because of her? - What did she drive, improve, or influence? For example: Bad: “Worked on project tracking and reports for leadership.” Good: “Led cross-functional program tracking across 4 departments; improved reporting cadence and reduced status churn by 35%.” ✅ 2. Framed her break with confidence Instead of trying to hide her maternity leave, we added a one-line note that explained it upfront — so there was no awkwardness or ambiguity. Then, we followed with a clear pivot: “After a brief family sabbatical, I’m returning with renewed clarity and 12+ years of cross-functional experience leading tech initiatives across finance and enterprise teams.” We treated her career break like what it actually was — a pause, not a reset. ✅ 3. Rebuilt her application strategy We stopped cold-applying to dozens of random roles. Instead, we: Identified companies hiring for her strengths (structured program leadership, fintech, stakeholder alignment) Tailored her resume and her LinkedIn to those roles - Added relevant keywords to pass ATS, but also made sure her profile spoke clearly to human recruiters - Used warm networking + follow-ups to get noticed faster Last week, Samara got her first recruiter outreach in months from Bank of America. Now, she’s prepping for interviews again. But more importantly, she’s back in motion. That’s the moment most people quit: Right before momentum returns. Samara didn’t. And if you’re on a break, wondering if the market still sees your value? It does. You just have to show it — like Samara did: With strategy, not apology. P.S. DM me if you are ready to land your dream tech role in the U.S. Let's build a strategy to showcase the value and expertise you can bring to an organization.

One of the questions I get most frequently from job seekers is how to navigate a career gap on their resume… Personally, I say address it head-on. Lots of people, particularly over the last 4-5 years, have experienced unexpected breaks in employment. It’s understandable and perfectly acceptable! But if you don’t address it proactively, employers might begin to imagine unfounded and unfair red flags about you and your work history. So don’t give them the chance! I always recommend incorporating a “career break” entry into your resume. In this type of section, you have the opportunity to: 1️⃣ Tactfully and succinctly explain the reason for this break in your employment history while avoiding going into unnecessary details 2️⃣ Frame things in a positive light and showcase your resiliency, rather than just leaving a missing date range in your experience section 3️⃣ Explain relevant activities you may have engaged in during your break like volunteering, upskilling, or working in a part-time or freelance capacity 4️⃣ Highlight the alignment of skills you potentially gained or honed during this time to the job for which you are applying 5️⃣ Showcase your excitement for returning to a specific role or field, addressing baseless concerns about your commitment or work readiness This approach is strategically beneficial because it allows you to be honest and transparent, while also giving you the opportunity to control your own narrative! #careerbreak #careergap #resumewriting

📲 I received this question over text last week: 𝘐'𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘱? When the school supplies hit store shelves, 'tis the season for paid work re-entry. When you sense your career break is at its end and paid work is the goal, look forward (not backward) when determining your career direction. And once you know the role(s) you're after, position yourself as THE must-have candidate. Remember: Your career break is an asset, not a liability. 4 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞: ❶ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 Use a “Related Experience” heading in your resume to list experiences that matter for your job target. This simple trick allows you to demonstrate skills, wins and roles that translate to your ideal role. Consider including volunteer experience, leadership positions and side hustle (or freelance work). ❷ 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 This tactic is a great way to create continuity from a collection of experiences. Group like experiences and roles together, delineating the experiences in a summary section. Then, focus on the successes in your bullet points. Share the data of your efforts as it relates to the work you want to do going forward. Think money raised, the number of committees led, results of new programs built, etc. ❸ 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 If you have a short gap as a mid-career professional, you can use an easy formatting fix: Delete the months on your resume to eliminate your short gap. For gaps longer than a year, use the date sandwich method. Instead of formatting dates to the right-hand side of your file, create a sandwich 🥪. The bread is the company name on one side and the location on the other, with the employment dates in the middle of the sandwich. This way the focus is being taken off the years out of the workforce and focusing more on your job title and the value you brought to the position. ❹ 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 These are one-line statements sharing the WHY behind your paid employment exit. Research shows applicants who disclose the reason behind their work gap were 60% more likely to receive a call back for an interview than those who didn't. Your exit line is a straightforward statement, not a novel. It can be placed in the line of the job title. For example: Product Manager | 2015 – 2022 | Left for a 2-year stint to care for children OR your exit line could read: Left position to get MBA If you have an extensive break consider a one-liner between roles in your work experience, like: Career sabbatical to care for family ❓What else?