Gaps on your resume? Here's how to explain them to your future employer.

Three months, six months, a year, two years... sometimes our resumes have these periods called "gaps". Despite the negative term, there's nothing wrong with showing periods of professional inactivity on your resume. As long as you show how these periods benefited you in terms of technical or human skills.

1- How do employers generally tend to perceive these gaps in a resume? Are there types of "gaps" that can really harm a candidate during an interview?
These gaps in a resume aren't necessarily seen negatively by employers, as long as these periods gave the candidate a chance to enrich their experience. For example, travel isn't necessarily a bad thing: you've encountered things you didn't know, discovered different populations and cultures, etc. So, during an interview, it's about showing how this (travel) experience will help you approach the position you're applying for.

What is detrimental, however, are gaps of two or three years corresponding to a period of unemployment without anything having been undertaken during that period: starting a business, training to improve skills or to completely reorient oneself professionally, or any other life experience bringing a new perspective.

2- How to prepare for interview questions about these gaps in the resume?
This preparation isn't necessary, as you'll honestly tell what you did. The most important thing, besides honesty (and I emphasize this point), is to show that this period of inactivity wasn't simply endured. You can easily say that you were laid off for economic reasons, a disagreement with your management, or whatever the reason, except for gross misconduct: avoid discussing embezzlement if you were the financial director, for example!

Showing that you faced the situation and made something positive out of it won't be a problem. The best way to prepare, therefore, is not to lie because everything is verifiable.
How to highlight gaps in your resume? To what extent can they ultimately help get a job?

Above all, it's about explaining that this difficult period, this professional void, allowed us to acquire certain things. What's very important for the recruiter is to know how you handled it and what you made of it.

Although you may have fallen, the essential thing for the recruiter is to see that you got back up, and what you were able to take away from this experience to continue your professional career. This could be on a technical level, or a human one: during this period, you may have met people who helped you grow, which, for a manager, will allow you to approach human relations differently, perhaps in a deeper, more elaborate, more refined way, etc. This will therefore allow you to improve your human skills, or to make yourself stronger personally. This is therefore a real plus.

3-How to best use these periods of gaps in the CV (without salaried activity) to improve it?

It all depends on your situation. For example, after a skills assessment, you might realize you have skills to improve (which is very positive). Let's say you find that you don't have a very good command of English, which is currently essential: you can then decide to go for an immersion in London for six months or a year.

You really need to be aware of your shortcomings in order to implement the appropriate solutions. You can also, and perhaps even more importantly, strengthen your strengths, which is often easier.

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