Ever struggled to explain a career break in your CV?

Ever struggled to explain a career break in your CV?

It can be a real challenge. Though there are so many legitimate reasons to take time out from your career it can be tricky to articulate them in a standard CV or application. You might decide to address it at the interview stage but the reality is it might see your CV passed over if you haven’t managed to explain the big gap holes between previous jobs.

It’s often a particular challenge for women too, who are still more likely to take time out from their jobs to be a full-time parent, or care for elderly relatives.

Which is why I’m really pleased to see this new LinkedIn feature, which came off the back of a survey that found 64% of people want to positive represent career breaks to hiring managers.

It’s really simple to use, and allows you to choose one of 13 different options for describing a career break—whether that be bereavement, caregiving or time off for health and well-being.

Given the huge emphasis placed on online portfolios today it’s a great addition and a great antidote to an issue that has plagued job seekers for as long as anyone can remember.