How to Navigate a Career Gap Without Lying or Losing Credibility

Let’s just get this out of the way:
You don’t have to lie about your career gap.
And please don’t even think about listing a fake company that shut down a few years ago and hope we can’t verify it. I assure you, we have our ways. 

As someone who’s spent over 15 years in talent acquisition across industries, business models, and economic cycles, I’ve seen every trick in the book. I’ve also led programs specifically designed to support women re-entering the workforce after a career break. Let me tell you with my full chest: the worst thing you can do when you’re out of work… is nothing.

That’s when the red flags start to pile up and when hiring teams start questioning whether your skills are still sharp. That, my friend, is when folks start to panic and make up roles they never had. 

Let’s chat for a moment about how to handle an employment gap — the right way — so you can walk into your next interview feeling confident about your career journey.

First, let’s talk about the reality of employment gaps.

Not every career is linear. People take time off to raise children, care for parents, recover from illness, escape toxic jobs, or just breathe. It’s more common than most people think — especially post-2020. Just because career gaps are normal doesn’t mean you don’t need a strategy for how to explain them.

Hiring managers still need to know:

• Can you hit the ground running?
• Are your skills still relevant?
• Have you been paying attention to the evolution of the industry?
• Are you confident enough to talk about the gap without shame or defensiveness?

And here’s where things go left…
When people haven’t done the work to stay sharp during the gap, they aren’t prepared to speak about it.

So… what should you do during a gap?

If you’re currently out of work, these tips are for you. If you’ve already had a gap and you’re trying to re-enter, these still apply. You don’t need to wait for someone to hire you before you start building momentum again.

Let’s walk through five ways to keep your skills fresh and your credibility intact without feeling like you’re scrambling.

1. Volunteer in a Relevant Capacity

This isn’t just about doing something “nice” while you’re unemployed. Strategic volunteering allows you to:

• Stay in practice using the skills you had in your last role
• Add current, relevant experience to your resume and LinkedIn profile
• Build new relationships that could lead to referrals or job leads

If you were a project manager, look for organizations that need help organizing events or systems. If you’re in HR, see if a nonprofit needs help updating job descriptions or onboarding docs. If you're in marketing, you can offer to help a small business with their newsletter or social content.

The point is to stay active and aligned.

2. Enroll in Industry-Specific Education

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars or go back to school full-time. There are so many affordable (and even free) ways to stay current.

Here are just a few:

• LinkedIn Learning
• Coursera
• Udemy
• General Assembly
• Your industry’s association or certification body (many offer short courses or webinars)

You don’t need to learn everything at once. Pick one topic or tool that’s come up in recent job descriptions and go deeper. Then mention it when you're networking or interviewing. That tells us you’re proactive and serious about re-entering the workforce with current knowledge.

3. Join a Professional Group or Association

If you're not actively networking, you're doing yourself a disservice. Joining a local or virtual industry-specific group gives you:

• Visibility in your field, even while you're between jobs
• Updates on trends, tools, and best practices
• Community support and possible job leads

Many groups host free or low-cost virtual events. Attend with intention — not just to “show face,” but to learn and connect. These events also help you sound current in interviews. There’s a difference between someone who’s plugged in and someone who’s out of the loop. Hiring teams can absolutely tell.

4. Update Your LinkedIn Profile with Context

If you have a gap, please don’t ignore it. And definitely don’t list a company that doesn’t exist.

You can add a role like:

Professional Sabbatical
Dates
Focused on professional development, volunteer leadership, and industry-specific upskilling while preparing for a strategic return to the workforce.

Or

Career Pause (Family/Health/Personal)
Dates
Prioritized caregiving responsibilities while staying engaged through ongoing coursework and volunteer projects aligned with my field.

This tells me three things:

• You’re self-aware
• You’re proactive
• You’re not trying to hide

And please believe, most hiring teams appreciate transparency — especially when it’s paired with a clear strategy for what you’ve been doing.

5. Reframe the Gap as a Season, Not a Sentence

This one’s more mindset than strategy, but it’s still critical.

You are not your employment status. A gap doesn’t define your worth, and it certainly doesn’t erase your experience, strengths, or what you bring to the table.

If you’ve been out of work for a few months (or even a few years), you might be battling shame or self-doubt. But let me be clear: those feelings don’t get to run your job search.

Instead, lead with:

• What you’ve done to stay ready
• What you’re excited to bring to your next role
• What clarity this season has given you about your career goals

Hiring teams don’t expect perfection, but they do expect preparation.

I’ll leave you with this…

Career gaps don’t have to be career killers unless you try to hide them or lie about them. 

Your next employer doesn’t just want someone with the right background. They want someone thoughtful about what they want next, who has taken action even in a hard season, and who’s ready to contribute on day one.

If you’re not sure what to say, how to frame your gap, or whether your resume or LinkedIn profile reflects what you actually bring to the table, let’s talk.

I offer Career Clarity Sessions where we walk through your career story, identify the roles that make sense for you, and build a strategy that feels honest, clear, and strong enough to hold up under real interview pressure. You’ll walk away with a plan that actually works, not one that tells you to lie and hope for the best.

Let’s build that plan together.

Chat soon,
Kristina