Job Seekers Tackle 17-Year Resume Gaps With Direct Answers and Skills Framing

3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 25

17-year career breaks and other resume gaps are best handled by addressing them directly, naming what happened and showing what skills, certifications or volunteer work filled the time, recruiter Andy Decker said.
COVID-era caregiving and layoffs made employment gaps more common and less stigmatized, and applicants can label them on resumes as a “career break,” “family responsibility” or similar plain-language terms.
Monique Di Liberto, 57, turned PTA leadership and work in her husband’s business into evidence of budgeting, hiring and software skills, then won a job after proposing a 30-day trial and later rose to head of client services.
270-person layoffs and other reductions should be explained briefly and without blame, Decker said, while job seekers such as Baura Zia also leaned on networking contacts to ease their return to work.
Ryan Cuellar, 29, said even harder gaps tied to incarceration can be reframed around persistence, training and service—underscoring the broader advice to own the story rather than hide it.