The short answer
Explain a gap in your CV with a single, honest line in your work history, using the same date format as your jobs and a brief, neutral reason: "Career break: caring for a family member" or "Travelling in South East Asia". If you did something useful during the gap (a course, volunteering, freelance work), add one or two bullet points. Then prepare a short interview answer that covers what happened, what you did, and why you're ready now. You don't have to give personal or medical detail.
Gaps are common. The National Careers Service puts it simply: having a gap in your CV is not a problem, but you might be asked about it. The aim is to answer the question before the reader asks it, so they can move on to the rest of your CV.
Which gaps need explaining?
- A few months between jobs: usually nothing. Readers generally expect some time between roles, especially if you were job hunting.
- Around six months or more: add a line. Without one, a reader has to guess, and guesses are rarely generous.
- Gaps in your most recent history: these matter most, because they're what the employer sees first and asks about.
- Old gaps (ten or more years ago): less important, especially if your recent record is steady. You can summarise early career in one line.
- Gaps while studying or straight after school, college or university: very common, and rarely a concern. A line like "Gap year: worked and travelled" is enough.
Where to explain the gap
- In your work history (best). Treat the gap as an entry with dates, just like a job. This keeps your timeline complete and shows you're not hiding anything.
- In your profile if the gap is recent and long, and you're returning to work. One clause is enough: "returning to finance after a three-year career break". Our personal statement examples include a returner's profile.
- In your cover letter, in one sentence, if you think the reader will want context.
- At interview, in a short prepared answer (see below).
Be careful with dates
Some people show only years ("2021 to 2023") to make short gaps disappear. Using years alone for older roles is common and acceptable, but use the same format throughout and never change dates. Employers can check dates through references and background checks, and a mismatch looks far worse than a gap. If an application form asks for months, give the real months.
Example wording for common reasons
These examples show the CV line and, where useful, a sentence you could say at interview. Adapt the wording so it's true for you.
Redundancy
The National Careers Service suggests describing redundancy as a business decision, not a judgement on you.
Career break following redundancy | May 2025 to January 2026
My role was made redundant when the company merged its sales and accounts teams. Used the time to complete a Xero certification and volunteer as treasurer for a local charity.
Raising children
Career break: raising my children | 2022 to 2025
- Completed a CIPD Level 3 certificate (2024)
- PTA treasurer, managing a £6,000 annual budget
You don't need to apologise for this or explain your childcare arrangements. If you're applying part-time, your profile can say so.
Caring for a family member
Career break: full-time carer for a family member | March 2024 to June 2025
Caring often develops real, relevant skills (organising appointments, managing finances, dealing with professionals). Mention them if they help with the job, but you don't have to. If caring has made you think about care work as a career, the care assistant CV example shows how those skills are written up for paid roles.
Illness, injury or mental health
You decide how much to share. A neutral line is completely acceptable:
Career break: health reasons, now fully fit to work | 2024 to 2025
Or simply "Career break for personal reasons". On GOV.UK, the government explains that an employer is not normally allowed to ask about your health or disability before offering you a job, except for limited reasons such as making reasonable adjustments. The National Careers Service also advises sharing only what you feel comfortable talking about.
Travel or a gap year
Travelling: Australia and New Zealand | September 2024 to August 2025
- Worked for six months as a barista on a working holiday visa in Melbourne
Show independence, planning, any work you did and anything you learned. Avoid making it sound like an extended holiday if it was more than that.
Study or retraining
Full-time study: Level 3 Diploma in Accounting (AAT) | 2025 to 2026
This isn't really a gap at all. List it under education too, and if it's part of a change of direction, our career change CV guide shows how to build the rest of the CV around it.
Moving to the UK or relocating
Relocation to the UK | June to December 2025
Relocated from Lagos with my family; obtained UK right to work and completed a CompTIA Security+ certification.
Freelancing or running your own business
Freelance bookkeeper, self-employed | 2023 to 2025
- Kept accounts for 8 small business clients using Xero and QuickBooks
- Closed the business to return to an in-house role with more stability
Self-employment is experience, not a gap. Treat it as a job, even if it was small or didn't work out.
Looking for work
If you've simply been job hunting for a while, you don't need a line for that alone. If it's been many months, show what you've been doing alongside it: a course, volunteering, temp work. "Temporary roles via agency" with one line of detail is better than an unexplained year.
Dismissal
The National Careers Service advises talking about a dismissal at interview rather than at the application stage. On the CV, list the job normally with its dates. If you're asked about it, explain briefly what happened, what you learned and how you've changed, without criticising your old employer.
Prison or a criminal conviction
Whether you need to mention a conviction depends on whether it's spent, what you're applying for and what you're asked. GOV.UK explains that you only need to tell an employer about an unspent conviction if they ask, and in most cases you don't need to mention a spent one unless the role needs a standard or enhanced DBS check. Check your position on GOV.UK's criminal record disclosure guide before you decide what to write. For the gap itself, many people focus the line on what they achieved during that time: qualifications gained, work done, courses completed. Charities such as Nacro offer free advice on disclosure.
Show that your skills are current
After a long gap, the reader's real question is "can they do the job now?" Answer it with something recent:
- Short courses in the tools or rules of your field (accounting software, safeguarding, a programming language, updated legislation).
- Volunteering that uses the skills the job needs.
- Freelance, temp or part-time work, however small.
- Professional memberships kept up, or industry events attended.
- Returner programmes: some employers run paid "returnships" for people coming back after a career break. They're worth searching for in your sector.
Explaining a gap in your cover letter
One sentence is usually enough, placed after you've made your case for the job, not at the start:
After a two-year career break caring for my father, I'm ready to return to full-time work, and I've kept my skills current by completing the AAT Level 3 qualification and doing the books for a local charity.
Our cover letter examples include a full letter from a returner.
Answering questions about gaps at interview
Prepare a two or three sentence answer with this shape: what happened (briefly), what you did during the gap, and why you're ready now, then steer back to the job. For example:
"I took 18 months out to look after my mum after her stroke. While I was at home I kept my bookkeeping up to date by doing the accounts for a local charity, and I finished my AAT Level 3. She's settled in sheltered housing now, so I'm ready to commit to a full-time role, and this one is a really good match for what I've been doing."
Say it calmly and confidently, then stop. Over-explaining makes a normal gap sound like a problem. Our interview preparation guide covers how to practise answers like this out loud.
What not to do
- Don't stretch dates to cover a gap. It can be found through references and can cost you the job later.
- Don't invent a job or a consultancy that didn't exist.
- Don't over-share. Health details, family conflict and money troubles don't belong on a CV.
- Don't apologise ("Unfortunately I was out of work..."). State it plainly.
- Don't criticise a previous employer, even if a redundancy or dismissal was unfair.
CV gap checklist
- Every gap of around six months or more has a one-line entry with dates
- Dates use the same format as your jobs, and they're accurate
- The reason is brief and neutral, with no more personal detail than you're comfortable sharing
- Anything useful from the gap (courses, volunteering, freelance work) is listed
- Something recent shows your skills are current
- A one-sentence explanation ready for your cover letter if needed
- A two or three sentence interview answer, practised out loud
- References lined up who can speak to your work before or after the gap (see references on a CV)
Want to know if your CV still reads well with a gap in it? Check your CV free: in about 30 seconds you'll get a CV Score out of 100 for the role you want and the fixes to make first.