Contractors' Questions: Is a year-long CV gap concerning or normal nowadays?

Contractor’s Question: A recruiter reached out and said I was perfect for a role, but at the last-minute said the gap in my assignment-history on my CV was “concerning.”

Due to covid, and the challenging jobs market, plus given I’m a contractor rather than a full-timer, I thought a career gap was less of a problem than it once was.

If it helps to know the gap is about a year long, and I was going forward for a manager-level role; it’s one of about 30 applications a day I did last week.

Is the recruiter (and by extension) the end-client right to be concerned, or is a year-long career gap quite normal nowadays, and nothing to be looked down upon?

Expert’s Answer: Gaps are common for IT contractors and their CVs, occurring for a variety of reasons.

But contractors must expect gaps to be questioned.

Whether it's due to market challenges like those we’ve seen since late 2022, care-giving responsibilities, global travel, or further education, these breaks shouldn't be viewed negatively by potential end-users.

Contrary to outdated advice, some gaps on your CV are not inherently detrimental to your job prospects.

Expect questions on gaps exceeding a few months

However, you must expect clients (and their agencies) to ask about the reasons for extended periods without work.

From my experience, I’d say four in five clients will ask about a gap longer than a few months either during an IT contractor interview or they’ll expect me to know from my call with you.

Recruiters asking for gaps are looking for skeletons

Most of the time, recruiters ask about CV gaps because they are looking for skeletons. They want the peace of mind that you were on a beach sunning yourself somewhere for three months, rather than doing time at His Majesty’s pleasure!

It’s rare, but sometimes a criminal record is indeed the reason for a CV gap. I have had a number of IT contractors be honest with me about serving time. It can be awkward for both parties, but it’s a necessary conversation.

Discovery is worse

In one instance, where a client required a basic level of clearance, because we’d had the conversation beforehand, we could disclose the situation to the client in advance. The client considered the time served and saw a reformed individual, and they secured the offering – a permanent job.

If I had not asked the candidate about the gap, this might not have come up until the clearance checks, which would have likely resulted in no offer.

Manipulating the truth

I remember once seeing the following on a contractor’s CV:

“Title: Trainer  

Client: MoJ Bronzefield”

The description was along the lines of, “Coaching colleagues in project management processes and methodologies.”

It came out during this candidate’s interview that they had actually been an inmate! But the way the CV was written, made it seem like the candidate was an employee.

I wasn’t impressed. The lesson here is that manipulating the truth can backfire.

Tough times and being in the firing line

Looking more into your question (and based on circumstances not included in it but which you’ve shared with ContractorUK), it’s clear you’ve had a tough time over the last 12 months.

You are not alone. I’ve seen a number of contractors who don’t share the pragmatic view you’re taking. In fact, I’ve been in the firing line of their frustrations being told, “Recruiters are the problem.”

And in one case, hirers “Aren’t interested in a contractor just because they’ve not worked for 12 months.”

The issue is I can’t argue they’re wrong because they’re not necessarily.

Who would YOU put forward?

If a recruiter has a contractor who is just rolling off an assignment and is fine-tuned, versus another who hasn’t applied their skills for 12 months and has likely lost confidence, it’s a tough decision between doing what’s morally right and not losing out on a placement (as the agency), because, say, your competition has introduced a candidate who can hit the ground running.

On a personal level, I went away at Christmas for a month with my family, and I felt a little rusty when I got back into the office. It took me a few days to get my momentum back.

Advancements in technology, digital, AI and the like come hard and fast in this game, so I do question what 12 months off the tools could mean or look like for an IT contractor whose prospective client needs them to be at the cutting-edge.

Questions you’ll face if benched for 12 months

Therefore, I’d probably ask if I was interviewing you; ‘How are you keeping yourself busy during extended periods of contract-hunting?’

As well as coming up with a good answer, try and assess what positives you can draw on from the experience of being benched, to answer and address the ‘CV gap question’ in the future.

Keep a positive mindset

Next, try to banish any self-limiting beliefs. If you think there is nothing out there for you, that’s what you’re going to find -- nothing!

Equally, if you think all recruiters are “useless” and “only out for themselves”, you’re probably not going to make the best impression on the recruiters you speak with.

Volunteer your time

During the height of the covid pandemic, our agency contacted every NHS Trust in the UK to offer the help of contractors who were out of work.

You might remember back then, we all wanted to do our part and help out. Some contractors just wanted to get out of the house.

We ended up placing over 260 volunteers who went into NHS Trusts, some for a few days, some for months.

So trusted but trusts they were offered jobs

Out of those 260, a significant number went on to be offered paid work by the trusts, and many gained new exposure to working in the NHS.

Our business offered this service at no cost, so for us it’s a great legacy.

As someone who volunteers their time as a director for a charity, I see huge value in developing my skills, building my network, and doing some good. So keep in mind, there are a lot of businesses out there that could benefit from a day of your time -- and you’ll benefit in the long run too.

It even gives you one of those positives I recommended, above, which you need to have to draw on at interview or on the phone to an agent, and volunteering even helps partially answer ‘How are you keeping yourself busy during extended periods of contract-hunting?’

Pull on your network

Submitting 30 job applications a day must be soul-destroying and often isn’t the best way to secure a role, especially if you’ve been out of the game for a while.

I’d suggest drawing on your network for new opportunities.

Reach out to some old colleagues regarding your situation and note the new skills and experiences you’ve gained since you worked with them last. Utilise LinkedIn, email, text; whatever format works for you.

You might be too proud to ask explicitly for help, but the reality is a lot of skilled IT contractors have been in your position at some point in time, and most will be more than happy to put you forward to their engager if they think there’s a potential need for your skillset.

Try employment in another sector/role, if the tumbleweed is entangling you

In closing, I’d say the biggest challenge outside of finding a role is the stress, negativity, and self-doubt which long-term joblessness brings.

I’ve seen a lot of once-successful, skilled IT contractors totally broken by tumbleweed across their slice of the market.

So for the avoidance of doubt, I wish to make clear that many in the tech sector believe that it is admirable to take a role that is less senior than you’re used to -- in order to keep your skills active.

Recruiters and clients will appreciate that.

The other option is to take a role in a completely different sector. Yes, it might not support your long-term career goals, but again, recruiters and clients will take the positives out of you not wanting to sit at home.

Wanting to work is only a good thing.

Summary

In summary, be prepared to be asked about gaps on your CV.

It’s completely reasonable on the part of the recruiter that they need an answer, even if it’s just to take your application forward. You still retain the choice to explain you’ve been job-hunting or if you really can’t stomach what you might deem an invasion of privacy, tell the recruiter to mind their own business!  

The expert was technology recruitment agency managing director Matt Collingwood, of VIQU IT Recruitment.