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I have a few long gaps in my resume. I spent a lot of that time traveling the world. This isn't just one gap -- there's two or three gaps over the past decade and a half.

I also worked on my own personal software projects during these times, but nothing ever came of them. I don't even have the source anymore. Would it be ethical to put this on my resume under 'Myself company' or something like that? If not, what's a better way to manage this?

Lilienthal
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Ken - Enough about Monica
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    If I were the recruiter, I would be very skeptical if you say you've taken a gap and did software projects, and didn't even have the source code(proof)! – Dawny33 Jan 25 '16 at 11:08
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    What's wrong with traveling the world? Can't have a better reason for a gap in the resume than that. – limdaepl Jan 25 '16 at 11:29
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    One aside, lots of companies are justifiably reluctant to employ ex-contractors on a permanent basis because of legitimate concerns about retention. Multiple transitions between self-employment and permanent work on a CV would be a *serious* red flag for many hiring managers. – Iain Galloway Jan 25 '16 at 16:36
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    @Dawny33 - I've never heard of a recruiter or hiring manager asking for "proof" of personal software projects. Does that ever happen? – Johnny Jan 25 '16 at 18:50
  • @Johnny Yeah, I have seen it happen commonly in interviews at startups, and sometimes at bigger companies. Happened to me atleast. :) – Dawny33 Jan 25 '16 at 18:53
  • If you gave proper notice this probably isn't a big deal if the recruiter can get in touch with some of those clients from right before you traveled and verify it was your choice. If they were layoffs or performance related...that's a different issue. – Tim Jan 25 '16 at 19:03
  • Your software work constituted software development, and self-employment, and even running a business (even if you didn't get paid), and whether or not you now have the source code is completely irrelevant: don't even mention that. – user207421 Jan 25 '16 at 22:52
  • I'd want to know why you lost your source code if I were hiring you as a programmer. Otherwise, they sound like insignificant self-study projects. –  Jan 26 '16 at 12:27
  • @Dawny33, that's a pretty simple answer... "I worked on personal projects and took some time to do nothing. And no, you can't see the code." – Matthew Whited Jun 02 '21 at 20:50

4 Answers4

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This isn't just one gap -- there's two or three gaps over the past decade and a half.

These gaps aren't an issue as long as:

  • you were employed for the majority of this time
  • you didn't leave any jobs prematurely: you spent at least 2 years in every job before leaving a gap
  • the jobs still show career progression: if it's all entry-level work that may complicate your search and limit your opportunities

Based on your description you're just someone that enjoys taking an occasional sabbatical. This is typically known as taking a career break. While taking (several) career breaks is not typical in Western society, in most industries it won't be frowned upon. Taking career breaks should not be a limiting factor for your resume.

As such, there is no need to fill in the blanks by making something up. If you list yourself as being self-employed for those gaps, people will assume that you were working as a self-employed contractor in a similar position to the other experience you describe. It is never a good idea to have people assume things about your resume that aren't true. When they find out they'll often think you were lying or inflating your experience. In your case they'd be right.

The personal projects you describe simply don't hold up as substantial experience, especially when you have nothing to show for it. If you spent that time actively and significantly contributing to an open-source project or a proof-of-concept for a start-up then that would be actual experience you could list.

So to summarise: No, it would not be ethical to list self-employment during these gaps, but you also don't need to.

As those career breaks stand out, you'd usually explain them in your cover letter if they were recent. You'll also need to explain them well during interviews and make it clear that you're not seeking to take a break in the next few years. Since you apparently didn't have a problem finding new employment after earlier breaks, I assume you don't need help with that. If you do, have a look at the related questions in the tag.

Lilienthal
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    @JoeStrazzere Exactly. Listing a self-owned company or self-employment only works if it had a business component which means doing something that you're getting paid for (contracting) or developing something that's meant to make money even if it didn't pan out (start-up). The poster here is an example of the latter. – Lilienthal Jan 25 '16 at 12:51
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    It is never a good idea to have people assume things about your resume that aren't true. Yes. This. This cannot be understated. Unless you're seeking a job in politics, finding that you've lied to someone before even meeting them is a deal-breaker. – reirab Jan 25 '16 at 19:17
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    2 years is arbitrary and largely depends on your field – njzk2 Jan 25 '16 at 23:14
  • @njzk2, it may depend on the field and job, but less than a couple years is more like contractor or a temp, not a longer term employee. – Paul Draper Jan 26 '16 at 02:26
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    @PaulDraper in dev, it is common to see people have several jobs that lasted ~1 year – njzk2 Jan 26 '16 at 03:55
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    I like your answer. I don't like the heavy formatting. – Thorst Jan 26 '16 at 06:53
  • @njzk2 It's more common but still not a great trend and a history of multiple year-long jobs will mark someone as a job hopper even in IT. The main issue is that hiring managers want someone who'll be around for a while and not leave in a year. As an example, see this article: "In most fields, multiple stays of two years or less will look like job hopping. Particularly for mid-level to senior jobs, most hiring managers are looking for at least a few stays of four or five years or more." – Lilienthal Jan 26 '16 at 11:30
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    @JoeStrazzere - So if someone voluntarily removes themselves from the workforce and funds their own startup, but never finishes the product to the point of making a sale or getting external funding, is that really compared to someone who lost a job and can't find another one? –  Jan 26 '16 at 12:25
  • @Lilienthal I was discussing that exact issue with my hr recently. She says there is no actual correlation between the length of previous contracts and the length of future contract. (but some people may think so, though) – njzk2 Jan 26 '16 at 14:51
  • managers are often swamped with applications which means they need to drastically cut down their candidate pool. They only have a limited amount of information and work history is one of the easiest ways to filter people out. I answered a question about this here with plenty of evidence that job hopping is a major problem for a job search. – Lilienthal Jan 26 '16 at 17:33
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If I were interviewing you, I would ask about the "gap" activities.

If you claim to have been traveling the world, that would be casual ice-breaker questions to help get to know you.

If you claim to have been self-employed as a developer, the questions would be much more focused. I would be, if anything, more interested in the work you did while self-employed than in the jobs. What sorts of things do you choose to work on? How productive are you when not supervised?

If travel were the primary activity during the gaps, the first set of questions would be easy to answer. If attempting to start a software business were the primary activity, the second set of questions would be easy.

This is a case in which the ethical course of action, an accurate resume, is also the most advantageous course of action.

Patricia Shanahan
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As a recruiter, I appreciate the honest answer such as I was backpacking through Europe experiencing diverse cultures and improving my communication skills. It is up to the recruiter to ask more deep dive questions as to why you chose to leave a position to go traveling. Or to ask why there are gaps. Many times the gaps are easily explained, "went back to school", "took care of an ill family member", " Was downsized" or I chose to start my own contracting business" all of which are acceptable explanations. Net Net - just be honest.

Carol
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Human resources do not live in a parallel universe. They are pretty aware that potential employees can decide to spend 1 year traveling the world. Candidates could also be taking care of a sick parent, or being sick themselves for 3 months.

All these things are not deal-breakers.

Where I live they will even try to avoid digging too much into personal details, not out of discretion, but just because this is opening a door for potential discrimination claims.

Candidates seem to worry way too much about whether HR will approve of their life-style choices. Being independent does not imply being incompetent. Lies, on the other hand, is a no-no.

Note: filling a past gap in your resume implies stretching the truth at best.

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