How much of a gap is too much?

[dtmt]

I will have been with my current company 6 years as of next month. Considering leaving for a number of reasons, but I'm also thinking it would be nice to take a couple of months off to travel before starting the search. Question is, how detrimental will it look to potential employers if I've simply quit my previous job and been out of work for a few months?

 

[Hombre Secreto]

You think Professor Indiana Jones ever had this problem?

 

[Blackhood]

If you can account for it then its fine. Unexplained gaps are the bad kind. 199-2005: XXXXX Position YYY 2005-2011: XXXXXX Position YYY 2011-2012: Travelling/ Humanitarian Work Doesn't look all that terrible on a CV.

Originally Posted by Hombre Secreto

You think Professor Indiana Jones ever had this problem?
Thats Dr. Jones to you!

 

[fredfred]

The only thing that matters is if you can do the job. You could have been working with Mother Terasa, but if you can't do the job I don't care.

On the flip side, if you can do the job and you were sitting on a beach for a year, I don't care. You can do the job, I'll hire you.

 

[gladhands]

I once rejected an otherwise ideal candidate for a five year employment gap. Had she told me she spent that time being a stay-at-home mom, I would have hired her in a heartbeat. Her excuse (which I forget now) seemed like a lie, which made me think that those years were spent in a position she's rather hide from potential employers. She missed out on the job because I didn't trust her.

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by gladhands

I once rejected an otherwise ideal candidate for a five year employment gap. Had she told me she spent that time being a stay-at-home mom, I would have hired her in a heartbeat. Her excuse (which I forget now) seemed like a lie, which made me think that those years were spent in a position she's rather hide from potential employers. She missed out on the job because I didn't trust her.

CIA?

 

[Douglas]

I don't think a couple of months is going to do you any harm, particularly if you can explain it and it's believable. In some ways it may be reassuring to them to know that you are responsible enough to have the savings to take a little break.

 

[Matt]

a couple of months "spent travelling" isn't going to hurt you at all.

 

[ter1413]

Originally Posted by Matt

a couple of months "spent travelling" isn't going to hurt you at all.

+1

 

[Harold falcon]

Months are fine.

Years could be a problem.

 

[Class54]

Originally Posted by gladhands

I once rejected an otherwise ideal candidate for a five year employment gap. Had she told me she spent that time being a stay-at-home mom, I would have hired her in a heartbeat. Her excuse (which I forget now) seemed like a lie, which made me think that those years were spent in a position she's rather hide from potential employers. She missed out on the job because I didn't trust her.

What about her being a stay-at-home mom made her seem untrustworthy?

 

[Hombre Secreto]

Originally Posted by Class54

What about her being a stay-at-home mom made her seem untrustworthy?

 

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Class54

What about her being a stay-at-home mom made her seem untrustworthy?
Here, this may help.

 

[NAMOR]

Originally Posted by Class54

What about her being a stay-at-home mom made her seem untrustworthy?

Originally Posted by gladhands

I once rejected an otherwise ideal candidate for a five year employment gap. Had she told me she spent that time being a stay-at-home mom, I would have hired her in a heartbeat. Her excuse (which I forget now) seemed like a lie, which made me think that those years were spent in a position she's rather hide from potential employers. She missed out on the job because I didn't trust her.
..

 

[NAMOR]

Anyway you can get a job lined up before any trip? If not, I don't think it is a big deal to take some time off. I took 6 months off after I graduated college to travel. I found a job shortly after and feel that the experience actually helped me land the job. A third of the interview conversations were travel related. It also helped that my superior did something similar after he finished college.