I think we are very critical of resumes. Perhaps for good reason. When hiring, we want to understand someone’s experience, consistency, and readiness for the role.
But a gap in employment can also mean the presence of other responsibilities.
Six months without a job title might include caring for a parent, testing a business idea, studying, recovering, or searching for work in a difficult market.
Sometimes, it means taking a closer look at a career that no longer fits.
The dates may suggest time away from work. The experiences behind them deserve a closer look.
“That makes a gap worth a conversation. It shouldn't be an automatic red flag.”
What the missing months don’t show
Consider someone who stepped away from employment to run a small online business.
During that time, they may have been finding customers, negotiating with suppliers, managing expenses, and learning how to handle complaints.
The business might have grown. It might have closed. Either way, there are useful questions to ask about what they did, what they learned, and what they would do differently.
Someone returning after caring for family will have another story. So will someone whose job search took longer than expected.
We learn more by asking than by filling in those blanks ourselves.
A clearer sense of what comes next
After time away, someone may have a better understanding of the responsibilities they want, the skills they want to develop, and the work they are prepared to commit to.
They may want to return to their field with renewed focus. They may be ready to explore something different.
Of course, a gap alone doesn’t establish growth. But a conversation about initiative, preparation, and consistent action gives us something useful to assess.
What have they taken responsibility for? How have they approached challenges? What are they doing to prepare for their next step?
Those answers deserve a place alongside their employment history.
How financial advisory changed my perspective
Having worked as an IT manager and survived downsizings, I’m lucky to have found my way into financial advisory.
It introduced me to a way of working where relationships, learning, and personal initiative play a significant role. It also gave me the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mindset: building a practice, earning trust, and taking ownership of my progress.
That experience shapes how I look at people exploring a new direction.
We’ve helped managers transition into this role. Each brings a different combination of experience, priorities, and responsibilities.
I want to understand what they bring from their previous work. I’m also interested in their curiosity, their response to feedback, and their willingness to do the everyday work of building something.
For someone returning after a break, financial advisory may be one path worth exploring. An honest conversation should cover the work, training, licensing requirements, time commitment, and variable income involved.
Give the next chapter a fair hearing
A gap in your résumé can hold responsibility, experimentation, a change of direction, or simply a period when finding work was difficult.
It doesn’t need an impressive explanation to deserve a fair hearing.
And it doesn’t have to determine the shape of your next chapter.
If you’re exploring a return to work and curious about building a financial advisory practice, let’s start a conversation about what it involves—and whether it fits where you want to go.