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First of all, I've done plenty of hiring. You should not worry about a 12 month gap. It will have a minor negative impact on getting callbacks. You might have t

First of all, I've done plenty of hiring. You should not worry about a 12 month gap. It will have a minor negative impact on getting callbacks. You might have to work slightly harder at your applications to compensate. If you're already getting calls and interviews, you've already passed through the filter since a gap is most likely to hurt you while a HR recruiter is sorting through a large pile of resumes. You can still do things with your resume to make it more likely to get through the resume pile filter. Did you do any personal projects, classes or open source that can show continues professional interest and passion? Try putting something on your resume about it. Or if you've really done nothing but relax(which is OK!), now can be a good time to start working on professional development, then you have something to speak to when asked what you've been doing with your time.

jobgaps 7y ago
>>If you're already getting calls and interviews, you've already passed through the filter since a gap is most likely to hurt you while a HR recruiter is sorting through a large pile of resumes. I get Linkedin messages most of the time since i updated my profile to conclude the last place of work. >> Did you do any personal projects, classes or open source that can show continues professional interest and passion? Yes i did, but it failed as it was a venture to start off a web service with other people that ended up being unenthusiastic to contribute. All i have is a HLD document, couple of modules and task boards at Gitlab. Nothing to really brag about.
- dougmwne 7y ago
  I think that venture is plenty to talk about with an HR recruiter. Is demonstrates that you were still engaged with your career and approaching it from new directions that could give you a new perspective. It might not be something to brag about, but a fine answer to "what have you been doing for the past 12 months?" If you are getting calls off LinkedIn then you are already passing through the HR recruiter filter and the gap is not holding you back. And a hiring manager is much less likely to care about the gap and will be much more focused on evaluating your skills and your personality.
- kbutler 7y ago
  Individual software development venture is a great gap reason (and probably means it could be not a gap at all). Think and be prepared to talk about lessons learned, including technical, business, and people management.
austincheney 7y ago
To what degree does Army Reserve experience hurt? I have a lot of military time that overlaps with my years of employment as a corporate software developer and am considering taking it off my resume in the future to see if there is an uptick in interest on my resume.
- ryanmercer 7y ago
  I've never been in HR, or even in a position to hire, but if you put 2 CVs in front of me that were identical with the exception of one having guard/reserve/active duty military experience I'd always take the military one because it tells me they have are more likely to have discipline (even with knowing how big of screw ups several of my friends that served are). And if there was a degree, i'd just assume the military was the way it was paid for as I've got probably a dozen friends that got their 4-year degrees via their military service.
- dougmwne 7y ago
  I think in general it would help since it would indicate a respect for authority and a willingness to do difficult things. It does depend on the specifics of your resume. Is the Army Reserve experience written in a way that might make it seem like you were more focused or interested in the military than your software career or is it presented as a nice compliment to a strong developer resume. And sure an individual hiring manager might have some bias against military experience for wherever reason, but my general advice is not to hide who you are and that you'll find a company that wants to hire you for all the great experiences you bring to the table.
- rsynnott 7y ago
  Can’t see why it would hurt, and it’s obviously much easier to explain than a gap.

jobgaps 7y ago

>>If you're already getting calls and interviews, you've already passed through the filter since a gap is most likely to hurt you while a HR recruiter is sorting through a large pile of resumes. I get Linkedin messages most of the time since i updated my profile to conclude the last place of work. >> Did you do any personal projects, classes or open source that can show continues professional interest and passion? Yes i did, but it failed as it was a venture to start off a web service with other people that ended up being unenthusiastic to contribute. All i have is a HLD document, couple of modules and task boards at Gitlab. Nothing to really brag about.

dougmwne 7y ago
I think that venture is plenty to talk about with an HR recruiter. Is demonstrates that you were still engaged with your career and approaching it from new directions that could give you a new perspective. It might not be something to brag about, but a fine answer to "what have you been doing for the past 12 months?" If you are getting calls off LinkedIn then you are already passing through the HR recruiter filter and the gap is not holding you back. And a hiring manager is much less likely to care about the gap and will be much more focused on evaluating your skills and your personality.
kbutler 7y ago
Individual software development venture is a great gap reason (and probably means it could be not a gap at all). Think and be prepared to talk about lessons learned, including technical, business, and people management.

austincheney 7y ago

To what degree does Army Reserve experience hurt? I have a lot of military time that overlaps with my years of employment as a corporate software developer and am considering taking it off my resume in the future to see if there is an uptick in interest on my resume.

ryanmercer 7y ago
I've never been in HR, or even in a position to hire, but if you put 2 CVs in front of me that were identical with the exception of one having guard/reserve/active duty military experience I'd always take the military one because it tells me they have are more likely to have discipline (even with knowing how big of screw ups several of my friends that served are). And if there was a degree, i'd just assume the military was the way it was paid for as I've got probably a dozen friends that got their 4-year degrees via their military service.
dougmwne 7y ago
I think in general it would help since it would indicate a respect for authority and a willingness to do difficult things. It does depend on the specifics of your resume. Is the Army Reserve experience written in a way that might make it seem like you were more focused or interested in the military than your software career or is it presented as a nice compliment to a strong developer resume. And sure an individual hiring manager might have some bias against military experience for wherever reason, but my general advice is not to hide who you are and that you'll find a company that wants to hire you for all the great experiences you bring to the table.
rsynnott 7y ago
Can’t see why it would hurt, and it’s obviously much easier to explain than a gap.