Resume Gap? Here’s How to Handle It in a Hospitality Interview, because of the many career transitions and changes, like economic decline, personal obligations, and global crises like the pandemic, career journeys rarely look linear in the hospitality industry as they do in other industries.

Having a resume gap in hospitality does not, however, mean you won’t be able to get that new job. The way you discuss your resume gap in your hospitality job interview can shape your interviewer’s perceptions of you and your candidacy.

What Is a Resume Gap in Hospitality?

A resume gap is a length of time—usually six months or longer—when a professional has not been in a formal employment situation. In the hospitality landscape, where consistency, operational learning, and up-to-date customer service skills are critical, finding a gap in someone's resume may prompt questions.

However, recruiters today are more open than ever, especially now on the other end of the pandemic. All that truly matters is how you explain the employment gap and continue to position yourself as relevant in the industry. 

Common Reasons for Employment Gaps in Hospitality

To help demystify the subject of gaps in resumes, it helps to acknowledge that there are many valid reasons hospitality-based professionals can step away from work, including:

• Layoffs due to the pandemic
• Career change to or from hospitality
• Pursuing higher education (or certification)
• Travel or sabbatical for personal growth
• Personal health or mental wellness
• Family responsibilities/caregiving

Understanding your reason and being ready to articulate it with confidence is the first step in creating a successful narrative!

How to Address Resume Gap In a Hospitality Interview

It is important to be ready for any questions regarding your career gap. Here’s how to execute the discussion professionally and positively:

1. Be Honest, Clear and Concise

Trying to hide or minimise a resume gap can hurt credibility. Instead, be transparent and give a valid explanation while keeping it positive and focused on the future. 

Example:

After my previous hotel closed during the pandemic, I used the time to elevate my skills by taking online hospitality management courses and doing freelance event planning. I am excited to get that new knowledge back in a full-time role.

2. Your Transferable Skills and Continuing Education

Even during breaks from your career, professionals accrue transferable skills such as time management, customer service, or problem solving—whatever is relevant to you (make sure you point out these skills).

Example:

While balancing the responsibilities of my family, I volunteered with a community kitchen and developed my organisational and team leadership skills, both focused on providing quality service to guests with a positive hospitality experience.

3. Your involvement in the industry

Hiring managers are impressed when candidates show continued commitment to the industry. If you stayed updated on trends, attended webinars, pursued certifications, or followed hospitality best practices during your career gap, share those during your employment gap explanations.

Example:

During my gap, I participated in hospitality forums, completed a certification in luxury guest experience, and learned new and innovative ways hoteliers service guests at boutique hotels.

4. Change the Gap to an Experience of Growth

Formulate your gap not as a detriment but as a time for contemplation and growth.

Example:

Taking a gap in my career allowed me to view my career in a different light and reassess my career goals. The combination of time off, change in perspective, and place has provided me with a fresh sense of direction, with the desire to create quality service that will surprise and delight my guests.

Typical Hospitality Interview Questions About Resume Gaps

Knowing the types of interview questions that relate to resume gaps can allow you to prepare with confidence. Here are a few examples: 

Q1: Why is there even a gap in your work history? 

Response tip: Give a short, non-defensive response that says what you were doing during that time and that you are now ready to return. 

Q2: What have you done to ensure that you have kept yourself current with industry trends? 

Response tip: Give examples, training/involvement, self-directed learning, part-time work, whatever it takes, to show how you remained involved with the hospitality industry. 

Q3: Are you ready to step back into a full-time hospitality role? 

Response tip: Share your excitement about your role, mark your readiness, and the benefits of that time away in preparation to step back into the hospitality sector stronger than ever. 

Talking About Gaps on your Hospitality Resume

Hopefully, having a gap in your work history isn’t something to be worried about, but still, it is best to think about what to say professionally before the Interview. Here are three suggestions: 

• Use Year Only - A first suggestion is to present your positions by year only instead of month and year (i.e. instead of Jan 2021–Oct 2022, you would say 2021–2022). 
• Use a Professional Development Section - Another option is to list any certified courses you have taken online, any volunteer positions or roles you did freelance during the gap, etc. This will demonstrate that you were still developing and engaged in the profession. Just like Foodism Connect gives you the feature of portfolio building. 
• Use a Functional or Hybrid Resume Format - Being a hospitality professional with a gap in your work history, which is to say, your resume may be best presented in a way that emphasises skills and accomplishments instead of time.

Do not forget to look at our other resources on Resume Tips in Hospitality and Creating a Hospitality Resume.

Professional Advice for Job Seekers in Hospitality Facing Resume Gaps

• Practice how you will articulate your explanation until it sounds natural and full of professionalism. 
• Demonstrate professional learning – list recently earned hospitality-related certifications or courses you completed. 
• Share how excited you are to be applying for the role and the company.
• Use your network and connect with others in the hospitality industry, especially via social media platforms like Foodism Connect, where you may find opportunities where recruiters understand the nuances of hospitality. 
• Don't apologise for your career break – own it, explain it and pivot to how you are ready to contribute now. 

Just because you've taken time off in hospitality doesn't diminish your legitimacy as a person.  The only difference between your career gap and someone else's is whether you can talk about it honestly, tactfully, and relate it to the role you are applying for.  

With a spirit of honesty, preparation, and enthusiasm, the gap in your resume can become a very meaningful part of your story--showcasing resilience, journey of learning, and the ability to come back and thrive. So, the next time you walk into a hospitality job interview, remember: a gap in your experience doesn't make you less employable, it likely makes you more relatable, flexible, and interesting!

Ready to Reignite Your Hospitality Career?

If you're navigating a resume gap in hospitality and looking for the right platform to restart your journey, Foodism Connect is here to help. Join Foodism Connect today and take the next confident step in your hospitality career.