As MOAA career transition consultants, we often get asked about how to best address employment gaps in a résumé and on professional social networking sites. Whether it be a transitioning servicemember taking time to recharge between their military and civilian careers, a military spouse with a career on the move, or a veteran stepping aside to care for aging parents, it can be a challenge to articulate the break in your employment record through your self-marketing products. 

Well, a little help is on the way. 

LinkedIn recently announced several new job titles, to include allowing full-time parents and other caretakers to provide more accurate descriptions of their time away from the paid labor force. Previously, your professional experience must have been linked to a specific company or employer. 

[RELATED: MOAA on LinkedIn]

Plans also call for adding a specific field for employment gaps in a member profile, with options such as “parental leave,” “family care,” or “sabbatical.” The moves represent a much-needed cultural shift, but it’s too early to tell how receptive employers will be in recognizing personal, family, and caregiving considerations during the hiring process.

“The stigma of employment gaps is starting to fade,” said LinkedIn Director of Engineering Bef Ayenew in a blog post announcing the changes. Nearly 8 in 10 hiring managers would hire a candidate with a career gap on their résumé, Ayenew wrote.

Need more guidance and support? MOAA’s Transition and Career Center includes countless resources for your transition and job-search needs. Premium and Life Members can access even more materials, including résumé critiques, LinkedIn profile reviews,  archived webinars, personal career counseling sessions, and much more.