What is usually going wrong
Your CV ends two years ago
The document froze when life happened — and looking at it now, the gap feels bigger than the decade of experience before it.
Your confidence took the hit, not your skills
You used to do this job well. The rust is real but shallow; the doubt is deep but unfounded — and it leaks into every application.
Everything seems to have changed
New tools, new titles, remote-first everything. The field moved on — though far less than it feels like from the outside.
What actually moves the needle
- 1
Name the break in one confident line
"2023–2025 — Parental leave" on the timeline, then on with the story. Owned and brief beats hidden and hunted for.
- 2
Refresh one visible skill
A current certification, a short course, a volunteer project in your field — one recent dated entry proves currency and restarts the timeline. Returnships at larger employers count double.
- 3
Lead with your strongest decade
Your summary opens with the experience that made you good — years, domains, outcomes. The break is one line of context, not the headline of the story.
Rebuild with the free CV check
Paste your existing CV and get the specific updates that matter now — structure, currency, and how the break reads on a first skim.
Get the fixes by email
A short series with the specific changes for your situation, the templates to copy, and nothing else.
We store your address in the EU, use it only for these emails, and delete it on request.
Straight answers
How do I explain a long break in interviews?
One or two calm sentences — what the break was, that you are ready and energized to return — then redirect to the role. Interviewers take their cue from you: treat it as normal and it is.
Are returnships worth it?
Yes, where available — paid, structured return-to-work programmes at larger employers convert to permanent roles at high rates and solve the 'recent experience' question in one move.
Should I mention skills I kept up during the break?
Absolutely — volunteering, freelance projects, courses, community roles all count and all carry dates. One or two entries bridge the timeline and prove the skills never fully stopped.