Career breaks on LinkedIn
LinkedIn are finally rolling out the ability for users to add a Career Break to their profile, the idea being that, rather than having a gap in your work experience history if you have taken a break from work, you can now choose the Career Break option, select an option to describe the reason for your break and, more importantly, describe how that experience has helped you to grow and what skills you developed during that break.
LinkedIn’s own research identified that 64% of women have experienced a career break of some sort, for a variety of reasons and they wanted to reflect that within LinkedIn. In the same research 53% of people said they were better at their role post career break, as they had gained new skills, new insight, or even restarted their careers completely.
A recent article from Camilla Han-He at LinkedIn stated “Although it may feel uncomfortable to bring up with potential employers, hirers actually want to know more about your career break: 51% say they are more likely to contact a candidate that provides context. By adding a career break to your Profile, you can highlight how these life experiences can apply to prospective jobs. In many cases, it’s your off-your-resume experience that truly gets to the heart of your passions, gifts and strengths.”
To add a Career Break to your profile:
- Click on “add section” located under your profile picture followed by “add career break.”
- Pick a career break type from the following 13 options to describe the reason for your break:
Bereavement
Career transition
Caregiving
Full-time parenting
Gap Year
Layoff/Position eliminated
Health and well-being
Personal goal pursuit
Professional development
Relocation
Retirement
Travel
Voluntary work
- Then fill out information about the length of your career break, a description and attach any relevant media.
Here is an example of what this will look like on your profile (mobile app view):
We think this is a great idea. Career Breaks should not be seen as a stigmatism and the experiences you gain from such a break can be invaluable to you and prospective employers.
Watch out for this functionality appearing on your profile soon as it is being rolled out over the next few weeks.
4 March 2022
