4 Tips for Beating the Bots with an Employment Gap: Don’t let LinkedIn’s AI slow your search!

An AI revolution is combining with unexpected geopolitical upheaval to change the world for jobseekers. The public sector has cut more than 300,000 jobs since January 2025. Meanwhile, large companies are cutting thousands from their payrolls with plans to replace them with AI, or just to lower their production cost as fuel, fertilizer, and related resources have become more expensive.

This level of worldwide economic chaos could change your career now or in the near future. Specifically, you may have to deal with an employment gap on your resume and LinkedIn profile. And LinkedIn now scans profiles with its own AI called 360Brew so your profile may not be fine-tuned for the new era.

While we have addressed employment gaps recently, it seems timely to do another update in light of current events. Our strategies include:

1. Being honest on your resume and LinkedIn profile,
2. Fill your gap before you are out of work for long,
3. Show relevant growth instead of a break, and
4. Avoid dwelling on the past.

Not everyone has realized that LinkedIn has made changes that affect the way the platform evaluates profile. And not everyone has recognized the benefits of responding now to economic restructuring. As a result, you will have an edge after reading this post—and acting—in response to new realities…

Be honest.

Our new, AI-driven job search world puts a premium on being honest about employment gaps. Current applicant tracking systems (ATS) will reportedly compare dates of employment on your LinkedIn profile and resume. The software flags mismatches.

Of course, not everyone you apply to will be using the latest and greatest automated system to catch errors and omissions, so adjustment you made to cover gaps could slip through. Recruiters say your information will still be verified during onboarding. Employment date mismatches and other material inaccuracies will result in being terminated.

Think creatively instead of “making stuff up” or being dishonest. Give thought to career-related activities you have been working on, or those you can get involved in without a full-time job.

Act now to fill your gap.

Research continues to show that long-term unemployment reduces your market value. Employment gaps are inevitable for many of us regardless of economic conditions or skill level. Studies have shown that employers have less interest in job candidates that have been out of work for six months or more, as discussed in a previous blog post. Even worse, LinkedIn and other keyword-parsing and AI systems may drop you from employers’ search results when your resume or profile does not include a current job. And in an economy where you may feel (perhaps incorrectly) that “everyone but me has a great job,” you could find it discouraging to search for work during a long break.

Kate Wendleton, founder of a national outplacement organization, advocated volunteer work as a way to fill gaps back in the 1990s. She said that, “salary is not a resume issue.” As discussed in another post, we have volunteered our way into new jobs twice. Other jobseekers we have spoken with or worked with have done this, too. And it will give you something to focus on in addition to your job search.

 Volunteer work is not the only way to minimize an employment gap. An engineer I worked with several years ago reviewed business plans and proposals for family members while she was home with her young children. A fashion designer used her sketchbook and computer to design a marketable sportswear line while she was taking a break.

Both strategies should work well with LinkedIn’s new AI engine. These jobseekers could use relevant engineering and fashion job titles in the LinkedIn experience entries for their activities. This gives them a consistent career story that 360Brew will recognize.

In other words, relevant activities you took on during a break can be thought of as a job and entered in a work experience block on LinkedIn.

There are benefits beyond creating resume and LinkedIn profile entries when you stay active professionally during a career break. Examples include enhanced self-esteem, opportunities to maintain, build, and update skills, and expanding your professional network.

Show employment—not an explicit “career break” entry—on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has tried to recognize the value of filling career breaks on your profile. The site offers a “career break” choice for use in your experience section. We have learned, though, that hiring teams using LinkedIn’s Recruiter products will not see your career break, according to a YouTube video Melanie Woods, a recruiter in Houston, TX, posted some time ago. As a result, recruiters will not see any of the great relevant activities you have been doing, such as consulting, volunteer work, or job-related training. They will only see a gap in your work history—and may not see your profile at all—when they search for candidates with current job titles matching their job order. Enter your activity as a job. Do not use the career break choice.

You can even create a LinkedIn business page for your career break activity, according to Lynne Williams. Put a personal brand logo on the business page you create. The logo will appear next to title you give the break activity when you add it to a work experience block.

LinkedIn does not let you add a logo to a work experience block entry unless the entry refers to a LinkedIn business page. Anyone can create a business page to stand for their personal brand. You do not have to be a company.

While this “LinkedIn hack” still works in the AI era, we have a cautionary note. A vague job title such as Consultant won’t add value. You should assign a job title that reflects your target job function, such as Senior Accountant.

Look at the future, not the past.

Research shows employers are up to 12 times more likely to hire people they like. Career breaks are frustrating but do not let this frustration show during networking contacts or interviews.

A jobseeker began discussing her career break with me by saying her gap resulted from “unjust termination” that she is now litigating. Networking meetings and job interviews are not the places to dwell on past wrongs. Instead, keep it simple. Say you were let go. Keep your response succinct and move on. n.

As one experienced career management coach explained to a group, “no one likes Debbie Downers or Doubting Dans.” Move on quickly as possible to discussing your future value to the company and how you align with company values.

Concluding Comments

It is more important than ever to minimize the impact of employment gaps in a volatile economy. Fill your career break with relevant activity. LinkedIn’s new AI engine values relevant job titles and experience. It does not value gaps. The substantive experience and training you get during your career break will make you better prepared for your next role,

too!