How can someone manage a 6-9 months gap on cv? specially if one is made redundant in Oct it is difficult to find a job until Feb-Mar next year. I have spent most of the time job hunting but could not get anything decent. Any tips will be appreciated. Thanks.

Say you were made redundance in October and have been looking for a suitable job since then.I for one wouldn't look down on that at all. In fact, I'd appreciate the honesty. Things are though these days. Sh*t happens sometimes. It's not a reflection on you as an individual, and most experienced people would understand that.Chin up!

Aside of job hunting what else have you been doing? The gap itself is not an issue, what you have done with it is the issue. If you have gained a qualification, started learning a language, done some volunteer work, achieved a personal ambition or goal, then that looks good - shows resilience and that you have take advantage of the gap to your advantage. Where eyebrows get raised is when someone has spent 6 - 9 months watching daytime TV.

Mars, all the stuff you propose eat into the rainy day funds that is not clear can survive the gloomy economic forecast.Because a person decides to hibernate and cut cost drastically to the most basic necessity, not some silly CV polishing that employers following a philosophical herd, does not mean they lose the ability because of a gap.I would rather be testing people for their aptitude and interest in a job instead of looking for what volunteer work they did. By the way, watching some enlightenment doucmentaries, news and special reports on daytime/night-time TV can actually build the capability/knowledge of some people.

The other thing is that many people will be spending hours on the internet applying for jobs and basically trying to get work so they can pay the bills, rather than deciding that all of a sudden they want to learn Spanish. Spending time on the job search is very worthwhile, but doesn't necessarily give you some impressive thing to put on your CV such as saying you climbed mount kilamanjaro at the end of it.

You're missing the point - its not that big a deal WHAT you do (and thus it does not have to cost money). Mars is making the point it is how you PORTRAY the time you have spent.Correct me if I'm wrong Mars, but the worst thing is to come across as if your time out of work has been spent in a hole, eaking out the budget, giving the imperssion that you expected the ENFORCED break to be long.Best impression is to suavely infer that you more or less WELCOMED the break as it allowed you to re-charge and tick of a few things on your "reallly should do" list. So much so that although you've been out of work for some months, you've only just started looking seriously for a new post.

Mr Cool, you might be making a good point there but the reality on the ground is that most recruiters (Recruitment consultants, HR and Hiring managers) do not assess it the way you say it. They are discriminatory and expect you to have done so-called "something" in the gap period.They are just people that follow the axiom of "Do something extra-ordinary in your gap time" without questioning the logic to such demand or assess how relevant/feasible that criterium is. They are just zombies with a follow/herd mentality that follow a popular trend.To assess a candidate's fit for a job, it is quite easy: Just interview people and find out their capability, aptitude and interest for/in the role and stop trying to set some lame, irrelevant criteria that you only do because you read/see somewhere it is a norm and generally approach. Let them have some bloody independent mind.Someone being out of work for 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 2 years or whatever does not mean they lose their brains and are unemployable otherwise women would not be allowed to comeback after maternity leave. What are they going to ask such a nursing mum? "Oh, did you learn a new language during your time out of work". She replies "Yeah, Baby Talk. I know how to say 'Have you pooed in the unique language'".If it is reasonable to accept women back into work after 9 months off, is it not because being pregnant and nurturing a baby does not imply someone has lost their brain. Or are they saying raising a baby is such a steep learning experience that is so useful in the workplace hence why women are allowed back to work?In my opinion, the only things that should fairly count against someone out of a job for a long period of time is (1) fading functional knowledge/expertise and (2) work ethic. Both can be rebuilt by the right talent (unemployed candidate and nursing mother) within 6-8 weeks of being back at work, so not a big deal. And learning Chino-Russian or dancing with seals will not change that fact. So except they see another candidate with equal or more aptitude for the job and is currently employed (hence does not have the forementioned weaknesses), then it is senseless, pointless and herd-mentality to deny someone a chance for a job.

That's exactly what I was trying to convey Mr Cool - the important thing is not to be able to say you trekked across the Andes, but rather than you took control of the break in a positive way. I think Jobseeker is justifiably letting loose with some frustrations on this, but the point is not to be fluent in x language or whatever, rather to be able to say you started learning whatever as an intellectual pursuit - it was interesting etc. The time out on the cv is not nearly as damaging as the sense that some people (not necessarily the OP) can become a little staid. It's necessary to show the gap was a positive one - and this will also give you a stronger hand in offer negotiations.