A decade ago, an employment gap on a resume carried a different message than it does today…and intelligent, strategic employers have been quick to recognize the shift. Back then, an employment gap of six months or more usually came with a reason, and the reason was worth investigating. Skeptical employers could use resume gaps—and the reasons behind them– to distinguish between a hardworking candidate and a layabout with an attitude problem.

But this is no longer the case. The labor landscape has shifted dramatically during the past ten years, and the shift has had an impact on everyone, not just a select few. With this in mind, smart employers no longer see resume gaps as deal breakers. If you’re still raising an eyebrow over a six month period of unemployment or non-employment in a candidate’s resume, keep these considerations in mind.

Standards and expectations have changed, for both employers and employees.

Relationships between workers and companies are no longer considered a sacred bond (if they ever were), and most of these relationships dissolve after an average of about 2.5 years. Almost every professional person has experienced at least one layoff by the age of 35, and the average job search now lasts about eight months. If you dismiss candidates with resume gaps, you’ll dramatically narrow your applicant pool, and you’ll miss out on valuable talent.

You competitors are giving up the cynicism, and you should too.

As the economy improves, competition for talent will increase. And as your competitors adjust their standards to fit the modern labor landscape, you’ll need to follow suit or fall behind.

Accepting a resume gap doesn’t mean accepting a poor worker.

Letting go of an outdated stigma doesn’t mean “lowering your standards”. It simply means changing them to keep pace with changing times. Get rid of this meaningless metric, but replace it with others that have increasing—instead of decreasing—value.

Younger workers are hot commodities…and they’re unemployed.

New graduates offer a long list of benefits: they’re inexpensive, they’re trainable, they’re ambitious and cheerful, and they’re flexible and hard working. But many of them are also NOT working, at least not right now. The job market is rough place for new grads, and for older workers as well.  If you dismiss these high-value candidates for arbitrary reasons, you’ll miss out on a fantastic investment opportunity.

For more on how to spot the best potential employees in the applicant pool—with or without resume gaps—contact the hiring and staffing professionals at Expert.