Careers in freight and logistics are rarely linear. The sector has absorbed a pandemic, prolonged supply chain disruption, and significant structural change, and the workforce has shifted with it. Redundancies, relocations, retraining, and deliberate career pivots are all part of the landscape. If you're returning to the market after a time out, or moving into freight forwarding jobs from another discipline, employment gaps and career changes are far better understood than they once were. What matters to recruiters is not the gap itself, but how clearly and confidently you explain it.
How Recruiters Currently Perceive Employment Gaps
When a specialist in freight recruitment reviews a resume, a gap isn't automatically a red flag if context is provided. Unexplained gaps or vague descriptions that raise questions are what slow applications down, not the gaps themselves.
The most common reasons for employment gaps that recruiters encounter include redundancy due to restructuring, parental leave, a health issue requiring time out of work, relocation, and deliberate career changes. All of these are understood and accepted, provided the candidate is upfront about them.
Attitudes among hiring managers are shifting meaningfully. In 2021, only 38% of employers said resume gaps were acceptable; by 2022, that had risen to 46%, a trend that has continued as post-pandemic workforce realities have become better understood. The freight and logistics sector is no exception.
Why Honesty and Clarity Matters
The temptation when facing a gap is to obscure it: stretching dates, omitting roles, or hoping the detail goes unnoticed. This is a mistake, and the data supports that view: a 2026 study found that 31% of those who lie on their resumes do so specifically to hide a career gap. In a specialist sector where freight recruitment consultants often have direct relationships with hiring managers, inconsistencies are quickly identified and undermine trust at a critical stage in the process.
Transparent explanations do the opposite. A candidate who addresses a gap clearly and without ambiguity signals self-awareness and communicates well under scrutiny, both qualities that matter in freight forwarding roles where reliability and professionalism are non-negotiable.
How to Frame Employment Gaps
The way a gap is described shapes how it is received. The following are the most common scenarios and how to approach each one.
Parental Leave
State it plainly and without qualification. Taking time out to care for a child or family member is a recognised and respected reason for a career break; it requires no apology and no over-explanation.
Redundancy due to Restructuring
This is well understood across the sector, particularly given the volume of restructuring affecting transport and logistics jobs since 2022. Where relevant, name the business context: a company closing its German freight division or exiting a particular trade lane is a complete and credible explanation.
Health
You are under no obligation to share details. Stating that you took time out for health reasons and are now fully fit to return to work is sufficient. A good recruiter will not press further.
Relocation
Where an international move is involved, consider how it connects to your sector knowledge. Time spent working in or alongside a major logistics hub, or developing an understanding of a specific trade lane, can be framed as professional experience rather than absence.
Retraining or Professional Development
Any time spent completing industry qualifications, freight forwarding certifications, customs compliance training, and supply chain accreditations should appear on your resume as active professional development, not as a gap to be explained away.
Explaining Career Changes in Logistics
Freight and logistics are a broad sector, and freight forwarding recruitment regularly places candidates from adjacent industries. The key is to identify which skills transfer directly and make that case explicitly, rather than assuming a hiring manager will join the dots.
The most common and credible transitions include the following.
- Retail or e-commerce operations into freight forwarding. Experience in inventory management, carrier relationships, inbound flow planning, and peak-season logistics translates directly to freight forwarding roles, particularly at the commercial or operational level.
- Warehousing in the supply chain. Hands-on experience across goods-in, pick-and-pack, and distribution provides candidates with operational grounding that supply chain planners and coordinators often lack. Hiring managers in this space recognise and value it.
- Operations into commercial positions. Candidates who understand how freight moves, the cost drivers, the operational constraints, and the points of failure tend to make strong commercial hires. They engage with clients credibly and set expectations that reflect how the industry actually works.
When approaching an interview, lead with outcomes rather than functions. Volumes handled, cost reductions achieved, process improvements implemented, and targets met are the details that carry weight across sector boundaries and make a career transition legible to a new audience.
Strengthening Your Resume After a Career Gap
The period after a gap is as important as the explanation for it. Recruiters looking at transport and logistics jobs want to see that a candidate hasn't stood still.
Practical steps that make a real difference:
Highlight Transferable Skills
Don't assume they're obvious. A covering paragraph or profile section that maps your background to the role you're applying for removes uncertainty and reduces screening time.
Show Recent Activity or Learning
Whether that's a CILT qualification, a customs compliance course, or relevant CPD, recent learning signals continued engagement with the sector.
Update your Certifications
If licences or industry qualifications have lapsed, renew them before you apply. It's a straightforward way to remove an objection before it's raised.
How Specialist Recruiters Can Help
One of the advantages of working with a specialist in logistics recruitment is that they can help you position your career narrative before it reaches a hiring manager. A good freight recruitment consultant will ask about your background in detail and coach you on how to present it in a way that's accurate, professional, and compelling.
They also carry relationships. When a consultant makes a case for a candidate they know and trust, it opens doors that a cold application doesn't. If you're returning to the market after a break or making a deliberate move into freight forwarding jobs from another sector, speaking to a specialist early is time well spent.
At Freight Appointments, we work with candidates at all stages of their careers. We understand the market and know how to match the right people to the right roles, even when their career paths haven't been linear.
Read our guide on how to work with recruiters the right way in freight and logistics, or search our latest freight forwarding jobs to see what's currently available.
Looking for Freight Forwarding Jobs After a Career Break?
Whether you've taken time out for personal reasons, relocated, or made a deliberate move toward freight and logistics from another sector, we can help you present your experience in the best possible light and connect you with the roles that fit.
Get in touch with our team to discuss your situation in confidence.
FAQs
Will a gap on my resume affect my chances of getting freight forwarding jobs?
Not necessarily. Specialist freight recruitment consultants assess your overall experience and the context you provide. A clear, honest explanation of a gap is far less damaging than an unexplained one.
I'm moving from warehousing into supply chain. How do I make the case?
Focus on what your operational experience enables you to do at the next level. Candidates who have worked on the warehouse floor often have a practical understanding of logistics that supply chain planners value. Articulate that in your resume profile and be specific about volumes, systems, and process improvements you've been involved in.
Are there freight forwarding jobs in the US for candidates returning after a career break?
The US freight market remains one of the largest and most active in the world, with consistent demand across air, ocean, and customs brokerage. Returning candidates with relevant experience are regularly placed into roles across key hubs, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Houston - particularly where sector knowledge is strong, and the career break is clearly explained.
