Work gets complicated. Making your experience make sense shouldn't.

complicated.work is an independent guide for people whose work history doesn't fit in a neat line: a layoff, a gap, a stretch of caregiving, a move between fields, a return after years away. It's for capable adults dealing with a real transition, and it tries to be the kind of help a good, honest career coach would give: specific, calm and practical.

What you'll find here

• Guides on one situation at a time: what employers are trying to find out, what to say, what to leave out, and examples you can adapt.
• The gap explainer, a free tool that turns your situation, dates and activities into a resume line, a cover-letter sentence and a 30-second interview answer. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

How we work

• We cite sources. When a guide mentions a law, a government program or a piece of research, it links to the original, usually a US government agency. Where something is our own judgment rather than a sourced fact, we try to make that obvious.
• Examples are labeled. Every example on this site is an illustration written for the guide. None of them are real people, and we don't publish testimonials, success stories or outcome statistics we can't verify.
• No promises. No guide or tool can get you a job. We try to help you explain yourself clearly and make a good decision about what to do next.
• Not legal, tax or individualized advice. Where a topic has legal edges (disability, discrimination, separation agreements), we point to the official guidance and suggest talking to a qualified professional.
• We keep it up to date. Each guide shows when it was last updated. If you spot an error or something out of date, please tell us.

How the site is funded

The guides and the tool are free and have no ads. The site may include a small number of clearly labeled sponsor placements where they're relevant to what you're reading. Sponsors don't write or review our guides. The disclosure page explains the details and lists any current sponsors.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections or a situation you'd like us to cover: contact us.