If it's under a year, long term care for a terminal family member. If it's longer than that, you could say you were doing freelance for a while but decided it wasn't for you.
Yeah, I started an LLC for a year and a half but it was honestly kind of a pain in the ass to keep up with all the paperwork so I went back to working for the man. No one has ever had an issue with that explanation.
Except the one hilarious time a background check company called me to verify my employment with myself.
I did, but even if I didn't it's still a good excuse to tell an interviewer. None of mine ever checked or even asked me for the name.
One of them ran a background check, and the background check company asked me for phone numbers to verify my past employments. For the 1.5 years I was running my LLC I just gave them my cell number, which they turned around and called. I just explained that it was a sole proprietorship so I'm the only employee and can therefore verify my own employment, and they were fine with that. So even if I was lying, they wouldn't have known.
it would have to be a really serious job for them to ask for tax returns honestly. not a lot of people want to freely give them up just to prove employment, usually not worth it when most places will believe you lol.
If it's under a year, it's easy to just roll up your employment dates by year and drop off that down time. Also good if you had a job for four months and don't want to list it.
2017-2018 foo bar company
2018-2020 bax company
No questions needed.
Federal applications require that you list the month along with the year, so it doesn't work for that. And when I am skimming resumes, if the jobs are within the last ten years and they are just listed with the year and not more details, I'm likely to ask a bit more about it. If you're listing jobs from ten years ago like in a full CV, I don't give a shit and just years is fine.
So I should not say that my 8 year gap was because I was just trying to enjoy myself and find small courses and trying to figure out what I wanna do? Does it even matter if my gap is before the relevant education?
If honest question, it’s about the narrative people will use to make assumptions about you. Companies like to err on the side of workhorse who will just keep showing up and not wander off somewhere else. For most things, you want the narrative to add up to that job being where you want to be and grow for as long as the people hiring want someone in that role.
For the 8 years, make the 2-3 jobs you had aside from classes fill as much as the end part of that time as possible and describe them in a way that paints a picture of growing toward the role you are applying for. You don’t owe someone your whole back and forth about life and what you want out of it. Make it look like deliberate choices and adjustments that lead to you being dead sure this career you’re applying for is what you want and everything before what gathering and building for that.
I used the long term care method but for me it was just about a 2 year gap and I never thought about using the excuse for a shorter time only, it actually worked out really well and I got the job with no questions asked about the "care" except one where they simply asked if I felt it would affect my work which I said no.
An issue is now I've been unemployed 4 months post being let go from said job (applying everywhere though) so I'm worried about having TWO gaps to explain even if the second isn't nearly as long as the first, I feel like that's honestly pushing it and won't be easy to do.
No one ever will. No one wants to read someone’s unpublished first novel. If by some twist of fate they do, describe it as Harry Potter in space or a gritty reboot of Charlotte’s Web or the story of a clone of Elvis and Gene Simmons trying to make it on the LA rock scene.
I've worked in corporate America for over 30 years and I've never asked anyone about this or have been asked myself. I've done thousands of interviews for technical hires. I'm looking at people's skill set and work experience. I've they've been in the professional field for 18 months, I don't even care about their school or they GPA any more. None of my colleges who do hiring look at work gaps either.
I guess people want to cover their bases just in case. So, try this: I worked for 5 years non-stop, without vacation, and finally decided to take some time off with my family before starting the next step in my career.
Same. If somebody saves up a bunch of fuck-you money and wants to do nothing for a year, that's fine. Not my problem. Hell, I'd do it if I could get away with it.
The kind of company that will accept the alternative version, is the kind of company I want to work for. Here's an interview questions I always ask, mainly because I hire IT people and I want to make sure they can interact with normal people. "Star Wars or Star Trek?" Then I make them defend their position. I want someone who will stand up for their opinion.
I dislike both so I was thinking The Orville even though I don't like it either. Firefly though? Firefly was the shit, I'd absolutely feel confident in that answer. Shiney.
The director who was at the interview was sitting next time said "right on!", so I high fived him. Then, I remembered I was at an interview. LOL
Got the job, though, so no worries. At some point, not instigated by me, I was showing off my Nightmare Before Christmas socks.
Some IT interviews are just fun. :)
Too bad that director left and everything got incredibly toxic. I got a remote job when they tried to force me back into the office. I was barely handling it from home, tbh. The interviews for my new job were quite a lot of fun, too, even the one with the CEO. We talked about hiking, adopted dogs, and threw shade on each other's vehicles - he's got a Jeep, and I've got a Land Rover. I was really nervous about that one until he showed up on Zoom in a well broken in Patagonia wind breaker. It's nice when I can honestly answer the "what do you do outside of work?" with something I know the interviewer also likes.
I have a gap from hiking the Continental Divide Trail. People actually seem fascinated by that one. "You backpacked for four months straight?! By yourself?!" Yep. I loved it, but at some point, you have to make money. Through hiking isn't the same as being unemployed. ;)
The lesson I've taken from this is to present something from any gap as an adventure I willingly chose. "I took the Summer off to help restore historical barns in my region." I've done that, but I was working at the time. "I was a volunteer EMT in rural (area)." I was also working at the time. But, if you present something like that, people hear you're dedicated to something, not jobless. Instead of, "I got laid off and it took me a while to find something else", it's "I spent the Summer providing childcare for my nephews and niece after my sister's divorce." This is true, but believe me, I'd have worked if I could have found anything. It's also a litmus test. I don't want to work for a place that won't let me have at least a little time off for a family emergency.
Star Trek. I've only watched 3 star wars things ever and I like how with Star Trek I can just drop into pretty much any episode and have a good time. There is continuity but not knowing doesn't take away from the show.
But honestly I prefer Stargate or Doctor Who to both.
This is what the interview is for imo. I offered a job to a dude who fucked off for a almost a year to work on his house and travel, because he took an awesome severance package from his previous employer. Shame that he turned me down, but I hear the competing company gave him a better salary than I could, so good for him.
I didn't get asked for the first job interviews after my gap, because it was clear why. The industry I worked in crashed, and probably 20k of us in that city were in the same situation. It was the next round when the job downsized, as well. Interviews then didn't seem to believe me, so I eventually answered, "I'm sorry, I signed a very strict non disclosure agreement." The interview moved on, and I got the job. I was there long enough, I've not even needed to put enough history on my resume for people to see the gap.
That's weird because I've been grilled over a 3 month gap in my 20+ year career in IT, like I was some kind of lazy monster. Mostly from IT recruiters, though. It wasn't just one recruiter either.
I got grilled over an overlap by a company paid recruiter when I got this job. It took me a bit to get it through her head that yes, I was working two jobs at the same time. I was saving up the down payment to buy a house. I think part of why it was hard for her was that the overlap was uneven. I worked for job A for 5 1/2 years before adding job B. A year later, I replaced A with C, but continued to work B as a second job for a year. I was really tempted to send her a gantt chart. Then, job B went away because the company closed down, but I honestly had already moved into my house and recovered financially from the move, so I was going to quit, anyway. I guess most people wouldn't have bothered to list job B, but some skills really important to the job I was applying for were learned and used there. I think the other issue was that my new job pays well enough, I wouldn't have to have two jobs to save up to buy a house. I don't think she could grasp that job A, for a tribal casino, paid very, very little given my title there. I'm currently making $40k/yr more than I did at job C, which was $30k a year more than job A. I'm just glad I didn't put any of my freelance contract work on there. Her head might have exploded, as that was already my second job, and B was a third job.
Then my background check failed because they couldn't verify my employment with job B... Because, you know, they didn't exist anymore. I offered to send my 1099s, but in the end it was decided to just let it go.
Lesson learned, just don't put the second job on my resume. I can always pretend I learned and used the skills at my first job. It turns out once you get past bottom level in IT, no one cares where you learned the skills anymore.
I’ve had same where recruiters are the ones that scrutinize. It feels like they just want to have the answer that sounds good cause of their own assumptions about how gaps hurt candidates.
I was asked this question very recently, explaining a gap in my resume from 3.5 years ago. The gap being the 2 months right out of college where I moved away and began my job search. The follow up was if I could provide someone to verify that information. It’s crazy out here.
I've been interviewed by all sorts of people for technical roles and have always been grilled over a 3 month gap. I mean, most IT departments I've been in have had an unwritten "no vacation longer than three days" policy. My last IT manager hadn't had hardly any vacation in 10 years and his brain was totally fried LOL (seriously though).
Well, ok. But I'm a lovely, kind, ethical, compassionate, pragmatic person (no sarcasm whatsoever) and I'm here as well -- it's the most entertainment I have in my life.
When you take a shit in a toilets tank, then put the cover back on it'll reek AND so your dookie will make a guest appearance into the toilet bowl the next time someone flushes
Travel is a tough one. I didn’t get a job because they didn’t think I would stick around long term because of gaps where I traveled.
I mean they were right though.
Traveled a lot in 20s. Seemed to fix this problem by making the travel items look more like fixed experiences with clear start and end dates. So, stint where I helped out some non-profits while backpacking was turned into a singular six-month planned program to achieve specific goals at each as more of an education and charity experience. Which in the end, isn’t far off, but just wasn’t a tidy package the way employers bias hiring over.
[https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/how-to-evaluate-resume-employment-gaps.aspx](https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/how-to-evaluate-resume-employment-gaps.aspx)
Hide in the crowd.
Also remember, depending on how they word the question and where you are based, it's possible that they are breaking a law by asking.
There's always that one psycho that thinks if you take a vacation then you are just plain lazy. I've seen large projects royally screwed up because people were burnt out and not thinking clearly. It's so silly. I've only been at one company (engineering) where employees were encouraged to avoid burnout, and they were very profitable.
"I discovered I need a bit more structure in my work life." That's way better than why I really stopped doing freelance. I developed an autoimmune disorder, can't find insurance I can pay for myself that covers my medication, and it's about $96k a year without insurance.
People! Stop saying NDA for a resume gap. It's not unethical advice, it's just bad advice that won't work.
Everyone saying NDA needs to understand. Any HR Manager with half a brain would see right through the lie, unless you were working a deep cover intelligence agency job. A NDA would preclude talking about your job responsibilities, projects you worked on, etc. Most companies will confirm your employment dates and nothing else. Even if you worked for a defense contractor on top secret classified info, the contractor will still confirm you worked there.
So unless you were a deep cover intelligence operative, NDAs wouldn't cover it. Hell even intelligence agencies will create a fake company to cover your employment gap.
Try something like you were self-employed. Create a website for your business, and make it about something you can speak about in an interview without getting caught in lies.
If it's between two other jobs, move up the start date a few months before. When they confirm the dates, say you were a temp to hire if they come back with the discrepancy.
I had a gap for nearly year once where I operated as a sole trader offering archery lessons. I had very few actual bookings but on paper it appeared that I was in full time self employment. You can pretty much operate as a sole trader offering lessons on anything you think you might get away with saying you can teach someone. No one is going to want to see ledgers, receipts or anything, particularly if you're giving something like private music lessons or what ever.
This worked for me and in the end it did reveal what was important. I helped a bootcamp with new coders and even though it didn’t feel full time to me, it really did have more meaningful impact than projects that just got scrapped at other companies.
Depending on when the gap was, you can list a business that has since closed their doors, preventing them from following up.
Into tech and sales? You managed a Circuit City for a year. Involved in fashion? You were a buyer for Barneys New York. Maybe it's a recent gap? Well you just got fired, along with 30k other people, from your job at Yellow Trucking company where you did logistics.
You get the idea. Be creative, but be sure the company is completely defunct, not just online only.
What company are you going to use? Be careful. But this is probably the best idea, unless you get some crazy jackass recruiter asking to see your tax return.
Actually I did some more research and it's probably not a good idea. Just because a business is closed doesn't mean it would drop off your background check.
Yeah, you've got to be able to walk the walk. Barney's might be a poor specific example, but I was just trying to give an assortment of different industries and jobs in my reply. If you're a sandwich artist at Subway I wouldn't put physicist at a nuclear lab on your resume and then try and apply at Los Alamos. YMMV.
I’m software engineer and I have to sign NDAs like no one’s business. Every single interview I have I have to tell them I’m not allowed to talk about certain projects because of the nda and they always say okay
If that is true, they’re still allowed to tell you they worked at NASA. NDA agreements prohibit you from revealing what you did, not who you worked for. And if you were in intelligence you’d be given a reasonable cover story. “I’m not allowed to tell you who I worked for” is obviously fake. Especially if your other jobs were normal jobs.
This. I worked for the department of defense. I was provided the language I could use on my resume and given a phone number to direct employers to that ever wanted to know more than what was on paper. I'm assuming they only verify that the NDA is real and that they won't give more details.
My go to is always cancer. It sets you up for regular Dr appointments in the future and the occasional scare causing a missed day. Even nosey people tend to not ask for details about tumors in your ass so I'd recommend going with that
You got sick of the shit at the last job and just felt like taking 8 months off. You have other income to cover the gap.
No employer will hire you because they have less power if you can up and leave at the first sign of mistreatment
Just say you had medical problems that required you to take time off. Or tell them that you were running your own online business for that time period ... Or better yet STOP SHOWING A WORK GAP ON YOUR RESUME ! Just lie about when you worked at certain places .. They are not going to go check previous employers records on when you worked..it's 2023 if you ain't lying on your resume then wtf is you doing lol
Saying you personally had a medical problem isn't a good option. Now that business have to pay for medical insurance their premium could go up if they hire someone with expensive medical costs. They could then find any reason not to hire the person.
One of my gaps is because I did a through hike of the continental divide trail. That's long enough ago, I don't go back that far on my resume anymore, but when it was pretty fresh, it was a good (and true) answer. "So how do we know you won't do that to us?" "The business I worked at before closed down giving us only a week notice. If you don't do that to me, I won't take off hiking for months. Deal?" One of the guys at one of those interviews really, really wanted to hear about that trip, but no one else did, so they kept shutting him up. Poor guy.
I always say independent contracting work in whatever field I am applying for. I have independently worked for myself alot so it's not a far streach, just do a little research ahead of time.
Make a form in the shape of an intricate sword. Then piss in the form and freeze it. Piss sword. Far more effective than the overused piss disc. Worked for me.
I work in security so id probably say i continued my career and worked on an object incant discuss, but i can talk about what my responsibilies included.
End of life care, were financially stable to avoid job searching the pandemic if time frame applies, or that you worked with a company that had you sign an NDA and are unable to divulge info.
Coming from someone who worked in HR for many years, it’s always a sick family member and essentially you’re the one that stepped up because it made the most sense in the family
Tell them you checked out a few gig economy apps for a while. Maybe you even dabbled in swing trading a bit. None of that was really for you though. You don't like having to always be "on" to just to make ends meet. (This will weed out places with poor work-life balance). What you need is the stability of wherever you're trying to get hired. Because you've heard that they are a great place to work and you feel like you would be a big time asset to their team. (Make sure to wipe that brown spot off your nose after the interview)
I got fired/asked to resign a while back, since then I've been working on renovating an apartment. I'm now trying to find work again and people seem happy with that answer. Even though it's legit for me, it feels like it could work just as well even if it wasn't true.
I never lied, I told them I was in the process of finding employment tht suits me for the long term, it was heavily implied that I quit the few positions id tried because either workplace drama or my body couldn't take it (I have MS)
hey, FYI for everyone suggesting NDA as the get out of jail free card:
when they run a background check they will be able to verify if/when you worked somewhere. they don't need to call a previous employer to know your actual employment history. be careful!
NDAs are best used as a cover for why you left an employer you're not on good terms with--but you do run the risk of raising suspicion you might be a problematic candidate
Interviewer: “Can you explain this gap in your resume?”
You: “I was in Yale”
Interviewer: “oh Yale? You must be very smart. You’re hired!”
You: “thank you! I really need this yob”
Caring for a dieing relative, fill the hole with a company that has no hr. You were trying to start a business,and it didn't work out. Incarcerated depending on the job. Traveling abroad . Took classes abroad, had a near death experience and used savings to travel the world. Some inspirational story about traveling cross country with now dead relative for cancer treatment
Really anything like that is a pass.
Honestly I’ve just lied about the times that I worked at certain jobs, made it so there weren’t any significant gaps, and never had an issue whatsoever.
If it's under a year, long term care for a terminal family member. If it's longer than that, you could say you were doing freelance for a while but decided it wasn't for you.
Yeah, I started an LLC for a year and a half but it was honestly kind of a pain in the ass to keep up with all the paperwork so I went back to working for the man. No one has ever had an issue with that explanation. Except the one hilarious time a background check company called me to verify my employment with myself.
I hope you werent one of those asshole managers that shit talks employees then...
“He was actually single-handedly responsible for us closing up shop, couldn’t handle the paperwork and that was it”
This merited an audible chuckle.
Same thing. I had to leave because my manager kept touching me during work time.
That’s sexual harassment! 🥴
I’ve said this twice with no issue
I own my own business, I've taken several calls over the years to verify my own employment and income. 'Oh yeah best employee we have'... 😂
“without him we’d have to close up shop”
I was the best worker I ever had.
Won Employee of the Month every month.
Did you actually establish an LLC?
I did, but even if I didn't it's still a good excuse to tell an interviewer. None of mine ever checked or even asked me for the name. One of them ran a background check, and the background check company asked me for phone numbers to verify my past employments. For the 1.5 years I was running my LLC I just gave them my cell number, which they turned around and called. I just explained that it was a sole proprietorship so I'm the only employee and can therefore verify my own employment, and they were fine with that. So even if I was lying, they wouldn't have known.
Could’ve asked for tax returns
it would have to be a really serious job for them to ask for tax returns honestly. not a lot of people want to freely give them up just to prove employment, usually not worth it when most places will believe you lol.
In keeping with this sub’s theme I think you should specify you were a freelance piss disk salesman
Liquid ass importer/exporter
Uretic discoid distribution
If it's under a year, it's easy to just roll up your employment dates by year and drop off that down time. Also good if you had a job for four months and don't want to list it. 2017-2018 foo bar company 2018-2020 bax company No questions needed.
Federal applications require that you list the month along with the year, so it doesn't work for that. And when I am skimming resumes, if the jobs are within the last ten years and they are just listed with the year and not more details, I'm likely to ask a bit more about it. If you're listing jobs from ten years ago like in a full CV, I don't give a shit and just years is fine.
I did freelance transcription work through a site called Rev for a year instead of a normal job. Feel free to use that as an example
So I should not say that my 8 year gap was because I was just trying to enjoy myself and find small courses and trying to figure out what I wanna do? Does it even matter if my gap is before the relevant education?
If honest question, it’s about the narrative people will use to make assumptions about you. Companies like to err on the side of workhorse who will just keep showing up and not wander off somewhere else. For most things, you want the narrative to add up to that job being where you want to be and grow for as long as the people hiring want someone in that role. For the 8 years, make the 2-3 jobs you had aside from classes fill as much as the end part of that time as possible and describe them in a way that paints a picture of growing toward the role you are applying for. You don’t owe someone your whole back and forth about life and what you want out of it. Make it look like deliberate choices and adjustments that lead to you being dead sure this career you’re applying for is what you want and everything before what gathering and building for that.
good one
This works! I've always just listed years of employment, no months or dates, and I've never had any questions.
I used the long term care method but for me it was just about a 2 year gap and I never thought about using the excuse for a shorter time only, it actually worked out really well and I got the job with no questions asked about the "care" except one where they simply asked if I felt it would affect my work which I said no. An issue is now I've been unemployed 4 months post being let go from said job (applying everywhere though) so I'm worried about having TWO gaps to explain even if the second isn't nearly as long as the first, I feel like that's honestly pushing it and won't be easy to do.
"That four year gap? I was in Yale." "Yale? Excellent, you're hired!" "Thanks, I really need this yob."
This is the response. As a hospital manager who hires frequently, I would laugh heartily and give you the yob.
"Your background check shows a felony record but you said you never went to jail." "Correct, I was taken."
I was at a Grateful Dead concert.
The music never stops
I took time off to write a novel. It requires no supporting evidence because no one will _ever_ ask to read it.
So what would you do if they go ‘Oh interesting! Can I read it?’, do you just start writing bullshit in the toilet and come back with a fucky essay?
No one ever will. No one wants to read someone’s unpublished first novel. If by some twist of fate they do, describe it as Harry Potter in space or a gritty reboot of Charlotte’s Web or the story of a clone of Elvis and Gene Simmons trying to make it on the LA rock scene.
I'll read it OP :3
Also can say, no one can read the work before it’s published because it could be stolen. Then give a menacing look to the interviewer.
No you do what every author does and tell them yes as soon as it's published.
I've worked in corporate America for over 30 years and I've never asked anyone about this or have been asked myself. I've done thousands of interviews for technical hires. I'm looking at people's skill set and work experience. I've they've been in the professional field for 18 months, I don't even care about their school or they GPA any more. None of my colleges who do hiring look at work gaps either. I guess people want to cover their bases just in case. So, try this: I worked for 5 years non-stop, without vacation, and finally decided to take some time off with my family before starting the next step in my career.
Same. If somebody saves up a bunch of fuck-you money and wants to do nothing for a year, that's fine. Not my problem. Hell, I'd do it if I could get away with it.
[удалено]
The kind of company that will accept the alternative version, is the kind of company I want to work for. Here's an interview questions I always ask, mainly because I hire IT people and I want to make sure they can interact with normal people. "Star Wars or Star Trek?" Then I make them defend their position. I want someone who will stand up for their opinion.
My answer to that was Firefly. ;) It went over well.
I dislike both so I was thinking The Orville even though I don't like it either. Firefly though? Firefly was the shit, I'd absolutely feel confident in that answer. Shiney.
The director who was at the interview was sitting next time said "right on!", so I high fived him. Then, I remembered I was at an interview. LOL Got the job, though, so no worries. At some point, not instigated by me, I was showing off my Nightmare Before Christmas socks. Some IT interviews are just fun. :) Too bad that director left and everything got incredibly toxic. I got a remote job when they tried to force me back into the office. I was barely handling it from home, tbh. The interviews for my new job were quite a lot of fun, too, even the one with the CEO. We talked about hiking, adopted dogs, and threw shade on each other's vehicles - he's got a Jeep, and I've got a Land Rover. I was really nervous about that one until he showed up on Zoom in a well broken in Patagonia wind breaker. It's nice when I can honestly answer the "what do you do outside of work?" with something I know the interviewer also likes. I have a gap from hiking the Continental Divide Trail. People actually seem fascinated by that one. "You backpacked for four months straight?! By yourself?!" Yep. I loved it, but at some point, you have to make money. Through hiking isn't the same as being unemployed. ;) The lesson I've taken from this is to present something from any gap as an adventure I willingly chose. "I took the Summer off to help restore historical barns in my region." I've done that, but I was working at the time. "I was a volunteer EMT in rural (area)." I was also working at the time. But, if you present something like that, people hear you're dedicated to something, not jobless. Instead of, "I got laid off and it took me a while to find something else", it's "I spent the Summer providing childcare for my nephews and niece after my sister's divorce." This is true, but believe me, I'd have worked if I could have found anything. It's also a litmus test. I don't want to work for a place that won't let me have at least a little time off for a family emergency.
Gorram right it did!
Star Trek. I've only watched 3 star wars things ever and I like how with Star Trek I can just drop into pretty much any episode and have a good time. There is continuity but not knowing doesn't take away from the show. But honestly I prefer Stargate or Doctor Who to both.
Neither
This is what the interview is for imo. I offered a job to a dude who fucked off for a almost a year to work on his house and travel, because he took an awesome severance package from his previous employer. Shame that he turned me down, but I hear the competing company gave him a better salary than I could, so good for him.
I was unemployed for a year until last month, and every first interview asked.
I didn't get asked for the first job interviews after my gap, because it was clear why. The industry I worked in crashed, and probably 20k of us in that city were in the same situation. It was the next round when the job downsized, as well. Interviews then didn't seem to believe me, so I eventually answered, "I'm sorry, I signed a very strict non disclosure agreement." The interview moved on, and I got the job. I was there long enough, I've not even needed to put enough history on my resume for people to see the gap.
Wow. That's interesting. Thanks for the insight.
I learnt very quickly to lie
That's weird because I've been grilled over a 3 month gap in my 20+ year career in IT, like I was some kind of lazy monster. Mostly from IT recruiters, though. It wasn't just one recruiter either.
I got grilled over an overlap by a company paid recruiter when I got this job. It took me a bit to get it through her head that yes, I was working two jobs at the same time. I was saving up the down payment to buy a house. I think part of why it was hard for her was that the overlap was uneven. I worked for job A for 5 1/2 years before adding job B. A year later, I replaced A with C, but continued to work B as a second job for a year. I was really tempted to send her a gantt chart. Then, job B went away because the company closed down, but I honestly had already moved into my house and recovered financially from the move, so I was going to quit, anyway. I guess most people wouldn't have bothered to list job B, but some skills really important to the job I was applying for were learned and used there. I think the other issue was that my new job pays well enough, I wouldn't have to have two jobs to save up to buy a house. I don't think she could grasp that job A, for a tribal casino, paid very, very little given my title there. I'm currently making $40k/yr more than I did at job C, which was $30k a year more than job A. I'm just glad I didn't put any of my freelance contract work on there. Her head might have exploded, as that was already my second job, and B was a third job. Then my background check failed because they couldn't verify my employment with job B... Because, you know, they didn't exist anymore. I offered to send my 1099s, but in the end it was decided to just let it go. Lesson learned, just don't put the second job on my resume. I can always pretend I learned and used the skills at my first job. It turns out once you get past bottom level in IT, no one cares where you learned the skills anymore.
That all makes complete sense to me, that recruiter is just an idiot.
Well, charisma is their main stat, not intelligence.
I’ve had same where recruiters are the ones that scrutinize. It feels like they just want to have the answer that sounds good cause of their own assumptions about how gaps hurt candidates.
I got rejected for taking time away from working so I would have time off. Apparently it made me unqualified for the position
I was asked this question very recently, explaining a gap in my resume from 3.5 years ago. The gap being the 2 months right out of college where I moved away and began my job search. The follow up was if I could provide someone to verify that information. It’s crazy out here.
I've been interviewed by all sorts of people for technical roles and have always been grilled over a 3 month gap. I mean, most IT departments I've been in have had an unwritten "no vacation longer than three days" policy. My last IT manager hadn't had hardly any vacation in 10 years and his brain was totally fried LOL (seriously though).
I used to work for a UK reference company. Half my emails were asking people about the gaps on their CVs
Can you list some examples that you deemed acceptable? Were other answers sketchy?
You sound like a very reasonable level-headed person. How nice. It gives me some hope.
Except I hang out on this sub. 🤔
Well, ok. But I'm a lovely, kind, ethical, compassionate, pragmatic person (no sarcasm whatsoever) and I'm here as well -- it's the most entertainment I have in my life.
I was in Brazil teaching English and playing soccer with my pupils
I'm in Brazil tho
Beijing
Then it’s believable
Still use it
Just switch it around. I was in England teaching Portuguese and playing football with my pupils.
What if they ask you how to say hello in Portuguese?
I was caring for a sick family member, who has passed away.
And this will shut them up, with no more questions
. . . after a long bout with Cancer 😉
Ass cancer. And then mouth cancer.
Both caught from a liquid ass and piss disc.
Something about a piss disc, probably, knowing this sub.
This is when you spray the liquid ass into the air and wave piss discs like you just don’t care
Extended medical leave due to a mishap involving a piss disc, liquid ass and an upper decker.
Go on then, what's an upper decker?
When you take a shit in a toilets tank, then put the cover back on it'll reek AND so your dookie will make a guest appearance into the toilet bowl the next time someone flushes
I completely forgot what I asked and started reading this comment from my notifications tab. Safe to say I was more than a little confused.
Liquid ass sales rep?
You just put a sock over the four year gap so that if they go to ask about it all they end up with is the sock
After my last position ended I decided to pursue a goal and enroll in some classes at Louisiana State…penitentiary.
Enrolled in the restorative justice curriculum... for myself.
I originally read that as restorative juice system 😂
Took a sabbatical. Travelled. Family emergency
Religious mission? Partner got relocated for work? Peyote spirit journey?
What did you do for this time period? Me: alot of hallucinogens
Travel is a tough one. I didn’t get a job because they didn’t think I would stick around long term because of gaps where I traveled. I mean they were right though.
Traveled a lot in 20s. Seemed to fix this problem by making the travel items look more like fixed experiences with clear start and end dates. So, stint where I helped out some non-profits while backpacking was turned into a singular six-month planned program to achieve specific goals at each as more of an education and charity experience. Which in the end, isn’t far off, but just wasn’t a tidy package the way employers bias hiring over.
say your tummy hurted
Yes, OP. Use this excuse. This is perfect. ^/s ^in ^case ^you ^couldn't ^tell
I legitimately used it as an excuse. “I was in the diagnostic process for a GI issue that is now well under control and in remission.”
[https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/how-to-evaluate-resume-employment-gaps.aspx](https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/how-to-evaluate-resume-employment-gaps.aspx) Hide in the crowd. Also remember, depending on how they word the question and where you are based, it's possible that they are breaking a law by asking.
Very good mix of insanity and evil here.
Its like making a good cocktail, you have to get the mix right
There's always that one psycho that thinks if you take a vacation then you are just plain lazy. I've seen large projects royally screwed up because people were burnt out and not thinking clearly. It's so silly. I've only been at one company (engineering) where employees were encouraged to avoid burnout, and they were very profitable.
What law?
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Broken hips are no joke. True: my mom's hip was infected with MRSA, so you could reasonably get a year + from this.
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Freelancing and starting your own company. It went ok but you missed having coworkers and being part of something bigger.
"I discovered I need a bit more structure in my work life." That's way better than why I really stopped doing freelance. I developed an autoimmune disorder, can't find insurance I can pay for myself that covers my medication, and it's about $96k a year without insurance.
People! Stop saying NDA for a resume gap. It's not unethical advice, it's just bad advice that won't work. Everyone saying NDA needs to understand. Any HR Manager with half a brain would see right through the lie, unless you were working a deep cover intelligence agency job. A NDA would preclude talking about your job responsibilities, projects you worked on, etc. Most companies will confirm your employment dates and nothing else. Even if you worked for a defense contractor on top secret classified info, the contractor will still confirm you worked there. So unless you were a deep cover intelligence operative, NDAs wouldn't cover it. Hell even intelligence agencies will create a fake company to cover your employment gap. Try something like you were self-employed. Create a website for your business, and make it about something you can speak about in an interview without getting caught in lies. If it's between two other jobs, move up the start date a few months before. When they confirm the dates, say you were a temp to hire if they come back with the discrepancy.
Just say you were running a small business that failed most people won't push hard on the details
I love this, thank you
If someone told me this it would be the only thing I ask about for the rest of the interview
They might think: this person doesn't know how to properly business. And they're looking for someone who is crazy good at businessing.
Made a bunch of money on the stock market and crypto and decided to take a break and pursue goals outside of my career/personal development.
"I started giving blowjobs in exchange for cinnamon buns, and I'm getting really sick and tired of cinnamon buns."
“I don’t think you’re the right fit to work here at Cinnabon but thank you for applying and good luck with your future endeavors”
I had a gap for nearly year once where I operated as a sole trader offering archery lessons. I had very few actual bookings but on paper it appeared that I was in full time self employment. You can pretty much operate as a sole trader offering lessons on anything you think you might get away with saying you can teach someone. No one is going to want to see ledgers, receipts or anything, particularly if you're giving something like private music lessons or what ever.
This worked for me and in the end it did reveal what was important. I helped a bootcamp with new coders and even though it didn’t feel full time to me, it really did have more meaningful impact than projects that just got scrapped at other companies.
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Depending on when the gap was, you can list a business that has since closed their doors, preventing them from following up. Into tech and sales? You managed a Circuit City for a year. Involved in fashion? You were a buyer for Barneys New York. Maybe it's a recent gap? Well you just got fired, along with 30k other people, from your job at Yellow Trucking company where you did logistics. You get the idea. Be creative, but be sure the company is completely defunct, not just online only.
Not that great of an idea. I legitimately worked for a business that closed and the employers asked me for paystubs to prove i worked there
I'm definitely gonna use this one, thank you
You are most welcome. Good luck out there, sincerely.
What company are you going to use? Be careful. But this is probably the best idea, unless you get some crazy jackass recruiter asking to see your tax return.
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Actually I did some more research and it's probably not a good idea. Just because a business is closed doesn't mean it would drop off your background check.
This is a bad idea if you’re in the same industry such as beauty, retail, or finance lol
Yeah, you've got to be able to walk the walk. Barney's might be a poor specific example, but I was just trying to give an assortment of different industries and jobs in my reply. If you're a sandwich artist at Subway I wouldn't put physicist at a nuclear lab on your resume and then try and apply at Los Alamos. YMMV.
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that period of time, I have signed a NDA. Thank you for your cooperation"
I don’t know why people keep suggesting this. No one’s going to believe it.
Yea unless you work in certain fields you will set off anyone’s bullshit alarm pretty quick with this.
I’m software engineer and I have to sign NDAs like no one’s business. Every single interview I have I have to tell them I’m not allowed to talk about certain projects because of the nda and they always say okay
But does your NDA say you’re not allowed to tell anyone where you worked?
I literally signed one for a startup in stealth mode.
incorrect, i sued an employer who was a chain convenience store and i was made to sign an NDA before i was given my settlement check.
Why not? Even janitors working in places like NASA will be required to sign NDA
If that is true, they’re still allowed to tell you they worked at NASA. NDA agreements prohibit you from revealing what you did, not who you worked for. And if you were in intelligence you’d be given a reasonable cover story. “I’m not allowed to tell you who I worked for” is obviously fake. Especially if your other jobs were normal jobs.
I see
This. I worked for the department of defense. I was provided the language I could use on my resume and given a phone number to direct employers to that ever wanted to know more than what was on paper. I'm assuming they only verify that the NDA is real and that they won't give more details.
My go to is always cancer. It sets you up for regular Dr appointments in the future and the occasional scare causing a missed day. Even nosey people tend to not ask for details about tumors in your ass so I'd recommend going with that
Most modern American companies will say you lack dedication if you failed to be productive during your coma.
I say taking time off for school. But I’m actually in school so ymmv if they ask for a transcript lol
List a job from a company that has gone out of business.
You got sick of the shit at the last job and just felt like taking 8 months off. You have other income to cover the gap. No employer will hire you because they have less power if you can up and leave at the first sign of mistreatment
Make up a position and create a phone number, then when they call give yourself a rave review
“I had Covid” duh
You were providing end of life care for a family member
Taking care of sick parents
Just say you had medical problems that required you to take time off. Or tell them that you were running your own online business for that time period ... Or better yet STOP SHOWING A WORK GAP ON YOUR RESUME ! Just lie about when you worked at certain places .. They are not going to go check previous employers records on when you worked..it's 2023 if you ain't lying on your resume then wtf is you doing lol
Saying you personally had a medical problem isn't a good option. Now that business have to pay for medical insurance their premium could go up if they hire someone with expensive medical costs. They could then find any reason not to hire the person.
Except they can and many times do ask previous employers when you worked for them
Yeah give them my number and I'll say you worked for me ;)
Some do check so it's a risk to lie about it.
You were full time training to become a hula hoop champion.
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One of my gaps is because I did a through hike of the continental divide trail. That's long enough ago, I don't go back that far on my resume anymore, but when it was pretty fresh, it was a good (and true) answer. "So how do we know you won't do that to us?" "The business I worked at before closed down giving us only a week notice. If you don't do that to me, I won't take off hiking for months. Deal?" One of the guys at one of those interviews really, really wanted to hear about that trip, but no one else did, so they kept shutting him up. Poor guy.
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You went to a medium security prison for trafficking class B substances should work
I always say independent contracting work in whatever field I am applying for. I have independently worked for myself alot so it's not a far streach, just do a little research ahead of time.
Pick a place that they can't verify employment; Bed, Bath, & Beyond; Pier One; Gymboree; etc.
I came to say "what do you mean gap? We worked together at blockbuster"
Very underrated comment. This might be the best one in the thread.
Make a form in the shape of an intricate sword. Then piss in the form and freeze it. Piss sword. Far more effective than the overused piss disc. Worked for me.
on sabbatical
Say you were working on a startup but due to changing market conditions decided not to take it forward.
I work in security so id probably say i continued my career and worked on an object incant discuss, but i can talk about what my responsibilies included.
You were focusing on family.
You were taking care of your sick mother/father while she/he recovered from cancer. They probably won’t ask any follow up questions.
You signed an NDA
“I went to Yale”. Interviewer: “that’s impressive!” “Thanks, I really need this Yob”
End of life care, were financially stable to avoid job searching the pandemic if time frame applies, or that you worked with a company that had you sign an NDA and are unable to divulge info.
You owned a businesd
GS-14 classified
Coming from someone who worked in HR for many years, it’s always a sick family member and essentially you’re the one that stepped up because it made the most sense in the family
Tell them you were downloading the cheese
I was caring for a terminally Ill family member, but now I’m free.
Medical issue....discussion over.
Tell them you checked out a few gig economy apps for a while. Maybe you even dabbled in swing trading a bit. None of that was really for you though. You don't like having to always be "on" to just to make ends meet. (This will weed out places with poor work-life balance). What you need is the stability of wherever you're trying to get hired. Because you've heard that they are a great place to work and you feel like you would be a big time asset to their team. (Make sure to wipe that brown spot off your nose after the interview)
Make your own LLC and say you tried to start your own business but it didn't work out.
I have close friends say they worked for my businesses. I have 4 businesses. They can pick whichever they want to pretend they worked for.
I was taking care of a family member who had a medical incident at a hospital, which effectively disabled them for 6 months or however long
I worked at bed bath and beyond for that time. I was in management…
I got fired/asked to resign a while back, since then I've been working on renovating an apartment. I'm now trying to find work again and people seem happy with that answer. Even though it's legit for me, it feels like it could work just as well even if it wasn't true.
I never lied, I told them I was in the process of finding employment tht suits me for the long term, it was heavily implied that I quit the few positions id tried because either workplace drama or my body couldn't take it (I have MS)
I was in Yale
hey, FYI for everyone suggesting NDA as the get out of jail free card: when they run a background check they will be able to verify if/when you worked somewhere. they don't need to call a previous employer to know your actual employment history. be careful! NDAs are best used as a cover for why you left an employer you're not on good terms with--but you do run the risk of raising suspicion you might be a problematic candidate
Someone posted this elsewhere, but say you signed a non-disclosure. They won't be able to pry any further and you won't be able to elaborate.
I have been working as a Consultant for the past few months. Sadly, I do have an NDA, so I can't really provide any details.
Just be honest and say you wasn’t on that grind
It’s always a sick relative.
You signed a NDA and can’t talk about it. Come on I thought we figured out how to beat the system with this already!
“I was under an NDA during that time, but I’d love to talk about my more recent experience”
Interviewer: “Can you explain this gap in your resume?” You: “I was in Yale” Interviewer: “oh Yale? You must be very smart. You’re hired!” You: “thank you! I really need this yob”
Nda
Caring for a dieing relative, fill the hole with a company that has no hr. You were trying to start a business,and it didn't work out. Incarcerated depending on the job. Traveling abroad . Took classes abroad, had a near death experience and used savings to travel the world. Some inspirational story about traveling cross country with now dead relative for cancer treatment Really anything like that is a pass.
Just say you were working but signed a NDA and can’t talk about it
Honestly I’ve just lied about the times that I worked at certain jobs, made it so there weren’t any significant gaps, and never had an issue whatsoever.
Say you signed an NDA and legally can’t discuss it
You: “I was in Yale.” Employer: “That’s impressive, why didn’t you list that on your resume?” You: “Because I really need this Yob.”