CV Gap Advice

[kandr]

"It's best to keep quite and to be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt".

If you don't have anything worthwhile to add to threads in the Business section then do us all a favour and button it.

Ill take no advice from someone named after the worst bit of the worst software ever produced. You're name reveals a lot about you. Moron.

[northernrampage]

Due to personal issues, I have not been working for about 15 months and with the economy and job market the way it currently is (dire) I wondered if anyone on here has any real world examples/experiences of individuals (or themselves) in a similar situation and how such a break is being perceived by the market/agents/recruiters.

Yup. I had was off 15 months or so before I seriously started looking. Then it took me another 7 mths to get a job.

The 7 mths though wasn't just down to the market being dire, it was because I was a gibbering wreck due to my personal issues and was interviewing worse than I usually did And I don't interview well at best of times. I had about 15-20 interviews despite the time off... and didn't get one. I don't think that was just down to the gap.

I found 50% of agents are fine, they look at your CV and your past experience. Some of them aren't, and it's just trying not to let that get you down.

I was blatantly honest about why I was off and the length of time (caring for someone, I was doing a degree p/t) and I found that as long as you say something people don't question you. Quite a few interviewers hadn't seen the gap as I think some agents took it off! Which didn't help at interview as I'd then point out my last role had been in 2008.

Anyway... I took a job through a friend in the end, but still couldn't get through interviews so got hypnotised to improve my confidence. Which helped.

For my current role my boss said "well, you've had a gap but your skills in the past were fine"

There is hope, even with a gap, it's just accepting that some agents will bin you.

[Aman]

During the last recession and after several months on the bench I had to go back to the prodession I was in before going to uni after 13 years.
I offered no explanation.
After not using the skillset for that length of time, I had no problems at all in my transition back to my former line of work and was offered a permie role and promotion on my second day.

Agents often massively under-estimate the half-life of knowledge and skillsets.

Only about a dozen agents questioned why I had been out of work for a few months and were rather rude and abrasive about it. One was even dickish about my experience not being recent after a month. I thinks some of them set out to undermine candidate confidence to get them at a bargain basement rate, others are probably fresh out of uni gel haired widos and some I suspect aren't even aware how they come across to people or are on the spectrum. Best thing is to grey list them, if you are contract or jobunting in a tough market, you don't need folk like that undermining your confidence. The agencies they worked for are all, except one, dissolved now.

Ckients and employers in my experience are less bothered about 'gaps' than agents.

From experience in my other line of (mostly voluntary) work it's not a good idea to discuss serious health problems such as Cancer, even if in recovery. Employers willl rum a km when faced with candidates who have had mental health problems, including depression.

Rather than worry where you are a at use the marvellous opportunity bench time offers you to plan where you are going. You can get more professional development planning and CPD activities done when on the bench than in most workplaces.

Perhaps you can adjust your CV if you use one. If you've had great career progression early on in your career and it's evident recession, getting typecast into succession of tulipy roles or something else has thrown a spanner in the works then get the good stuff in first ... put it in the profile and consider a forward chronological CV. Anyone who tells you your CV must have employment history, recent experience first is talking tulip.

Clients aren't thick - they can read documents in a wide variety of formats.

If you tie up all your confidence, self esteem and self image into your work, then when work dries up your confidence is inevitably going to take a hit.

[SueEllen]

I've worked with contractors who have had a year and slightly more off to care for someone. They were honest about it and obviously got roles.

[RichardCranium]

Tell the truth, and try and get on some free or cheap training / start doing some relevant voluntary work / work on professional development activities as these all help with the CV, networking, experience and confidence. Start filling your time with activities you can talk about and you'll be a far more attractive candidate, especially at interview.

Just make something up, they never check. Say you worked for MI6 but cant talk about it.

Jun 2009 - Sept 2010
CLASSIFIED

They can never find out if your lying, its classified, you cant talk about it, they can't find out about it. If they try you will have to kill them.

As for you, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

You are also a liar, and publicly promote lying amongst other contractors.

You are unprofessional and your lack of ethics brings shame on the rest of us.

I hope you spend the rest of your days in public-facing support roles.

Edit: I was pissed when I wrote that, BTW.

[Wanderer]

For my current role my boss said "well, you've had a gap but your skills in the past were fine" There is hope, even with a gap, it's just accepting that some agents will bin you.

I've got a few gaps on my CV, the biggest are 9 to 12 months. I think the main reason that some people can't accept it is that they are jealous, plain and simple. If people can't handle it then that's their loss, move on to the next interview.

[administrator]

Just make something up, they never check. Say you worked for MI6 but cant talk about it.

Jun 2009 - Sept 2010
CLASSIFIED

Clippy is right kandr. Appreciate the General area of the forum is all about the wind-up but please keep this area of the site limited to sensible advice please.

[MarillionFan]

So it depends on the personal reasons to a certain extent on whether you should bend the truth or be upfront honest.

And I will be candid on my opinion.

Physical illnesses - absolutely. You can be candid
Deaths/Children etc - You can be candid.
Travelling. Brilliant - no problem at all
Fancied a break/couldn't get work - starts to give a different impression. so pad with I was training myself, course, started my own business which didnt work for example (don't do I didnt have confidence blah blah)
Mental illness - Tricky one that. Personally I wouldn't be admitting to that and would be using one of the first two. Don't be candid.
Prison. Know you're in a whole new ballgame.

So personally, narrow the gap, and then fill in with one of the above, avoiding the obvious.

[RichardCranium]

I have a 3.5 year gap on my CV ... it was incredibly difficult and I felt like giving up many times, but I didn't ... I stuck it out ... did 18 months in a job I didn't enjoy but got me back into the market, now I'm back where I feel I should be.

[donzx6]

Only thing I would suggest is keep dates off your cv.

Just quote durations of gigs and see if that at least gets the pimps biting.