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Comment by ahelwer | Hacker News Reader

Beyond the distasteful idea that we should always act in a way demonstrating obedience to potential employers, the solution to this is extremely easy. Gap year? No! I am merely doing independent consulting. Do I actually have any contracts? So many questions!

Plus if you actually use the time to work on OSS instead of traveling or whatever I have no idea how an employer (that you'd want to work at) could fault you for that. Seems like a huge asset.

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> Beyond the distasteful idea that we should always act in a way demonstrating obedience to potential employers

Maybe even more than distasteful, perhaps soul nullifying? (Pardon the awkward phrase, it's what I get when looking for an antonym for affirming.)

For myself, when I leave the engineering field it will not be to return to engineering again unless it's strictly on my own terms. More than likely teaching or similar would follow a "gap year".

Yeah. There's no doubt age discrimination and people in PR who filter on meaningless stuff. But the idea that you can never do anything non-standard seems pretty ridiculous to me. And I'm pretty sure that no one who has hired me would think twice about it. I never have taken a real sabbatical--never seemed like a great time--but I have taken a number of month-long vacations and it's never been an issue.

>Gap year? No! I am merely doing independent consulting. Do I actually have any contracts? So many questions!

People aren't stupid. They'll have questions. And lies are extremely hard to keep straight in the long term. The sad fact of the matter is that you are not a person to them in the initial hiring process. You are a piece of paper. And unless you are some rock star 10x top level candidate with impressive credentials, they'll have a dozen other pieces of paper that look just as appealing and don't have those questions attached.

See my other comment on why this isn't lying. And stop being scared of your own shadow around interviewers.

Seconded one of my regrets was not really going for a place on a round the world boat race a few years ago and taking a sabbatical to do the whole thing.

Id just been diagnosed which a chronic illness and though it would have been fair on the rest of the crew.

fwiw, I hire people and a 6 month gap on a CV doesn’t weigh negatively at all for me vs the relevant experience they have.

Ultimately I’m looking to hire the most effective person for that job.

I’ve got my own views on how terrible some HR depts. can be for an initial CV elimination round, esp. when hiring for technical positions.

> People aren't stupid. They'll have questions

i interview and i've never looked at the dates of employment on someone's resume. i don't care one whit when you did what in the past, just what you're capable of right now.

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