Ask HN: How to Explain Gap in Resume? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to Explain Gap in Resume?

4 pointsshivajikobardan7 comments

I left my job two months ago. Why? Because of the following reasons:

- The work was menial.

- The pay was horrible.

- The blame was most. We were the frontliners in the IT war without much power in our hands.

- I wanted to prepare for government computer engineer job.

- I could not see myself in that role for long.

- I had two conflict/disputes with my teammates on team meeting. It made my life almost hell.

Few follow up questions that interviewers can ask are:

- Why could not you seek a different job instead while having your existing job?

- Why could not you seek a different department in your previous company itself?

I was preparing for government job since I left my job.

Nepal has now collapsed. I do not expect any upcoming vacancies(for government computer engineer) for the near time being. At least for 1.5 years.

Now, I need to get back into industry after few months. Thus I need to be prepared to answer these questions. The most plausible one seems like "I was preparing for government computer engineer job examination and the government collapsed" (which is the reality as well). I am here to seek insights on what troubles this answer could bring and suggested ways to overcome them?

Every time I’ve ever asked someone about a gap in their resume they have told me they were taking care of a sick family member. Every single one of them.

I don’t know if I believe them all, but it’s not something I can fault anyone for and doesn’t invite follow up questions.

That is really a good one. I might try it in few places.

When I see gaps on resumes I don't mind it at all - I personally have always wanted want 6-12 months off to go work on side projects. If you need an excuse I would just say you're consulting friends companies and / or working on side projects you're passionate about. I don't think it's a big deal at all, if anything shows you're exploring things and figuring out what you find interesting.

AJ

Any place that judges you for leaving a toxic workplace is possibly toxic itself.

On the flip side, I was out of a job for about 6 months after being made redundant, the next job I applied for asked, and I was up-front about it. There were no further questions asked. (and I got that job)

I think the key is to be honest, let that filter out bad jobs for you just as much as the employers think they're filtering you out :)

Agreed. Though for a layoff/redundancy, it's slightly different. What I'd add to the situation described here would be:

a) Practice talking about that situation until it no longer triggers anger/resentment. No employer wants to hear an impassioned rant about how horrible your last job was.

b) Be as specific as possible when talking about the challenges of the last job and what you attempted to do about it. If you just say "toxic environment", "bad culture" or "menial work" or whatever, that could make it look like you're super negative.

When I was interviewing while in a pretty bad job, a way I framed it was:

"I wanted to do [explain project and rationale] and took initiative in that direction, but [person with authority] obstructed me by [what they did] and that made me like I was in a culture that [negative characteristic of culture], while I value [positive characteristic of culture], so I don't believe I'm in the right place anymore. This was an example to illustrate this, but I could dig deeper and share more if you want me to."

-> This keeps it free of judgment/resentment while also being assertive about what you want. It also frames you in a position of agency, not victimhood (you're not escaping something horrible, but proactively finding a better fit). It also shows your values in a specific (believable) way, not the typical job interview talk.

I think, like most things in the hiring process, being honest is your best bet.

  - served a prison sentence
  - was in a religious cult
  - rehab clinic
  - was on the run from the police/mafia/Mossad
  - went offline writing drivers for TempleOS

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