I haven't had a job/gone to college in 3 years because of severe depression. What do I say when employers ask about the gap in my resume? I don't want to tell them that I had depression.
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nys
mors mihi lucrum
- Jun 1, 2022
- 269
My mom had a really large job gap because she had to take care of me and my younger brother until I was about 11. I think she told interviewers the truth, that she was raising us, and they accepted that answer. I guess you could say you were caring for your kids or someone else who couldn't take care of themselves, like someone very old or someone injured or something like that
befree
Time to do more enjoyable things _____Goodbye_____
- Mar 22, 2022
- 2,587
Tell them you were self employed. E.g.: consulting, freelance journalist, researcher, helping people (foreigners) to integrate, helping homeless people...whatever suits you and your education. 
Same here. I succeeded by lying. Some will do background checks on current jobs, which in that case I had to withdraw candidacy. A lot did not. You could also say you were a full-time caregiver for a terminally ill family member. You were indeed a caregiver. And, I agree, do not tell them it was due to depression. Honesty would be nice if it worked. But in my experience it does not.
western_heart
trying to save ourself
- May 23, 2021
- 630
I had a six year gap in employment and during my interview for the job I have now, I explained that I had health issues and have since recovered.
narval
Enlightened
- Jan 22, 2020
- 1,188
Well. use the covid excuse and hard times and bla bla bla. You can use that for cover a part of the time for sure, if not all
Many times they don't check. As long as you interview well, it shouldn't be an issue imo. Maybe give a friends number if they ask for a contact
You could say something like that you took some time off figure out what you wanted to do with your life and then just living at home the tijme passed quickly because you didn't need to work, and that maybe you focused on some other things like healthy eating and exercise or some hobbies or whatever- something along those lines or something similar. In this job market employers really want to hire people so they won't probe too deeply on this, if someone does you can go the next employer, because most won't push too hard I don't think.
It's going to heavily depend on what kind of job you're going for and what skills are involved. Something technical, like programming, cyber sec, data anlysis, engineering - unfortunately you're kind of screwed. Employers know those skills deteriorate quickly. Something more soft-skills based should be fine.
Zegers
Enlightened
- Dec 15, 2021
- 1,761
My life is basically a gap in every aspect, my work experience was only half a summer in a poxy unpaid practice job. I wanted to start a business but never had the energy or motivation to do so. I don't think you have to explain anything and in case you are asked, you can say that you were doing freelance, that you weren't working at the time, that you were taking a break, etc.
Unfortunately I agree with the advice - because of discrimination - don't discuss depression.
finesse the gap as calmly and matter of factly as you can, say it was combo of Covid / care giving to family member / figuring out what you wanted / doing some writing / but be careful saying freelance without any actual client references. You can also rehearse this answer with us here or with a friend. Keep it very relaxed and know you're not alone on having a gap. It's a very competitive employment situation where you have the leverage right now. Employers urgently need more staff. You're in the drivers seat. A three year resume gap during a pandemic is something you can finesse. Practice your answer to this one.
finesse the gap as calmly and matter of factly as you can, say it was combo of Covid / care giving to family member / figuring out what you wanted / doing some writing / but be careful saying freelance without any actual client references. You can also rehearse this answer with us here or with a friend. Keep it very relaxed and know you're not alone on having a gap. It's a very competitive employment situation where you have the leverage right now. Employers urgently need more staff. You're in the drivers seat. A three year resume gap during a pandemic is something you can finesse. Practice your answer to this one.
Ceterum
Member
- Aug 10, 2022
- 84
it's a good point by Virgil, in many parts of the world, there's more job openings than job seekers, so you can use that to your advantage. I would not mention depression, however. Caring for a family member or something along these lines sounds more promising. Employers tend to translate depression into "less reliable, likely to be sick often" :/
Arrow
Rewrite
- May 1, 2020
- 769
Honestly you should insert bullshit volunteer work or something like that. Say you volunteered at kitchens or at food banks or some shit. It's the kind of thing they would probably not waste their time verifying but it also fills in some blank spots and makes the gaps less noticeable. Idk but whatever you do don't act like you didn't do anything during those years, even if you really genuinely weren't doing anything.
I would worry about this- I would not lie more than is needed- many employeres are much more diligent about background checks than they used tyo. She can cover these gap years without lying using some of the previous suggestions, I would really go that route- it would be a shame to lose job you really want over an unnecessary lie. The only lie she really need sto make is to omit the depression, which is mainly a lie of omission.
Arrow
Rewrite
- May 1, 2020
- 769
If it's just volunteer stuff i highly doubt an employer would call up a random food bank to see if someone was packing boxes there for free. seems like a hassle. if you say you've volunteered it looks good.
I kinow the employers I worked for would definitely check this out and if it waqsn't true you would not get the job even though otherwise you would have. EMployers have become much more diligent about background checks. It's a great job market, it's really not worth the risk. If you actually worked in h/r at a reputaable company you would know that they will check this out, especially because she has no employment info during this time.
Arrow
Rewrite
- May 1, 2020
- 769
What kind of employers were you working for? What kind of job did you have?
OP has a three year work gap so they're probably getting a service job. They employers are almost certainly not double checking the random volunteer work line in the resume, pal. This is a no brainer. It's better to lie a little than to leave a gap, it's just common sense.
I kinow the employers I worked for would definitely check this out and if it waqsn't true you would not get the job even though otherwise you would have. EMployers have become much more diligent about background checks. It's a great job market, it's really not worth the risk. If you actually worked in h/r at a reputaable company you would know that they will check this out, especially because she has no employment info during this time.
My opinion is different- if they like her in the interview, in this job market especially, they will acceept almost any explanation for this time, such as- I just wasn't working at this time, I was living at home, traking care of other things- working out, spedning time with family, etc. A comletely unnecessary lie would disqualify her immediately- there is no upside to it, only the downside risk of getting caught in a lie.
Do not ever admit to having depression or anything like that. Discrimination is real. This is one of those things where I advocate for lying. Say you were either self employed or you were a full time caretaker.
Of course you should not admit to depression but if you say you were self employed or a full-time caretaker the lying could backfire on you- they may ask for someone they can call to verify this. If you have someone who will back you up on the caretaker story this could help. But you could also avoid lying and say you took some time off to figure out what you want to do with your life and your family supported you during this time- then there is no lie to cover for. Saying that you were self-employed would lead an employer to ask- are there customers we can verify this. Unnecessary lying just increases the chances of losing a job for lying during this process.
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Ashu
novelist, sanskritist, Canadian living in India
- Nov 13, 2021
- 696
Painless_end
Life is too difficult for me
- Oct 11, 2019
- 794
I have 3 years going now without employment. I stay with my parents.
I wish I could die. I will never recover from this. Not because of the gap.
But because of my mental issues which will persist my whole life.
Because those issues made my stupidly seek comfort and yet I knew I should not have.
I wish I could die. I will never recover from this. Not because of the gap.
But because of my mental issues which will persist my whole life.
Because those issues made my stupidly seek comfort and yet I knew I should not have.
Reading through the replies and thinking about this a bit more - want to amplify think it's best not to mention depression and also not to create any concrete activities that can't be verified. Whatever the category of employment you are seeking - in an abundance of caution - finesse this answer with COVID, living with family / helping out at home, or doing some writing, while you reflected on what you wanted to do. I'd avoid saying you were freelancing or volunteering that can't be verified.
gottablast888
Student
- Apr 15, 2022
- 171
i change the dates of past jobs on my resume to make it as recent as possible lol...
Excellent advice- employers are begging for employees these days, it's a great job market- your explanation for the time off will be perfectly acceptable to most employers- maybe a really picky employer wouldn't lilke thye job gap, but most will have no issue. Telling them a lie that can be easily verified as a lie is the biggest mistake a person could make, especially in such an excellent job market.
The first thing employers do is verify this dates- if it works for you that's kind of a miracle, but in most cases that will be found out, at least in the u.s., and this will disqualify a person for employment.
I would say using covid would be a excuse. Also, as of right now, the job market is pretty hot. Employers are desparate for employees in most cases. I know how hard it can be, I've worked a lot of seasonal jobs.
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