Explaining a period of unemployment

Ole Rodrigo

I have an acquaintance who has been out of work for almost a year. She is looking to get back into the employment market, but is unsure about how to explain the period of being out of work.

Is there a way to deal with this without hindering her prospects, or is it going to be a big obstacle no matter what. She lost her job and only got a handful of interviews since, although she applied for quite a few positions.

RacoonQueen

Be honest. I assume she lost her job because of redundancies etc...

They'll know if she's lying, if you're honest they respect it. Lots of people have gaps in their CVs these days.

drunkmonkey

Doing 0 is never good, has she up skilled herself while she was off, if she can show she's done some courses etc that will go down well.
Is she on Facebook often (her possible employer will probably check(, no courses, no work and time spent on facebook wouldn't go down well.

skimpydoo

Easy just say they were going to set up a company with a friend but after doing thorough research they realised the company had a high probability of not surviving after the first year of trading.

drunkmonkey

skimpydoo wrote: »

Easy just say they were going to set up a company with a friend but after doing thorough research they realised the company had a high probability of not surviving after the first year of trading.

Unless she can talk the talk on that one she's probably better off not bull****ting..

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Doing 0 is never good, has she up skilled herself while she was off, if she can show she's done some courses etc that will go down well.
Is she on Facebook often (her possible employer will probably check(, no courses, no work and time spent on facebook wouldn't go down well.

Can the actaully tell this?

shruikan2553

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Can the actaully tell this?

If the profile isnt private they can.

Ole Rodrigo

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Doing 0 is never good, has she up skilled herself while she was off, if she can show she's done some courses etc that will go down well.
Is she on Facebook often (her possible employer will probably check(, no courses, no work and time spent on facebook wouldn't go down well.

I agree - training is expensive though, and isn't always an option when looking for work.

tatli_lokma

Training is expensive but voluntary work isn't. Even just showing that sitting at home is not for you so you went and helped out at the local community garden/youth club/friends of the elderly/ charity shop - anything at all really proves that although you are unemployed you are not lazy and happy to do work for free to keep busy. So perhaps suggest to her to go volunteering, and that could really help her chances.

LP788

I'm in a similar situation myself and don't really know how to approach it. Due to personal reasons, I left my job last November. It was a few days off initially but I never went back. I really regret leaving, but it was one of those jobs where you have absolutely NO life outside of work, sometimes working 9 days in a row. It was just too much on top of issues outside of work as well and I just couldn't face it anymore. I didn't hand in my notice as such but I did call my Team Leader a few weeks later to explain and confirm that I wouldn't be back. He was sound about the whole thing and just asked me to email in my notice and leave it at that.

I had quite a few personal things I needed to deal with and sort out in the time I've been off, including a few counseling sessions..not entirely relevant here but I have genuine reasons for not working since then. I'm a bit worried about using my last employer as a reference since I left of my own accord and I doubt they'll take into account the fact that I had personal reasons for leaving. It would be OK if it was coming from my Team Leader but I'm pretty sure it'll be the HR department that deals with that and they were all extremely patronizing and snobby and didn't give a sh*t about the staff. I'm worried they'll give me a bad reference and tell a potential employer that I left of my own accord. I could be wrong though, its not really my biggest worry, its the employment gap I'm more concerned about.

I really want to get back to work now and just don't know how I can approach this on my CV. I have commitments in Dublin and need to find work there again. I know that volunteer work is always an option, but I'm back at home in the North at the moment and I'm only getting £142 a fortnight.. down to £120 after bank payments and with my last 2 payments I've been left with just £85 to live on for 2 weeks after bank payments and dental costs! I would be willing to do volunteer work in Dublin if I could afford to be there when needed and would volunteer closer to home if it wasn't going to interfere with my commitments in Dublin. But to be honest, I can't bear to spend another day having no life and no money.

How could I approach this gap on my CV? Can you say you've been spending time on personal development of some sort? If so, what could you even say?

Anyway, sorry for the rant! Hope some of you can help me out here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Daith

LP788 wrote: »

How could I approach this gap on my CV? Can you say you've been spending time on personal development of some sort? If so, what could you even say?

Anyway, sorry for the rant! Hope some of you can help me out here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

I left my job in January of last year and went travelling for the full year. Travelling can be a good personal development option and not something employees would really argue with?

tatli_lokma

If you are going to say you were travelling at least pick somewhere you actually did go to. You will look a total twat if you say 'I was travelling in Australia' and then the interviewer asks you where you were living etc. So many people have travelled now, that if you try to bluff it you could end up with egg on your face.

ArseBurger

Be honest. Talk to what they have done with their time while not in active employment. This could be upskilling. Or it could have been doing something else with their time while looking for work.

If they have been sitting on their arse doing nothing then they have to think - would I hire someone like me?

Mrs OBumble

ror_74 wrote: »

I agree - training is expensive though, and isn't always an option when looking for work.

eCollege is free if you're unemploeyd.

Mrs OBumble

LP788 wrote: »

I How could I approach this gap on my CV? Can you say you've been spending time on personal development of some sort? If so, what could you even say?

Having to look after your auntie who had cancer, but who sadly passed away a month ago is one option.

I'm not advocating lyng outright.

But there are various ways of talking about "personal issues" ...

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

skimpydoo wrote: »

Easy just say they were going to set up a company with a friend but after doing thorough research they realised the company had a high probability of not surviving after the first year of trading.

Exceptionally poor advice.

OP, your friend should be honest, there's nothing wrong with being unemployed these days. It shouldn't hold the same stigma as it once had.