How do you explain away significant gaps in your resume?

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Just remember, if you make a story for a resume you'd better be prepared to talk about it in detail at an interview. HR can usually smell a lie.

(Of course, we aspies come across differently - often triggering a false lie-response from HR...)

I own 3 FedEx home delivery routes however technically I and the employees on this route are independent contractors (the ground & Home Delivery divisions are different from express), so what if I put this on my Resume as a manager for FedEx? How would they know about the arrangement and that I was an absentee owner?
And HR can usually 'smell a lie'?? Really.. most of these HR types look like wet behind the ears 20 somethings. Of course I could only use the above for more of a retail type job, for accounting & finance positions ? well I am screwed due to an awful work history full of short term 'jobs' (where I was given responsibilities on par with that a high school intern) in the industry.

Because it's not true. FedEx is a big company and very sophisticated, they upload names to the usual HR databases. From what you say above, you work for them as a vendor, not as an employee, if I'm at all reading this right. You would'nt show up in FedEx as a manager.

so what.. If I have such a large gap on my Resume I am 100% sure I will be summarily rejected before I could even explain at an interview. If I spin or twist the truth at least I have a fighting chance. The suggestions presented here are nice however in the real world they won't work.. If someone has a large current gap on their Resume and is unemployed the Resume will likely go straight into the trash

My union dispatches me to my jobs so i do not need a resume .

Well, I've got a few options depending on what vibe I feel from an interviewer.

1) I made myself available to help out w/ my grandmother while she was still around. (recently deceased; she'd approve if the story got me an opportunity.)

2) I've been off healing up a sports injury (partially true, I'd just extend the truth a little.) & working a job that didn't interfere w/ healing/rehab etc and now it's time to move on to something bigger/better again now that I'm well.

Since one of my jobs is very... flakey? I've gotten approval from my boss at another job to just say I work for him full time & get a decent reference as needed.

Decided to jump in and apply for a couple jobs today. Fingers crossed on getting a call back.. and if not, well, whatever, at the very least I've gotten the ball rolling on applying for something different again and can carry that momentum to applying for more and more jobs until I find something that works. It's time I move on from the part time gigs I'm doing and take on a "real," job again now that I've got my AS much better under control. That and staying at this employment/income level for much longer isn't really a financial or life option - sticking around this income bracket any longer than I have to is simply accepting less than I'm capable of for the sake of comfort and complacency. F that. Bring on some change.

Go you, goldfish!

Great to get those applications out there. Keep it up, and keep them going.

Good luck,

Best regards,

Tina

Two observations:

1) Don't maintain a social media profile with your real name and work history, or else changing your work history to match different positions becomes harder.

2) Without a public display of your work history, you could then fabricate being self-employed in a position almost identical to the position for which you're applying. Because there are no W-2s or 1099s when reporting self-employment income, the employer would need to request your last year's tax return to verify income. They cannot obtain that! :wink

Thanks Tina!

I applied for a 3rd job yesterday and then posted a brief work wanted type ad today.

I also got in touch with a friend the other day and asked if he'd get in touch when he has some work because I want to do more of that type of work, but also I want his feedback on my capabilities - as they're much better than they were a few years ago. Even if I end up volunteering to do a day's work with him, it could turn into a good reference or him letting me know about a job or telling others I'm available etc, so that could be one avenue to get out of this part time low wage stuff.

I don't post much about work stuff at all on any social media sites. I have made a few posts over the years, but not many, and I don't change my "works at," or employer status. It's basically just social chit-chat and commenting on news/politics with a little philosophy & profanity in the mix. :p Chances are unlikely that anyone would ever go scroll through that crap to read that I used a swear word to describe a politician or local business person - if so, they have more time to waste than any productive boss I'd want to work for. Those forms don't apply to me in Canada, but I get what you're saying.

And I WAS self employed with a business partnership for some time & I could very easily just extend that time period and say that it was during then that I gave it my all to make a go of it, but for abc & xyz reasons it didn't work out and I'm looking for stable work employed by someone else. (True, only the timeline might be altered to cover up some unproductive gaps.)

Just a little update - not worth a new thread:

Hours at one of my jobs are being cut dramatically for everyone to make time to train new people for the district. Meh, is what it is.

My boss and I had a chat the other day and she said if I were you I wouldn't want to keep working here as she can't give me enough work right now, and that I ought to find something else more suitable to the income I need to make vs. the part time students that work there now. Totally agreed. Good thing I've already started looking!

The most interesting part was that she complimented me on being so well spoken and presentable that she's sure I'll get whatever job I apply and interview for. She said I made such a good impression before I started working for her that she hired me before waiting for her boss above her's approval as she was supposed to do. That was kinda nice to hear, and a great reminder that it doesn't matter one iota what I think of me, it's others' perceptions that matter most when it comes to things like this.. so, even if I'm feeling very anxious and "unworthy," if the perception of someone else is that I'm competent & capable - then bam, I'll have a new job. Now to focus more and more on thinking about that and ideally truly be confident in my abilities when I go interview for something new.

Goldfish,

Is moving an option? If yes, then consider Saskatchewan, which apparently has a robust economy and has a lot of jobs, though I do not know what field you want to find work in.

I'm in a Union that has a dispatch system that is rampantly abused by the Employers to discriminate against the long term unemployed. They game they system by putting in calls with bogus requirements to either get specific people or people from the back of the line because no one who's been out of work for a year + is going to take a call less then 6 weeks and loose their position.

I was out of work for a year and 5 months. I took a call for a job that was suppose to last until fall. They laid me off after 2 weeks saying that they where going to do a "manpower shuffle". Luckily I didn't loose my position because any call less then 2 weeks is considered a "short call". You can do 3 short calls before you loose your position. However I'm pretty sure they had other reasons then "manpower shuffle" to lay me off because that job is going to need to man up to 20-30 people in a few months to complete the tenant improvement phase.

I guess my point is that even though you don't use a resume if you hire through a Union Dispatch system, it doesn't mean your work history doesn't have an impact. There is pretty strong evidence that the contractors association that is conterpart to my Union keeps a data base of records related to Union members employment history. There is even rumors of a secret "Black List" that they reserve for a few people that have been vocal about workers rights and contract conditions.

Well, I applied to one place that was having a hiring fair and had a couple of interviews back to back with a couple different managers. I think I made a better impression on the first than the second, but w/e. If I get a call back, great, if not.. ah well, at least it was interview practice!

I've also heard of a few more places hiring and a few more opening up, so, I'll apply at them, too. I also managed to learn what the pay is like at some other places, so I'll apply there too - never know, might manage to land a more lucrative job again.

I've been reading job ads recently, too, for various industries and found a few that I may be a good fit for - so I'll check out where they are, public transit access etc, and apply.

Who knows? Maybe I'll land a day job AND a part time eve/wknd job & be able to drop my two part time jobs I have now ??? but heck, if I land even just a part time eve/wknd job back in an industry I used to work in I'll be able to do that, financially. While a stable day job would be nice, money is kind of important right now and so I'm more than willing to do a little less stable a lot more lucrative gig again for as long as it lasts - which could be years, depending on the people I work for/with.. but in an industry that's notorious for staff turnover for various reasons, I'm not going to bank on one of these part time jobs being a career. Just a source of money for as long as it flows.

Nope, it's not & ideally never will be.

I was born in Vancouver and never want to leave the general area. (I live in the suburbs.) Yes, jobs pay low here and everything is absurdly expensive, but I'd rather be working class poor here than have money somewhere else. This place has some serious magic & power over me - from the beaches to the mountains, it's awesome. Plus I have a lot of family here, and almost more importantly, several very close friends that I'd never want to be out of touch with for the sake of money. I'm also very fortunate to have a family/friend support system here that's very patient with me.

All that and I think my challenges in finding & keeping a suitable job will be about equal no matter where I go, so I may as well tough it out here and try to make the best go of it I can.