How do you explain HUGE cv gaps?

[thedogsrolex]

I probably should post this in employment but I don't fancy a pasting tonight.

Worked since leaving school. Worked before kids, worked after kids, worked as a parent, worked as a lone parent.

I've been unlucky, have been made redundant four times now. I managed to find other employment/other roles in same company so have never been out of work for more than a few months.

Until 2009. That was when I last worked. I've tried and tried to get something else but there's little about. Childcare is a huge hurdle..not so much the cost as tax credits do help once they actually pull their finger out, but the availability.

I've been put onto the work programme. Have explained why I don't see much I can apply for due to the start times being impossible, not difficult, or too much hassle..impossible. I've been "encouraged" to apply for anything I can do as the hours may be "negotiable". I think that's rubbish, when so many people are applying for the same job the employers are hardly going to reduce hours to suit me when they can employ someone else who has no restrictions.

Anyway, i've done what they asked and applied for jobs I know I can't do. I had what seemed initially to be a promising phonecall last week regarding my cv. Until he asked me what i've been doing for the last three years. All I could say was that I had been jobseeking. "Since 2009?".

How do I explain the huge gap without coming across as an idle layabout? I can hardly harp on about childcare even if that's the truth...It wont help my case. I'm gutted. The promised call never came. I'm not lazy, or workshy. I've had some bad luck and i'm trying my best to get another job, have been for three years. I'm hoping to get some voluntary work soon organised by the work programme but untill then....?

Tell the you spent years abroad to give your kids the experience of a lifetime :-)

Or tell them you have run your own business selling cup cakes but now everybody is doing it and you need to get a job

I am only half jocking
I know how it feels and it feels so shite having been out of work than you begin to believe you have never worked. So first sort out your head than find the white lie you feel most comfortable with and go for it :-) Good luck
(got to do the same)

Tell them the truth.
It's only people in business you know - not superman and wonderwoman.
Maybe his sister is in the same boat as you? maybe he was?

Be honest. If i was employing anyone tomorrow I'd want a hardworking dedicated multitasking mum who had childcare concerns over a freshly minted virgin graduate.

This is the thing though, I can't tell the truth. If I say to a potential employer that i've been unemployed for so long because of childcare restrictions they are going to think....single mum...sick kids...childcare...unreliable.

Wanting to bang my head against the wall...i'm hardworking, and have heaps of experience, loads of qualifications. Seems that doesn't count. I've trained idle young ladies who only wanted to facebook all day but were employed because they could work 8-6. "work" ahem.

Maybe think about starting your own business then?
I think you sound great just as you are - no need for the fancy lying... life sucks sometimes - and then you pick up, dust off and get on with it.

I suppose what I'm saying is that there's no perfect, and if you feel that the gap in your CV isn't explicable, just tell them straight - you don't have to tell them much, just that your salary didn't cover childcare when they were little, but now they're bigger, and it's sorted.
Whatever you do anyway, good luck with it.

Think about your won business - it might be the best thing for you and your family. - Plenty of help and grants as well.

I would do a course or two at your local college and some volunteer work where travel expenses are covered to up date the CV.

HTH.

Can you say that you were a stay at home parent and cite any voluntary work you did in that time? Did you do anything with the PTA? Helping out at playgroup? Tending the elderly or sick? Anything like that.

Also if you've worked multiple times in the same company, that proves that there's nothing wrong with you, and lends credence to the fact that you were unlucky. If you were a bad person to employ, your company wouldn't have re-employed you several times...

Or say that you were setting up a business from home/writing a novel.

Just say you decided to spend time with your children and made them your priority instead of a career but now due to the increasing cost of living and a desire to work now the children are older you want to re-enter the workforce.

I would agree with Happylander and duchesse, and I think saying you have been 'jobseeking' since 2009 is a mistake.

In my experience I had 2 consecutive maternity leaves in 2006 and 2007, I then resigned, so I didn't attend work since 2006, when my 2 DDs were both at school I looked for work in 2011, eventually an office full of women employed me, they all have older children than I do and have been through the young children/childcare issues so understand, and also understand that actually as a stay at home mother you have loads of great qualities. As duchesse anything you have done in the last few years, voluntarily, expand on it as much as necessary!

Tell them you had a career break to care for children and that now that your kids getting older and more independent, you want to get back to work.

They'll probably assume (maybe incorrectly) that you began your career break when one of your kids was born, but they're unlikely to ask for any further details - and indeed they shouldn't do as they could then be accused of discrimination if they don't give you the job.

It's very common to have a break of a few years when your children are small.

thoughts I admit, I answered that question badly! I wasn't expecting the phonecall so soon and really wasn't prepared when it came to answering questions. I dont have much experience with interviews or anything related because i've mostly been in work...I really suck at it!

So if i'm telling white lies should I leave that gap on the cv or actually put something on there relating to the "career break". If so, how should I word it?

Unfortunately I haven't done any voluntary work in that time as it's mostly shops in my area and my back can't take standing around, but there's a chance now that I could get some in the office of a new project opening nearby. I'm really looking forward to it

bump any help with wording it would be much appreciated

I would just say that I was a full-time parent for that time.

Isn't that acceptable to say these days? if its not then I'm stuffed!

I think it helps to put something on your CV to explain, maybe listed just like your jobs are, something like this:

2009-Present Career Break for family reasons
When my job ended in 2009 I took the opportunity to spend the time with my family. I have enjoyed this time and the responsibilities it entails but now feel it is time to return to gainful employment.

I had a 2 year gap but I did voluntary work for most of this time, I counted the previous job as my job until the date maternity leave ended and the voluntary work followed on. I tried to make sure my CV didn't make it too obvious that I had a child as I knew that could put people off in the industry I was seeking work in. If there is any voluntary work you have done either for an organisation or otherwise, try to include that. Ie I was secretary for a society, but as my formal voluntary work covered my gap completely, I didn't use it.

My cv contains 'relevant education', 'relevant experience'. Its not ALL relevant to a particular job, or therefore relevant to discuss.. I have taken great time to tailor my cv according to the role that I felt best suited to, and highlighted only the relevant items for the benefit of the prospective employer, saving them time trawling the many other skills enhancing roles [being a mum, organiser of the highest order, executive stress management, etc] that didn't specifically fit this role. This is the way I explain the information I have provided. You do not have to talk about your 'family' life or dependents, career breaks are common, as is volunteer work, and extensive travel, all add to your personal development and roundedness of skill set and character.

Also no need to disclose age dob sex (or how frequent!) on a cv, just the details that make you right for the job. You are not even required to divulge criminal activities after a period of time!

Do go for anything (but within reason), it is amazing experience for the one that comes along that you really want, and it takes the pressure off. You will become more confident and familiar with the questions asked and then you will be prepared for most.

Also, make a list of any questions you think they might ask that could throw you or worry you, and then prepare your answers, think things through carefully. You will find that you only need to write an answer down once and you will feel prepared for that should it arise.

Nobody has to make excuses for being at home with children, loads have said it before, but its truly the most challenging thing you can do.

its easy to loose sight of our strengths too, so ask your supporters around you who would be happy to help your journey for work to tell you the 3 best things that they see in you, and make sure you weave those into your cv too. We are often unaware of the gems that others see in us.

lengthy! but hopefully of some help. good luck - have confidence and you will shine :)

Thanks all...I have an INTERVIEW!!! I'm so pleased.....

But nervous...interview help anyone? (I ask a lot don't I)

Be yourself!
I second Shriek's post, and good luck.

this is my specialist subject!

Tell them you decided to be a stay at home mum and then talk about all the things that you did in that role that fit you for the role on offer.

so, helping out at school and playgroup = people skills, broadening horizons, appreciation of the demands of different family lives

Budgeting on benefits - god, if you can do that , you can nudge David Cameron out of a job

Assessing your own long term career goals - so you know what you want to do and why you want to do it.

I had a 12-month gap due to total nervous breakdown, absolutely unacceptable in my profession. I always tell prospective employers I was re-evaluating my skills, testing out new ways of working in the voluntary sector, retraining and so on. It's never caused me a problem and since that time, I've managed to get really prestigious and well-paid jobs.

In any event, there is no shame in having taken time out to be a parent and no employer that you'd actually want to work for will turn a hair at that.

Good luck duck, it's going to be fine xx

have you had your interview yet?

If not.. I can't emphasise enough to write down questions they could ask that might phase you.. then think through the answers positively and write them down too.. then you WON'T be phased by them ;)

Also .. make sure that you match as many of their requirements as possible with the skills/experience/personality that you offer.

All this preparation helps with your confidence; particularly keep in mind that you are also there to find out as much as them, to see if they 'match' you.. you are equal parties in this 'meeting' to discover fit on both sides.. The word 'interview' takes power away from the interviewee.. so stick to the idea of 'meeting'.

Go equipped, in writing on a notepad to remind you, with questions for them

They cancelled my interview. Said the position had been filled. My bad obviously for taking a cheap holiday being away for four days and trying to make my kids happy. We hadn't been away for over two years, my mum paid for it all bless her. It was literally three working days from the time they called me to the time they cancelled me. I think it's totally unfair...but what would I know? I told her when she called me that I would be away and she arranged the interview for the Monday after. Why even do that? Just another kick in the teeth....I should be used to it by now.

Oh that's crap. So sorry. You are just going to have to take the view that it wasn't going to be right for you. Hard I know.
In regard to how you talk around cv gaps, I would not go for the child care issues route. It sounds like you are defensive. You need to be positive. You had children, you wanted to take care of them yourself in their most formative years and return to work when they were at school. No big one, a lot of people do that and it is acceptable to most normal adults!
You are well qualified and you certainly sound enthusiastic and motivated, and the last bit is what employers are looking for. Someone who is willing and able and want to be part of their team.
Don't be too disheartened. People employ people, so you need to come across as positive, you sound like if you got to interview you would come across really well, but be positive even though it is incredibly hard, it's all about selling yourself after all. Don't view the years from 2009 as something you have to excuse. Be positive about why you did it and the benefits you and the children got from it. You can talk for ages about the positives, school interaction, steep learning curve,, juggling ten things at once etc etc

Someone somewhere better employ me soon because I may go insane sitting in this house on my own. Lazy am I Dave? You try living my shitty lonely life.

{goes off to cry a bit}

Thanks mince, i'm finding it so hard to have the glass half full nowadays.

Close to giving up.

Take my benefit away then JC/DWP, never mind my work history. I never did like being at the mercy of someone else. I'll manage.