Ready to return to workforce . How do I explain 4 year gap in CV

[Glitterball23]

Hi everyone

I stopped working in March 2020 .

I was completely burned out . I also struggled with my mental health and was eventually diagnosed with CPTSD.

I focussed on getting treatment for this . I was in and out of hospital for the last 4 years . I also attended different outpatient programs to address my mental health issues .

I also had physical health issues and had treatment for this , multiple operations etc

My question is what do I tell prospective employers to explain the 4 year gap . What do I put in my CV to explain the gap

I’m ready to start working again but am worried about explaining the 4 year gap

Instinct tells me that you should be honest to an extent - health issues or something equally vague - but rather than leave it as a negative, can you add something that you learned or did in that time that's relevant and will show you as resilient and resourceful? Try to think of a positive outcome from the time away from work and then focus on the period since to show that you've recovered.

I'd be honest about it, but you don't have to be detailed - could you just say 'illness'. Increasingly, employers use online forms rather than CVs nowadays, and often they'll ask you to explain any gaps. Just before you spend too long on a CV!

I would not be honest. People advising this have never tried to get a job after being ill for a while.
Lie and say you were a carer for an elderly Aunt/other relative who has now died.

Depending what you want to do. I was a home stay mother for 8 years by choice and I needed the time obviously so and came back to the job market and honestly, I put this as what it was - I was home stay mother. I did volunteering for some part of that time for which I had a small honorarium and put that also. I got a job on the second week of my search - it is not what I studied for and it was not what my initial career progression was, but I take any part - time job ( school hours ) these days. Do not fear, honestly. We are all human beings who need to live

Lie and say you were a carer for an elderly Aunt/other relative who has now died.

Then if you get the job, you will have to keep up the lie for evermore.

Can you take a bit more time out and do a course or take on any kind of temp work, to have something recent to put on your cv?

I can’t really afford to take more time off . I need to be earning .

I wouldn’t feel comfortable lying about caring for an relative .

Any hiring managers on here that can advise on how I approach this

'Managing health issues - now stable.'
I've used something like this but it depends what you want. For me, an employer that would reject a CV because of this reason probably wouldn't make the reasonable adjustments I need to work there long-term. I appreciate this might be industry-dependant and depends on how much you need a job quickly though.

Obviously recovery was the primary aim, but did you have periods where you did other stuff too?
Can you put it down as "career break with volunteering in X" or "career break and personal development"

I put diagnosed with a medical condition that is now under control and had had been stable for 24 months - 2 years.

so you put diagnosed with medical condition that is now under control etc

I would put "long term illness, now recovered". That covers the gap and you can just reiterate that at interview stage if asked, they can't ask you to elaborate.

I review applications in my workplace and wouldn't bat an eye at that. People have complicated lives.

Whatever you do do not disclose mental health issues unless it is to somewhere like the charity MIND. In spite of what people say, most people do judge.

Again it depends what type of work you're looking for, but I found agencies that supplied people for short-term contracts were very welcoming and keen to use me. Probably because if the work is casual they don't pay sick pay, and can get rid of you easily by saying there's no work available, but still benefit from supplying someone with good experience and skills. It gets recent experience on your CV which, if relevant, can be helpful for applying for permanent roles.

I'd say I lived abroad for four years

@coxesorangepippin but you'd need to work in order to live during the time abroad wouldn't you? So no reason not to put whatever you did while you were 'abroad' on the CV...

Yes, that's great advice. Then if the employer finds out that the OP lied, they will have grounds to dismiss. Plus the OP won't be able to declare a disability should they need to.

OP, there is a middle ground. Say that you took some personal time out due to poor health which is now resolved. Show some positive spins from that time - maybe some volunteering or something if you can. Also the idea of looking for agency work is good - it gives you some recent experience on the CV, and gives some proof of fitness to potential employers.

Yes some employers might balk at the circumstances of ill health. If they do, do you really want to work for an employer like that? You don't have to be specific - just honest. "I had a period of ill health from which I am now fully recovered".

I wouldn't be honest.

In the nicest possible way, if I was interviewing you I wouldn't give you the job and if you reeled all that off to me alarm bells would be ringing.

Ah that’s really disheartening to hear . What do you recommend I say

If I were interviewing you
(a) I wouldn't have asked about sickness at all until after an offer was made on the basis that it is illegal for me to do so,
(b) I would judge your interview and application against the skills and experience that I need for the job, not on assumptions about health (based on some of the posts here apparently a lot of people would be lying through their teeth to me anyway) and
(c) at the offer stage I might ask about your health and refer you to occupational health to clarify that you were fit to work and what support we might need to consider to help you return to a working environment.

Like I said, if someone won't employ you because you had a period of ill health, would you want to work for them anyway?

On the other hand - we take lying in an application very seriously and resaerve the right to dismiss. Ill health can happen to anyone and there is no fault. Liars make a choice, and it leaves us wondering what is true and what is not.

@Neriah how would anyone find out you had not been a carer? And you could have had ill health at the same time.
And most employers will not employ someone who had mental health problems serious enough that they could not work.

Thank you . I appreciate your detailed post . I was thinking of putting the following in my CV

03/2020 - Present

Off work due to illness , have now made a full recovery

I feel I have to address it somewhat in CV otherwise I won’t get asked in interview

I don’t have the energy to remember lies about fake sick relative to be honest .

I am not planning on getting into detail about my mental health diagnosis . Most I was planning to say was that I had a health diagnosis / issue that needed to be addressed

Good luck.
If you get referred to occupational health you will have to go into more detail.

Just say you took time out to focus of your health and family. You don't need to highlight the gap and state a reason, the dates will speak for themselves.

Honestly tell the truth, you don't have to go into a load of detail because it's personal but something like period of ill health & now recovered covers it.
I have done some recruiting btw, did get a CV from someone who had been off work with sickness and they were shortlisted for interview

Just say career break. Then come up with some activities that you did. You could even say if questioned you were financially secure and could help with relative or....

Don't put the truth.