#JobMarket #EmploymentGap #ResumeAdvice
Hey everyone! 👋 Have you ever wondered how to explain a 3-year gap in your employment history on your resume? 🤔 Let’s talk about it!
So, you graduated in 2019, worked at a FANG company for 1.5 years, but then took a break in 2021 during the pandemic. It’s totally understandable to feel a bit insecure about that gap on your resume. But fear not, you’re not alone! Here’s a possible solution that might help:
➡️ Address the gap proactively in your cover letter or during interviews
➡️ Highlight any interesting side projects or interview prep you’ve been doing during that time
➡️ Emphasize the skills and experiences you gained during your previous job
Remember, everyone’s career journey has its ups and downs. It’s all about how you frame your story and showcase your growth and resilience. You’re definitely not screwed in this job market – stay positive and keep pushing forward! 💪 #YouGotThis
You were mourning the sudden death of your cat!
>I graduated in 2019 and worked as a SWE at a FANG company for 1.5 years, but quit in 2021 during covid
I’m just curious – that seems like a really sweet deal right out of college. Land a high-powered job, get to spend almost a year on site learning and then transition to remote?
Why did you quit? I get that there can be lots of legitimate reasons, I’m just curious what yours was.
Do the same thing most people do, “I was taking care of a sick parent/spouse/girlfriend/etc.”
Side projects are projects if you think they are good enough to talk about and put on your resume. Quitting during COVID for whatever reason, isn’t frowned upon. Admitting u were twiddling ur thumbs for 3 yrs is not a good look, but I get it. Ur gonna have to stretch the truth about those side projects to somewhat make up for it, and really go deep into the 1.5 yr u worked at FAANG to fill out your career experience.
“I signed an NDA with the last company”
Did I wrote this post?lol I’m in the same predicament and maybe that’s why I’m not being shortlisted!
Lie
“I was working at a failed startup”
I took a two year gap just have a few job offers handy, you should be good. I doubled my salary. There are some employers who are conservative but many who just want to hire good talent. Work on a few projects, nail the interviews. Good companies could care less. In case you are looking for a good reason tell them that you got lucky with NVDA or some wild bet and decided to take a break from the rat race. In case you are shy you didn’t commit a crime it is normal just chill. Too many people are too pussy to even come out of rat race.
You were the full time caretaker to a disabled family member at the end of their life.
If that isnt enough then fuck them. Don’t ever shake hands with anyone who defends the practices of corporations who squash their own people like bugs for profit margins.
Just say you took some time off, that you were working on personal projects or spending time with family.
Don’t say you were just “fucking around”, but also don’t flat-out lie about a family emergency or some startup business as others are suggesting… It’s really not that deep – you have a gap on your resume either way, and no one is going to think much one way or another whether your excuse was taking time off or caring for a family member lol.
People here are acting like a gap is the worst thing ever and that you’ll have next to no chance of employment unless you come up with some mastermind excuse … that is certainly not the case.
Sabbatical. Family emergency. Just tell the truth.
If you have faang experience, you should get some recruiter interest.
The gap is the gap, there’s no point in trying to hide anything. If there are any questions, then simply say it was family matter, that’s now all resolved. Don’t try to over explain things, it makes things worse.
As long as you can pass tech screens, you shoul do ok.
I’ve never had so much as a second glance at my year long gap for calling it a “gap year” and mentioning that I was doing some passion projects in the meantime.
YMMV
“I signed an nda”
1099, LLC
I think this is most people who take “professional sabbaticals”. Come up with a story and stick to it, so much so that you believe it’s true.
You owe individuals the truth, but you don’t owe corporations the truth. You can easily explain it away. Say you were working on your own business that didn’t work out, or were travelling, or were blogging, or were dealing with personal/family issues, or any number of other reasons. Heck you could talk about chasing a professional gaming career if you were gaming 6-8 hours a day.
Time to make up a story about taking care of a family member.
Saying “I fucked around for 3 years now I want 150k salary minimum” is not gonna fly.
If you’re uncomfortable doing option 1, you took a sabbatical to reinvigorate yourself and focus on the career trajectory you’re looking for.
Also: Please tell no one outside this thread you spent time unemployed on interview prep. Worst reason to be unemployed. Just start applying to jobs and see what happens, but with a 3 year gap without being a senior in the industry, I’d brace for the bare minimum and work your way back up.