Enormous gap in CV, eek!??

ValHaller

anna2000 wrote: »

if i told the truth i'd never get a job

You have to tell a truth which you own. Approaches to this have been suggested and some of the things which can go wrong with big porkies have been pointed out, No one can point out to you a truth which you own. You have to look back at the period in question and beyond the alcohol to make the best of it. If ever you earned £5 during the period doing a haircut, that might be a truth you can own.

Sharon87

Well definitely mention the mobile hairdressing and put that on your CV. They will ask why you stopped it though.

Also can't you mention you had a personal medical problem that is now fully resolved? It's just about true and hopefully they wont divulge too much into it. If they push don't lie about what it was, but don't divulge it unless they ask.

maryroberts

Agree with the advice given by Sharon87 above. Can I just advise you NOT to lie about living abroad - I DID live abroad for a few years and it's on my CV as I worked the whole time. The subject ALWAYS comes up in interviews (not that I've had many!) - it's a good talking point as it's interesting & unusual. People like to ask questions about it, so please don't just make something up about living & working abroad!

Well done for getting sorted and arranging some voluntary work though - I'm doing the same, because my most recent paid employment was abroad.... and it looks much better on applications to have a reference from a current UK employer, even if it is "only" voluntary work.

Person_one

I was unwell with a long term health condition, but I have recovered fully now and there are no lasting effects on my health.

That's completely true, alcoholism is an illness.

Its always always better to tell the truth, very few people are good liars, and even fewer can sustain a lie for a long time day in day out. The stress of it wouldn't do you any good at all.

egoode

I agree with Person_one just say you had a long term health condition and were unable to work but that you have fully recovered and if they ask for any specifics just say it is rather personal and you do not want to go into details. I find the less you say the better otherwise you can get caught up in lies and can't keep straight what you have told people. Also saying you were travelling or worked abroad will not work as I've had to show passport stamps/flight details and references for work and trips I've done abroad especially if you are talking months or years.

Just keep trying to turn the conversation to any volunteer work you have done and any personal skills you have that you think will be good for the role. Also for any interview the most important thing is to show ethusiasm I've got roles that were way too senior for my experience because I was enthusiastic and they thought they could train me into the role.

Also don't rule out working for yourself. You've obviously done it before with your hairdressing skills, think about other skills you might have like crafts or baking? My mum used to knit jumpers for shops and bake biscuits and cakes for deli's and also occassionally set up a stall at a market. While it might not give you a full time living you will be able to show that you have the initiative to do things for yourself and something else you can talk about in an interview.

Congratulations on becoming clean and sober and I hope you find a job soon.

asdf1982

anna2000 wrote: »

And prior to that, 2007-2010, I was self employed as a mobile hairdresser - something that I have actually done years back - but its still something I could talk about and expand on if an interviewer asked me.

Would they want to see evidence of this though? And if so what? Surely the timeframe (it being years ago) would make showing evidence seem less important?

yes they would want to see evidence of that, the evidence would be your tax return, which obviously you wont have

heart_free

As alcoholism is classed as an illness, couldn't you explain the gap by saying you were suffering with a long-term illness, which with the ehlp of medical advice, treatment and intervention is now cleared up? Seems to me that its the truth to a certain extent without giving away any details. That way, if later you wanted to make a full disclosure, you could without being thought of as a liar.

Savvy_Sue

asdf1982 wrote: »

yes they would want to see evidence of that, the evidence would be your tax return, which obviously you wont have

Your tax return is confidential to you and HMRC: your employer has no right to ask to see it.

If you don't have a P45 from your previous employer when you start a new job (which the OP almost certainly won't) that's not a problem either.

However, I agree that not lying is the best plan. Saying you've have personal / health problems from which you've now recovered is much much better, but it's worth practising what you want to communicate!

anna2000

Thank you for all your kind replies, I don't know what I'd do without this forum - its like a lifeline for me!

^^ so if don't have to show my tax return, could I actually get away with saying
I was self employed? Would they ask for a tax return? Or would that be seen as too intrusive? What evidence would they ask for that I was self employed? I'd much rather go down this route than say I had personal problems, as I can see that putting an interviewer off me.

I just want to take this opportunity again to say I hate lying and the situation I'm in (and I have nobody to blame but myself, although I am trying to turn things around), I feel this is a case of needs must though and that the end justifies the means - I just want to get a job and I don't want to be a prisoner of my past forever.

Savvy_Sue

anna2000 wrote: »

^^ so if don't have to show my tax return, could I actually get away with saying
I was self employed? Would they ask for a tax return? Or would that be seen as too intrusive? What evidence would they ask for that I was self employed? I'd much rather go down this route than say I had personal problems, as I can see that putting an interviewer off me.

Were you self-employed, even in a very 'casual' way? If you were, then say you were. If that's just a fiction then IMO best not.

Have looked again: you were working as a s/e hairdresser until 2010, so say so. The only 'evidence' you could be asked for is maybe a reference from a client, but it's not terribly likely that an employer would ask for that. That cuts down the period you need to explain quite nicely.

To be honest, while I can understand where you're coming from, I think you're overthinking this ... Unless you apply for a job where they do very thorough background checks going back for 10 years, then no-one's going to check whether you were actually a s/e hairdresser from 2007-2010. So you could extend that period until last year and chances are you'd get away with it! But the reason we say don't lie about what you put (invent children or say you went abroad) is that even if no-one ever checks, they may notice slip-ups. And if they notice slip-ups, they can dismiss you.