Enormous gap in CV, eek!??

andy2004

I wouldn't call what your gap in your cv a enormous gap, 2007, thats nothing compared to mine, 2007-2013 is 6 years, wish mine was as small as yours, mine is 1999. so more than double yours, waits for the !!!!!! have you been doing, well lets see, work programs, new deal under the jobcentre that are /were supposed to help me get back into work, did phone book delivery twice but that wasnt a job, that was a pain in the ,
tried starting my own business after completing one work program and was given 2 choices, 1 do something or 2 go without any benefits for 6months.
But with the british climate as it is, 2 things to remember.

1 dont believe the jobcentre and their BS when they say there are plenty of jobs available. every week you'll hear about companies going into adminstration. infact unemployment is the highest its been since the unemployments office aka jobcentre were actually opened / started.

2. if you sign on with any agencies remember to contact them on a daily basis and dont take we'll phone you when something comes up as their word,they wont, or if they say we've just have this number of people made redundant and have to find them work first. and make sure to turn around just after you've opened the door to leave to see if they are going to throw your application in the bin. if you see a piece of paper going towards the bin its probably the form you just filled in.
And the other favourite, is the weekly you go in on a monday and they say phone us on friday to see whats happening next week, so you do and they tell you to go in on monday, where they then say phone us on friday and repeat.
Oh and be careful of the mini bus con, where you have to pay to use the minibus to get to and from the place of employment, as "you cant use your own vehicle", works out about £10 a day and everyone on the bus is paying that. when you consider there's 12-14people on the bus, why does it cost that much.

Checkmate what multinational company do you work for, so i can make a note NOT to apply for any position there.

Checkmate_2

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

The impression that I got was that yes, they were ill for 6 years.

Are you referring to the 'raving alcoholic' bit?

Checkmate_2

andy2004 wrote: »

Checkmate what multinational company do you work for, so i can make a note NOT to apply for any position there.

If you don't have tendencies to fabricate self-employed or employed work experiences that you do not have, you're not the type to call in sick for 30 days a year, you have nothing to worry.

EmmaHerts

I would just say I had been a home-maker during that time.

anna2000

I just want to thank you all for all your kind replies. Some of the things are brilliant:

- no chonological CV (making the gap stand out like a sore thumb!)
- volunteering (I am currently doing this )
- I think I will say I was self employed 07-2010, as like another poster pointed out (unless its some position of huge responsibility, which I'm not going to get!) - I can't see them making checks for that 3 years back and at least that cuts the gap down
- I'm applying for any job I can get (McDonalds, cleaning anything), part or full time - as I'm thinking being realistic I've got to take what I can get and to start from the bottom now - but if I stick at any job even if I hate it for 6 months - I've got a reference! And usually employers only ask for your last employer reference, right?

So I know its going to be tough, and I'm not going to lie I do think 'whats the point' some days, but I can't give up as I don't want to go back to being where I was again...been there, done that and never again!

I've done alot of thinking and I think my dream job is to be a dog warden...I know I've got a long way to go (years) to be that but I'm volunteering with dogs atm, its a start and something to aim towards.

I'm not going to lie it is tough out there with jobs, I've sent countless application forms off already and heard nothing back off any. They want years of experience for even the most menial jobs, I think its just going to be a case of plugging at it til I get a lucky break - basically being at the right place at the right time.

I'll keep you posted guys, and again thank you for your help .

Anna x

dandelionclock30

Good luck with all that.
They tend to want the last employer reference unless its a position of importance. These tend to want the last 5 years and/or the last 3 employers.