Employment gaps shouldn't matter should they?

donnajunkie

I once got literally asked, why have you been out of work so long. I had only been out of work for a couple of months. There can be some jobs where you can actually feel relieved you didnt get it.

AW618

donnajunkie said:

AW618 said:

donnajunkie said:

Unfortunately when a gap is queried you cant answer with, i was unemployed you stupid (not nice word) idiot. Spending a period out of work doesnt suddenly make me become useless you daft (not nice word).

No, but they get an hour, maybe, to talk to you.  You can't find out all that much about a person in that time, and if they start to think that over a long period a lot of people have interviewed you and decided not to take you on, they might err on the side of caution, think those people might have seen something they didn't and go with somebody else.  I am not saying they are right to do this, but it is not illogical.

i just think sometimes people can ask silly questions, sometimes they can be horrible and sometimes its like they dont live in the real world. Just because someone hasnt spent their time out learning to speak japanese at college it doesnt make them worthless. Oh and dont waste a persons time inviting them for interview if a gap on their cv really bothers you that much because the chances are they were just struggling through life on benefits.

Well that's the thing - it's not necessarily that they were doing anything worse than that.  But why couldn't they get a job, if they were looking for one?  It is a reasonable question for an employer to ask themselves.  
The answer an interviewer is hoping for is one that shows you were not trying to get a job; not that you were doing somethnig "improving" with your time.

donnajunkie

AW618 said:

donnajunkie said:

AW618 said:

donnajunkie said:

Unfortunately when a gap is queried you cant answer with, i was unemployed you stupid (not nice word) idiot. Spending a period out of work doesnt suddenly make me become useless you daft (not nice word).

No, but they get an hour, maybe, to talk to you.  You can't find out all that much about a person in that time, and if they start to think that over a long period a lot of people have interviewed you and decided not to take you on, they might err on the side of caution, think those people might have seen something they didn't and go with somebody else.  I am not saying they are right to do this, but it is not illogical.

i just think sometimes people can ask silly questions, sometimes they can be horrible and sometimes its like they dont live in the real world. Just because someone hasnt spent their time out learning to speak japanese at college it doesnt make them worthless. Oh and dont waste a persons time inviting them for interview if a gap on their cv really bothers you that much because the chances are they were just struggling through life on benefits.

Well that's the thing - it's not necessarily that they were doing anything worse than that.  But why couldn't they get a job, if they were looking for one?  It is a reasonable question for an employer to ask themselves.  
The answer an interviewer is hoping for is one that shows you were not trying to get a job; not that you were doing somethnig "improving" with your time.

They should be preoccupied with finding out if you can do the job and not why you are bad at finding work. Well unless jobseeking skills are relevant the job you are applying for.

Andrea_jardin

I guess it's like dating, at least heterosexual dating.
If a guy has been single for a while, a woman will think that other women didn't think he was worth bothering with. Whereas if he's in a relationship, then other women will respect him more and find him more attractive.

AW618

donnajunkie said:

AW618 said:

donnajunkie said:

AW618 said:

donnajunkie said:

Unfortunately when a gap is queried you cant answer with, i was unemployed you stupid (not nice word) idiot. Spending a period out of work doesnt suddenly make me become useless you daft (not nice word).

No, but they get an hour, maybe, to talk to you.  You can't find out all that much about a person in that time, and if they start to think that over a long period a lot of people have interviewed you and decided not to take you on, they might err on the side of caution, think those people might have seen something they didn't and go with somebody else.  I am not saying they are right to do this, but it is not illogical.

i just think sometimes people can ask silly questions, sometimes they can be horrible and sometimes its like they dont live in the real world. Just because someone hasnt spent their time out learning to speak japanese at college it doesnt make them worthless. Oh and dont waste a persons time inviting them for interview if a gap on their cv really bothers you that much because the chances are they were just struggling through life on benefits.

Well that's the thing - it's not necessarily that they were doing anything worse than that.  But why couldn't they get a job, if they were looking for one?  It is a reasonable question for an employer to ask themselves.  
The answer an interviewer is hoping for is one that shows you were not trying to get a job; not that you were doing somethnig "improving" with your time.

They should be preoccupied with finding out if you can do the job and not why you are bad at finding work. Well unless jobseeking skills are relevant the job you are applying for.

As I have said already, they have limited time to talk to you.  If numerous other interviewers have passed on you, then that is something that can reasonably be taken into account.  You would have had different conversations with them and revealed different things.

AW618

Andrea_jardin said:

I guess it's like dating, at least heterosexual dating.
If a guy has been single for a while, a woman will think that other women didn't think he was worth bothering with. Whereas if he's in a relationship, then other women will respect him more and find him more attractive.

Well, it's more like speed dating.  They don't have much time; they have a lot of other options, and they can see that everyone else has put a "No" in their notes against your name.  They don't really need to take a chance unless everyone else has gone, or unless they personally see something in you that they really really like.

rbulph

What about
"I went for a job interview when in my last job and the interviewer said to me 'You have to leave your job. You have to leave it. Because if you don't you are slowly going to die.' She didn't offer me a job. Perhaps she felt that her job would kill me too. I thought about it and decided that I agreed with her. So I left my job without another one to go to. I have applied for jobs from time to time ever since but without success. Perhaps many employers feel that their jobs are such that they will kill me. Anyway you can kill me, I don't mind. Such is my desire to work." 
That's what happened to me. I'm not sure that saying that would get me a job though.

Dakta

It costs a lot of money to hire an employee, and it costs quite a lot more to hire the wrong one - employment gaps can be quite informative and it's not a surprise to me they get consideration. Keeping our feet on the ground we need to remember this is all about the business and getting the job done by suitable people.

Obviously gaps don't make up the whole picture (contractors in particular can have a lot of gaps by the very nature of their work and thats part and parcel of contracting culture), the question is about the reason, not the gap. Because the reason can be telling about how you as an individual might fit in their organisation.
For most people I wouldn't over-worry about them if you can just give a positive and constructive reason for them if asked.

AW618

rbulph said:

What about
"I went for a job interview when in my last job and the interviewer said to me 'You have to leave your job. You have to leave it. Because if you don't you are slowly going to die.' She didn't offer me a job. Perhaps she felt that her job would kill me too. I thought about it and decided that I agreed with her. So I left my job without another one to go to. I have applied for jobs from time to time ever since but without success. Perhaps many employers feel that their jobs are such that they will kill me. Anyway you can kill me, I don't mind. Such is my desire to work." 
That's what happened to me. I'm not sure that saying that would get me a job though.

I am not surprised she didn't offer you a  job.  What on earth did you say to her that elicited such a response?  Being negative about the job you have is well-known to be one of the biggest no-nos at interview, and it looks like you really went for it.

SingleSue

oscarward said:

I recently returned to work after a 18 month gap, I was asked for a referee to vouch for what I was doing .  Got the job anyway

I returned to work after a 12 year gap, they just wanted my CV and didn't bother with an interview.

For context however, I had worked for them when I was a teenager as firstly a part time summer job, then my first full time job on leaving school and then a part time job to pay for driving lessons as an extra to a (different) full time job. Trust forms a large part of my work as it is handling large sums of cash and as I had proved my trust worthiness back then, that was all they needed to know. 

However, during the time I had been away from work (I had caring duties to disabled family members), I had not been idle. I studied law and gained qualifications, I got my ECDL, qualifications in Counselling skills but the biggie was (and still is), owning and running a large website which requires me to manage and coordinate a large team of people from around the world, marketing, customer service etc etc.

The thing that puts employers off about me though is not my large gap, it's the fact I come with the constant companion of a wheelchair....