Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. The Lounge
  3. Why gap in carrier makes it difficult to get job?

Why gap in carrier makes it difficult to get job?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
careerhelpquestion
21 Posts 12 Posters 0 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • L Lost User

    I always wonder why gap in career will make it difficult to get job. Why recruiters cannot consider work experience as how many years someone worked and left non-working years? Whats the problem with gap?

    Happy Programming

    G Offline
    G Offline
    GuyThiebaut
    wrote on last edited by
    #6

    There's nothing wrong with a gap in your career, although I guess it depends on what you were doing in the gap that will be important. So it's probably best to have the gap in your cv populated with some(honest) information and not just left blank.

    “That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

    ― Christopher Hitchens

    L 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • G GuyThiebaut

      There's nothing wrong with a gap in your career, although I guess it depends on what you were doing in the gap that will be important. So it's probably best to have the gap in your cv populated with some(honest) information and not just left blank.

      “That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

      ― Christopher Hitchens

      L Offline
      L Offline
      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #7

      My 5! Writing in resume will ensure honesty.

      Happy Programming

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • P Pete OHanlon

        A gap, in itself, can be okay, as long as you can show a legitimate reason for it. The worry for an employer is that a gap is being used to hide something unwanted, like a job that you were sacked from.

        I was brought up to respect my elders. I don't respect many people nowadays.
        CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

        D Offline
        D Offline
        Darren_vms
        wrote on last edited by
        #8

        Or a visit to prison

        L 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • L Lost User

          People usually do not ask for reason, just wonder you have a gap. I mean, I may be wrong but I have seen people not getting job just because of gap.

          Happy Programming

          D Offline
          D Offline
          DaveAuld
          wrote on last edited by
          #9

          They maybe do not ask a reason, but trust me, they are thinking about it!

          Dave Find Me On: Web|Facebook|Twitter|LinkedIn


          Folding Stats: Team CodeProject

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • D Darren_vms

            Or a visit to prison

            L Offline
            L Offline
            Lost User
            wrote on last edited by
            #10

            Or you went walking around Asia and are a pretentious twonk who will nag, bore, and annoy everyone who already works there,

            Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • P Pete OHanlon

              A gap, in itself, can be okay, as long as you can show a legitimate reason for it. The worry for an employer is that a gap is being used to hide something unwanted, like a job that you were sacked from.

              I was brought up to respect my elders. I don't respect many people nowadays.
              CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

              N Offline
              N Offline
              Nagy Vilmos
              wrote on last edited by
              #11

              Is a stupendous hangover a legitimate reason?


              Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett

              P 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • N Nagy Vilmos

                Is a stupendous hangover a legitimate reason?


                Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett

                P Offline
                P Offline
                Pete OHanlon
                wrote on last edited by
                #12

                Works for me. If you can use the "I can't remember that year due to the sheer amount of alcohol I consumed", you'd get through the vetting stage at least.

                I was brought up to respect my elders. I don't respect many people nowadays.
                CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

                S 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • P Pete OHanlon

                  Works for me. If you can use the "I can't remember that year due to the sheer amount of alcohol I consumed", you'd get through the vetting stage at least.

                  I was brought up to respect my elders. I don't respect many people nowadays.
                  CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

                  S Offline
                  S Offline
                  Simon_Whale
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #13

                  doesn't Nagy need to finish the bender first?

                  Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, served in a Provençale manner with shallots and aubergines, garnished with truffle pate, brandy and a fried egg on top and Spam - Monty Python Spam Sketch

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • L Lost User

                    I always wonder why gap in career will make it difficult to get job. Why recruiters cannot consider work experience as how many years someone worked and left non-working years? Whats the problem with gap?

                    Happy Programming

                    B Offline
                    B Offline
                    BillWoodruff
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #14

                    Hi, I assume you write this because of some personal concern about a "gap" in your own technical career, and I respect you may not wish to disclose the details of that. I am afraid that reluctance to hire someone with "gaps," is, in general, because: people considering hiring you will think you are not a reliable "mule," who, once "in the harness," will haul your pack-load with monotonous consistency, keeping in-step with the other mules, and not paying attention to anything in the work environment except your own duties. On a very practical level: if the company knows it will take you several months to get fully engaged, and productive, "trained up," to their projects, methods, etc.: then it's logical for them to worry that you might leave for some reason, and then: they take a tangible loss of the "engineering capital" they have invested in getting you productive. To put it simply: they're afraid to bet on you, because they might lose their investment in you, because your life is "out-of-kilter" with the norm, the mean, the mode, etc. But, so much depends on the technical level you are at, the nature of the position you are applying for; on your own "track-record" of innovation and achievement. Some companies, for certain positions, look for the "wild-card" individual who may "think outside the box," because: they have "lived outside the box." Long ago, an old friend of mine was head of a division at Microsoft, in a certain area of developer support (back in the late neolithic, when we used VB5~6). He told me that an applicant had showed up, for an editorial position, who, for the last three years, had been studying Zen in Japan, but had an excellent technical-editorial record, before departing to explore "emptiness." In the staff meeting where the final applicants were discussed, my friend told me, that the general consensus was not to hire him. The applicant had answered the question: "what is the most important thing to you in your future ?" with the statement: "contributing to world peace." My friend over-ruled the staff, and hired him. During the few years before the division my friend was head of was re-structured into non-existence, the former Zen student was one of the most productive employees they ever had. That's probably a one-of-a-kind example ? :) On the other hand, a more typical "contrarian" example might be: that you have about-box credit on a product that made some company millions of dollars: that fact may make the fact your resume's time-line is as holey as Swiss-ch

                    L 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • B BillWoodruff

                      Hi, I assume you write this because of some personal concern about a "gap" in your own technical career, and I respect you may not wish to disclose the details of that. I am afraid that reluctance to hire someone with "gaps," is, in general, because: people considering hiring you will think you are not a reliable "mule," who, once "in the harness," will haul your pack-load with monotonous consistency, keeping in-step with the other mules, and not paying attention to anything in the work environment except your own duties. On a very practical level: if the company knows it will take you several months to get fully engaged, and productive, "trained up," to their projects, methods, etc.: then it's logical for them to worry that you might leave for some reason, and then: they take a tangible loss of the "engineering capital" they have invested in getting you productive. To put it simply: they're afraid to bet on you, because they might lose their investment in you, because your life is "out-of-kilter" with the norm, the mean, the mode, etc. But, so much depends on the technical level you are at, the nature of the position you are applying for; on your own "track-record" of innovation and achievement. Some companies, for certain positions, look for the "wild-card" individual who may "think outside the box," because: they have "lived outside the box." Long ago, an old friend of mine was head of a division at Microsoft, in a certain area of developer support (back in the late neolithic, when we used VB5~6). He told me that an applicant had showed up, for an editorial position, who, for the last three years, had been studying Zen in Japan, but had an excellent technical-editorial record, before departing to explore "emptiness." In the staff meeting where the final applicants were discussed, my friend told me, that the general consensus was not to hire him. The applicant had answered the question: "what is the most important thing to you in your future ?" with the statement: "contributing to world peace." My friend over-ruled the staff, and hired him. During the few years before the division my friend was head of was re-structured into non-existence, the former Zen student was one of the most productive employees they ever had. That's probably a one-of-a-kind example ? :) On the other hand, a more typical "contrarian" example might be: that you have about-box credit on a product that made some company millions of dollars: that fact may make the fact your resume's time-line is as holey as Swiss-ch

                      L Offline
                      L Offline
                      Lost User
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #15

                      Thanks Bill for your insights. It would be interesting to see books you have written. May I know name of the books (link) you have written. Regards

                      Happy Programming

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • L Lost User

                        I always wonder why gap in career will make it difficult to get job. Why recruiters cannot consider work experience as how many years someone worked and left non-working years? Whats the problem with gap?

                        Happy Programming

                        M Offline
                        M Offline
                        Mark_Wallace
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #16

                        Just tell them: "I took some time out to look after my uncle, who was born with brain damage, and suffers from extreme mental problems. Funnily enough, you look a lot like him."

                        I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!

                        L B 2 Replies Last reply
                        0
                        • M Mark_Wallace

                          Just tell them: "I took some time out to look after my uncle, who was born with brain damage, and suffers from extreme mental problems. Funnily enough, you look a lot like him."

                          I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!

                          L Offline
                          L Offline
                          Lost User
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #17

                          Thanks for advice. I don't want to spend my life without employment. :^)

                          Happy Programming

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • M Mark_Wallace

                            Just tell them: "I took some time out to look after my uncle, who was born with brain damage, and suffers from extreme mental problems. Funnily enough, you look a lot like him."

                            I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!

                            B Offline
                            B Offline
                            BillWoodruff
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #18

                            Excellent one, Mark: had to up-vote that :) yrs, Bill

                            “Thus on many occasions man divides himself into two persons, one who tries to fool the other, while a third, who in fact is the same as the other two, is filled with wonder at this confusion. Thinking becomes dramatic, and acts out the most complicated plots within itself, and, spectator, again, and again, becomes: actor.” From a book by the Danish writer, Paul Moller, which was a favorite of Niels Bohr.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • L Lost User

                              I always wonder why gap in career will make it difficult to get job. Why recruiters cannot consider work experience as how many years someone worked and left non-working years? Whats the problem with gap?

                              Happy Programming

                              W Offline
                              W Offline
                              wizardzz
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #19

                              It can show potential lack of motivation or hint at an unknown unemployable trait. I would provide a reason even without being asked.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • L Lost User

                                I always wonder why gap in career will make it difficult to get job. Why recruiters cannot consider work experience as how many years someone worked and left non-working years? Whats the problem with gap?

                                Happy Programming

                                L Offline
                                L Offline
                                Lost User
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #20

                                Pranit Kothari wrote:

                                Why recruiters cannot

                                ..because most of them are lazy. It's not just a gap that's a problem, if you currently do not hold a job, then there must be something wrong with you. You are applying for a job, and you do not have to explain your whole private life, nor defend your choices. "I took of for half a year with my transgender-confused imaginary boyfriend, because we had to practice for Brittains' got Talent"

                                Pranit Kothari wrote:

                                Whats the problem with gap?

                                It means the other person has to think, while he could just as easily pick another person from the pile. Or wait another month.

                                Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • L Lost User

                                  I always wonder why gap in career will make it difficult to get job. Why recruiters cannot consider work experience as how many years someone worked and left non-working years? Whats the problem with gap?

                                  Happy Programming

                                  C Offline
                                  C Offline
                                  Clifford Nelson
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #21

                                  Probably for the same reason that even if a job does not really require a college degree, they will not consider you unless you have that degree. Almost can't wait tables without a college degree now.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  Reply
                                  • Reply as topic
                                  Log in to reply
                                  • Oldest to Newest
                                  • Newest to Oldest
                                  • Most Votes


                                  • Login

                                  • Don't have an account? Register

                                  • Login or register to search.
                                  • First post
                                    Last post
                                  0
                                  • Categories
                                  • Recent
                                  • Tags
                                  • Popular
                                  • World
                                  • Users
                                  • Groups